Why do some people hate Muslims?
We have noticed that the fierce campaigns and despicable accusations by some opponents of Islam have increased in these days. In fact, these campaigns spring from jealousy, hatred, and extreme detestation to Islam and its people, while the message of Islam has brought a lot of goodness, blessings and mercy to the entire mankind.
Islam triggered a real revolution against injustice and corruption in all areas of human life; belief, constitution, morality and social affairs. Islam shifted people from inhumanity to humanity, from destruction to construction, from loss to progress, from failure to success, from death to life.
This fact was deeply-rooted in the hearts of opponents before the lovers and followers of Islam and many of them admitted these facts in their explicit words and many of them have accepted Islam, declaring themselves as Muslims.
In this article, we are going to present some of the blessings and good things of Islam that were enjoyed even by Hindus and non-Muslims who did not embrace Islam and remained on their own religion or thought. Indeed, they enjoyed those blessings and still enjoy them, but they forgot or did not recognize what the sources of these blessings and causes of that prosperity were.
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Islam remained the main cause of life for all
mankind, including women, weak, oppressed, poor and the servant
irrespective of faith, color, race, nationality or sex.
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Through these lines, we would like to draw their attention to the source of that general welfare. Perhaps, it will drive them to Islam or at least, will lessen their hostility to Islam and Muslims.
An Important Historical Account by an English Traveler
I am putting here an important historical document about economic prosperity during the last years of Muslim rule in India. This document reveals some very dangerous colonial plans to eliminate the Islamic civilization in the Indian subcontinent. You can imagine if this prosperity and affluence was during the days of decay and weakness of the Moghals, let alone the days of strength and endure and stability. The document says:
The British rule in the Indian subcontinent was between 1858 and 1947 and this document dates back to 1835, which means that the English traveler has described the condition of the Indian subcontinent during the last decades of the Muslim rulers.
This was the situation during the days of Islamic rule, but before Islam, the circumstances in India in all fields had been deteriorating.
Before Islam, women were humiliated in Hindu society, the birth of a girl was a kind of bad luck amongst Hindus, and the widow was burnt with her dead husband. There was no concept of a second marriage for widows. It was the blessing of Islam on Hindu girls that saved them from humiliation and death. The Muslim rulers in India always tried to abolish the heinous custom of Sati trying to enact the second marriage for the widows. This fact is so clear that could not be denied by a fair and equitable person.
The Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas, Manu Shastr, Mahabharat, the writings of travelers and historians shed some light on the religious and social situation of Hindus, regardless of the truthfulness or falsehood of those scriptures, which are held as an authority by the majority of Hindus.
A comparison between the cultural, social and religious conditions of Hindus before the advent of Islam in the Indian subcontinent and between their life after the advent of Islam show clear difference. In fact, the advent of Islam in India has changed the cultural, social and religious map of India completely. The Islamic civilization and Muslim’s culture led to a unique improvement and matchless prosperity in all fields. Although, this fact does not need a deep study, it needs only some amount of neutrality and impartiality and one can identify this fact without any hesitation. This fact is as firm and well-founded as the existence of Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Char Minar that were built by the Muslim rulers. Can you deny this fact?
There is considerable evidence indicating that all walks of life in the Indian subcontinent have benefited from Islam and Muslims, but the history of Muslims in India was mostly in Persian, and Arabic, and now Hindus are unable to read the Muslim’s history in its authentic resources due to their lack of knowledge of those languages that were prevalent in the era of Muslim rule in India. However, the medieval Hindus were fluent in the language of the Muslims and were aware of Islamic culture that is why they always highly respected Islam and Muslims unlike the new generation who grew up in the era of colonialism or after that who refer to the oriental authors who distorted the history of Muslims in India. This is the main reason for their enmity to Muslims.
The philological origin of the names of different objects and materials of clothing and covering would give an interesting insight into the economic and social developments that took place as a result of introduction of Islam into India.
The author of Islamic Influence on Indian Society says in this regard:
“The production of goods which would satisfy more and more sophisticated needs and tastes became the hallmark of civilization, and the result is seen in the impressive variety of utensils, vessels, objects of decoration and use and ornaments in copper, brass, silver and gold. In textile designs and carpets, we also observe a rich diversity. There is reason to believe that tailored clothing became common only after the establishment of Turkish Muslim rule in northern India.” (1)
Some Characteristics of Islamic Civilization
Muslim civilization was urban, and for Muslims the life is the life of the city. We shall appreciate the significance of this if we remember that though there were prosperous cities in pre-Muslim India, the tradition that religious instruction should not be imparted in the noise and dust of cities was fairly well established, and that it is considered meritorious for a person to retire into the forest in old age. The religious-minded among the Hindus have tended to move away from cities. Among Muslims, on the other hand, the mosque is the outstanding symbol of religious life; it is considered meritorious to perform prayers in congregation and the larger the congregation the more conscious the community is of its religion. We could say, therefore, that the religious tendency among Hindus has been against urbanization and among Muslims strongly in favor of it. The number of cities multiplied considerably during the Muslim period, and their size also increased. In none of the larger and more important cities was the number of Muslims larger than that of the Hindus nor were they economically more prosperous. Urbanization, therefore, may be regarded as a Muslim contribution to Indian life.(2)
Along with urbanization came certain inevitable changes. The architecture had to be developed. There are numerous masterpieces of this art as evolved by the Muslims all over the country.
Tara Chand says in this regard:
“India has been the meeting place of conflicting civilizations. Through its northwestern gates migrating hordes and conquering armies have poured down in unending succession, bringing with them like the floods of Nile much destruction, but also valuable deposits which enriched the ancient soil, out of which grew ever fresher and ever more luxuriant cultures.”(3)
The analogy of Tara Chand, to the Nile flood, which creates some destruction with many valuable deposits, is true with Muslims in a positive side only; as Muslims never brought any kind of harm to Indian people, they brought with them pure goodness and prosperity to them. On the other hand, we can say that the other foreign operations such as the invasion of Aryans who came to India with pure evil. When they came to India they expelled the native Indians to the forests and mountains and seized their land, enslaved them, inflicted heavy losses and widespread damage on Drawardians; innovated the caste system in order to oppress the native inhabitants, unlike Muslims who entrusted to Hindus the most important managerial positions in a large ratio in their states regardless of difference in belief and religion which is the instruction of Islam in treatment with non-Muslims.
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(1) Mujeeb, M., Islamic Influence on Indian Society, Meenakshi Prakashan, Delhi, 1972, pp. ix-x.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Tara Chand, Influence Of Islam On Indian Culture, The Indian Press Ltd Allahabad, 1935, p. 3.
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