How did Islam spread to India?
The spread of Islam to India can be traced back to the seventh century AD. The Islamic invasion of India began when the Arabs conquered the Persian Empire. In 636 AD the Arabs captured the region that is now Iraq and Syria. In the coming years several Arab invasions were made into the Indian peninsula.
The Arabs traded with India, setting up Muslim centers and establishing the religion of Islam in the Indian subcontents. Some of these centers were established in sindh (in modern Pakistan), Bengal, The Arab conquest of the Indian subcontents began with the conquest of Sindh in 712 AD.
It was followed by the conquest of the Indus river basin in the 8th century AD and the conquest of northern India in the 10th century AD. The Arab conquest of Sindh had a huge impact on the culture and religion of the region. Arabs became the rulers of this region.
These invaders were Muslims and Muslims became the new rulers of this region.
The Arab influence in this region
How did Islam spread to eastern India?
The process of islamization happened gradually in eastern India. The process started in the seventh century AD when Arab traders began interacting with Indian kingdoms in the southern part of the peninsula.
The Arabs, who controlled the seaports, sought to convert the local people to Islam, and slowly, their influence spread. The Arab traders also provided new ideas to the Hindus, who adopted some of these beliefs and practices.
Hinduism also adopted many elements of Islamic culture, including Arabic script, a method of worship, Although it is not entirely clear when exactly it happened, Islam seems to have arrived in eastern India (today’s Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India and Nepal) via the south. This development occurred at some point between the 8th and the 11th century AD.
The earliest mention of Islam in the region is in the 11th century AD inscription on the Bodh Gaya Stupa, where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
A 150 AD inscription discovered at Mathura
How did Islam spread in India?
Islam did not spread to India through the holy war of the Prophet Muhammad. For several centuries after the death of the Prophet, Muslims had to defend their faith against the Hindus who opposed the new religion. But due to the high number of converts, the impact of Islam on the people of India was considerable.
In the eighth century, Muslim armies conquered the northern regions of India. However, the Muslims were held back in the south, which was under the control of the Hindu kings. The south had Islam was not the only religion to arrive in India.
Hinduism is the native religion of the Indian subcontinent, and it was a natural process for the religions of the newcomers to blend with Hinduism. That didn’t happen immediately though. Hinduism was still the dominant religion in India during the first few centuries of Islamic rule. However, the religion was never able to hold back the power of Islam.
Islamic ideas gradually influenced Hinduism.
Even today, Hinduism is still perme
How did Islam spread to south India?
South India was a region of India where trade developed early on in the history of the region. The region had major centers of power like the Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire. These kingdoms were connected through trade routes to countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
South India consists of a large area stretching from the river Krishna to the Bay of Bengal. The south Indian region is also called Konkan. Its coastline was dotted with many ports, which made it an ideal stopover for merchants and travelers from the Middle East and Arabia.
As Islam spread through these nodes, it reached the south Indian coast through trade and interactions with Arab traders.
How did Islam spread to northern India?
The first representative of Islam in northern India was the Arab trader, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who is commonly known as Al-Hakam. He was an uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was sent by the early Muslim rulers to rule in the area. He was the first person to organise the Hajj pilgrimage from the Arabian Peninsula to Mecca. He did a lot to promote Islam in the region. He encouraged Arabs to settle in the area and built a number of mosques Muslims were first invited into northern India by the Gupta Empire, which was founded by a Hindu family in the fourth century AD. The Guptas adopted Buddhism as their state religion and promoted it among their subjects. But, they also allowed Hindus to practise their faith freely. This policy of religious tolerance and diversity laid the foundation for the rise of Hinduism and Buddhism in India.
