Spread of Islam in India

The conquest of Arab dynasties and Turkish people paved the way to enter Islam into Central Asia and its wider spreading. Initially the Arab dynasty, Umayyad caliphate stepped into the central Asia with the intension of conquering and establishing the bases in the mid of seventh century. This was considered as the first Muslim colonization (Esposito 21). Consequently the Arab armies established themselves in the delta of Indus River, which is situated in the Northwest of the India in the beginning of 8th century. It was named with an Arabic name ‘Sindh’ (Metcalf 3). Even though there were indigenous people by the means of time they converted into Muslims with the emergence of local kingdoms. Along with the Arabic conquest, another wave of conquest hit the India by strengthening the spread of Islam in 11th century. It was spearheaded by Turkish conqueror Muhammad of Ghor (Metcalf 6). They established a large territory with organized government named Delhi Sultanate. Conquerors used the stage for the conversion to Islam with the help of ruling class. They persuade the Hindus into Muslims by attacking many Hindu temples, building shrines on the sites of Hindu temples and re-stating the Hindu stories with Muslim characters thus they can create suitable environment set for the existence of Islam. Yet some readers may challenge this assertion that forcing and persuading were the means that was adapted by Turkish conquerors to spread Islam, but the style of mosques that built in that period is being witness for the transformation of Hindu temple into Mosques (). Besides the conquerors the Muslim traders admitted themselves for the expansion of Islam in India.

Islam was spread more widely with the arrival of Muslim merchants and traders...

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... legalism and cultivation of the soul over social interaction. Sufism facilitates the fusion of Islam with pre-Islamic practices and cultures (Huahan, “Spread of Islam in South Asia”). As pre-Islamic law continued to govern the indigenous population while Islamic law was restricted to specific religious issues such as following of Islamic customs strictly. Also Sufism teachings are out of social class and jurisprudence. Moreover generally Sufis speak God’s mercy, gentleness and beauty more than of wrath, severity and majesty. Literally these positive customs of Sufism gave hope for the lower class people in the indigenous religious population. Additionally it wasn’t a challenge to adapt Thus the conversion was easily and the Islam to the indigenous people because the Sufism tended to be more tolerant of indigenous animistic religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.