Hindu–Islamic Relations

This article covers Hindu–Islamic relations.

Hinduism is a religion and a way of life of the Hindu people of India, their diaspora, and other regions which have experienced Hindu influence since ancient and medieval times. Islam is a monotheistic religion in which the deity is Allah (الله‎ “the God”: see God in Islam), the last prophet being Muhammad, whom Muslims believe delivered the Islamic scripture, the Qur’an. Hinduism mostly shares common terms with the dhārmic religions that it birthed, including Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Islam shares common terms with the Abrahamic religions which pre-date it – those religions claiming descent from Abraham–being, from oldest to youngest, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Qur’an and the Hadiths are the primary Islamic scriptures. The scriptures of Hinduism are the Shrutis (the four Vedas, which comprise the original Vedic Hymns, or Samhitas, and three tiers of commentaries upon the Samhitas, namely the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads); these are considered authentic, authoritative divine revelation. Furthermore, Hinduism is also based on the Smritis, including the Rāmāyana, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Purānas, which are also considered to be sacred.

Hinduism and Islam share some ritual practices such as fasting and pilgrimage, but differ in their views on apostasy, blasphemy, circumcision, consanguineous marriages, idol making, henotheism, social stratification, vegetarianism, and Ahimsa (non-violence) as a virtue. Their historical interaction since the 7th century has witnessed periods of cooperation and syncretism, as well as periods of religious violence. As a minority religion in India, Islam assimilated to local Hindu traditions and the Hindu roots of converts over a period of 13 centuries. The boundaries between Islam and Hinduism remained flexible until British colonial rule.

Main article: Islam in India

Comparison between Islam and Hinduism

Theology and concept of God

Islam is a system of thought that believes in varied traditions, hence the various Islamic Sects. Tawḥīd. Muslims are required to affirm daily, as one of the five pillars of Islam, in Shahada, that is “There is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

Hinduism is a system of thought that believes in varied traditions. In the Upanishads, one popular interpretation is the Advaita Vedanta tradition. It is absolute monism. A person finds the truth when realizing his/her true nature or the pure soul or self (atman). When the person is devoid of ignorance the person realizes that their inner self (atman) is the Brahman (the ultimate reality). Till the person realizes this truth, the person is usually of ignorance and therefore thinks everything around them is real and indulges in it, when it’s actually not and is an illusion (maya). The Brahman which is absolute and pure and the atman which is absolute and pure also are the same in this school of thought. When the person singularly focus on ‘I’ and indulges in self-enquiry, study of texts, ethical perfection and jnana and the self, they realize the Brahman and don’t depend on the material.

Scriptures and messengers

The scriptures of Islam are the Qurān and the Hadiths, which are varied and has many versions. The last and final massenger Muhammad is mentioned in world’s major religions.It mention by name in vedas and bible.It mention in bhavishya purana parva 3 khand 3 adhyay 3 shloka 5 to 8 ,bhavishya purana parva 3 khand 3 adhyay 3 shloka 25 to 27 , atharvaveda khand 20,suktha 127 manthra 1 to 3,it also mentioned in kalki purana. Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was also the massenger from the God. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last messenger, and Quran was the last revelation from God to the last prophet. The hadiths contain the Sunnah, or the reports of Muhammad’s life, sayings, actions and examples he set. The Quran and the Hadiths are considered in Islam as the source of Islamic law, or Sharia.

Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book. Spiritual knowledge of Hinduism is contained in texts called Shruti (“what is heard”) and Smriti (“what is remembered”). These texts discuss diverse theology, rituals, rites of passage, philosophy, and other topics. Major scriptures in Hinduism include the Vedas, Upanishads (both Śruti), the Epics, Puranas, Dharmasutras and Agamas (all smriti).

Similarities

See also: Religious syncretism, and Hindutva

According to Islam, one after death either enters Paradise (Jannah) or Hell (Jahannam), depending on their deeds. However unlike Muslims, Hindus believe in cycle of reincarnation. However, the concept of higher and lower realms of existence can be found in Hinduism, though the realms are temporary places.

Both are obliged to fight the Demons (Shaitan/Asura), who are in constantly war against human and the Divine. Asuras are part of Hindu mythology along with Devas,  akshas and Rakshasas. Asuras feature in one of many cosmological theories in Hinduism. Asuras are sometimes considered nature spirits. They battle constantly with the devas.

Similarities can still be found at the concept of the Divine and the world. Both belief in the existence of an entirety supreme power, either called Brahman or Allah. Brahman is a metaphysical concept which is the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe, while Allah is the Arabic word for God in Abrahamic religions. Assimilated in local lore, the Islamic concept of God became comparable to the notion of the ultimate reality expressing itself through different names as the creator, the maintainer and the destroyer. The Sufi concept of Waḥdat al-Wujūd is close to the world view asserted in the Advaita Vedanta. Some Islamic scholars belief that the worlds created by God will perish and created anew resembling the Hindu notion of an endless procress of generation and decay.

Pilgrimage is found in both religions, Hajj to Mecca in Islam, while Kumbh Mela and Tirtha Yatra in Hinduism. Muslims performs 7 rounds around Kaaba during Hajj which is called Tawaf. Hindus also perform one or more rounds around the center (Garbhagriya) of a temple (one to twenty-one), which is called as Parikrama (known in Sanskrit as pradakśiṇā). Both of them are commonly called circumambulation.

By some members of the Ahmadiya Muslim Community, Islamic Prophet Muhammad is believed to be the Hindu Avatar Kalki; some of the Muslim scholars and a few of the Hindu scholars also argued that kalki is mentioned indicating Muhammad in some Hindu scriptures. However, most of the Hindu scholars widely discarded it as a false theory, claiming that Kalki is supposed to arrive at the end of Kali Yuga, not in the beginning, but since the Yugas are repeated, this can be.

The idea of Fana has been compared to Samadhi.

Differences

Apostasy

Main article: Apostasy in Islam

Apostasy, that is a condition of Islam for a Muslim to leave his religion or to blaspheme against it, is according to some Islamic schools of law, a religious crime.

Hinduism allows freedom of conscience. A Hindu can become an atheist, or change beliefs when he or she wants.

Both religions state that there should be no compulsion in religion even though Islamic scholars may call for punishment for leaving Islam.

Blasphemy

Main article: Islam and blasphemy

Blasphemy against God and against Muhammad is a religious crime in Islam. The Quran in verse ^{[Quran 5:33–34]} and many Hadiths of Islam discuss blasphemy and its punishment. A variety of actions, speeches or behavior can constitute blasphemy in Islam. Some examples include insulting or cursing Allah or Muhammad, mockery or disagreeable behavior towards beliefs and customs common in Islam, finding faults or expressing doubts about Allah, improper dress, drawing offensive cartoons, tearing or burning holy literature of Islam, creating or using music or painting or video or novels to mock or criticize Muhammad are some examples of blasphemous acts. Punishment can range from imprisonment, flogging to execution.

Open discussion and criticism of spiritual thoughts, ideas and deities is allowed in Hinduism. The concept of “divine blasphemy” or “heresy” does not exist in Hinduism, and ancient Hindu texts make no provisions for blasphemy.

Caste and creed

Main articles: Caste system in India

Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti segregate people through social stratification and class. Islamic texts do not segregate Muslims by caste, however in India Muslims also have their own caste system including untouchables. Islamic texts such as the Hadīth, however mention the prophecy of the Muslim Ummah being separated into 73 sects. This stratification is from the book of the Prophet – the Hadīth. Thus, in prophetic tradition it is believed that despite the inherent division there is always a majority which retains the correct belief and practice of Islam, a group singled out from the others and on the path to attain salvation – Ahl al-Sunnah wa٬ُl-Jamāٝah.

While Hinduism texts do not list thousands of castes, in practice, the Hindu caste system has been described variously as four Varnas or as thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called jātis. Similar to the Hindu caste structure of four Varnas, in practice, Muslims in South Asia developed a caste system that divided the South Asian Muslim society into three: the foreign-descended Ashraf Muslims, the local Ajlaf converts, and the converted Arzal untouchables at the lowest rung. The term “Arzal” stands for “degraded” and the Arzal castes are further subdivided, like Hindu jatis, into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc. Scholars state that caste-like social stratification is also found in Islam outside South Asia.

Circumcision

Khitan (circumcision) of males is required in Islam. The Qur’an itself does not mention circumcision explicitly in any verse, but it is mentioned in the Hadiths of Islam. Muslim commentators consistently interpret Islamic scriptures as making male circumcision obligatory.

Circumcision is not a religious requirement in Hinduism.

Consanguineous marriage

Consanguineous marriage are those where the bride and groom share a grandparent or near ancestor. Islam prohibit marriage due to consanguinity with ancestors, descendants, siblings, siblings of ancestors and descendants of siblings. However marriage with cousins and farther consanguineous relatives is allowed. Hinduism forbids consanguineous marriage, and strongly recommends seven degrees of biological separation between bride and groom. Arranged endogamous consanguineous marriage are very common in Islam, particularly first cousin marriages, followed by second cousin marriages. About 25 to 40% of all marriages in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE are first cousin marriages; while overall consanguineous arranged marriages exceed 65 to 80% in various regions of the Islamic Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

Jizya

Islamic scriptures, in its history and unlike Hinduism, compelled the payment of a special tax called Jizya from dhimmi, the non-Muslims who live in a Muslim state. Jizya was a tool of social stratification and treasury’s revenue from non-Muslims. Jizya was a reminder of subordination of a non-Muslim under Muslims, and created a financial and political incentive to convert to Islam.

There is no such concept of “Jizya” in Hindu texts.

Slavery

The Quran and the Hadiths permit the institution of slavery of non-Muslims in Islam, using the words abd (slave) and the phrase ma malakat aymanukum (“that which your right hand owns”). Under Islamic law, Muslim men can have sexual relations with female captives or concubines and slaves with her consent. Slaves, in Islamic belief, were master’s property and the slaves did not have a right to own property, right to free movement, right to marry without their owner’s permission, or right to consent. Islam, in some cases, encouraged a slave’s manumission, but only after a non-Muslim slave were forcefully converted to Islam. Non-Muslim slave women who were raped and had children for their Muslim masters became legally free upon her master’s death, and her children were presumed to be Muslims as their father. Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor, hired Muslim scholars to study the Quran and the Hadiths and write down the Islamic law for India in late 17th century. The resulting document was called Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, and it dedicated many chapters on the rights of Muslim men to own and buy non-Muslim slaves for work and sex.

The practice of slavery in early and late Vedic era of Hinduism is undocumented. Arrian, the Greek historian who chronicled India about the time of Alexander the Great, wrote in his Indika,

The Indians do not even use aliens as slaves, much less a countryman of their own.

— The Indika of Arrian

However, some Hindu texts use the term dasa. Some scholars translate this as slave, while other scholars have translated it as servant and religious devotee. Arthashastra text of Hinduism dedicates a chapter to dasa where a financially bankrupt individual may apply and become a servant of another. Arthashastra grants a dasa legal rights, and declares abusing, hurting and raping a dasa as a crime.

Food-related issues

Islam has restrictions on food, such as how the meat is prepared. Halal meat is prepared by ritual slaughter that involves cutting the jugular veins of the animal with a sharp knife. This leads to death via bleeding. Meat from animals that die of natural causes or accident is not allowed. Beef is a sought after meat among Muslims, but they strictly avoid pork and alcohol.

Hinduism, with its emphasis on non-violence against all creatures, tends to be vegetarian, and lacto-vegetarian meals are common. However, food habits are left as a choice for Hindus and alcohol consumption is accepted. There are varied opinions regarding the permissibility of eating meat in Hinduism, depending upon the interpretation of the Hindu scriptures. Vegetarianism is a choice for most Hindus, although some sects emphasize vegetarianism. Some Hindus consider violence against animals, that is used to produce any meat, so unacceptable that they avoid eating with non-vegetarians. Most observant Hindus strictly avoid cow-based beef, but some may eat water buffalo-based beef or pork as an alternative.

The manner in which an animal is slaughtered in Islamic rituals is considered cruel and barbaric by Hindus, as Hindus consume Jhatka meat. Jhatka is meat from an animal that has been killed instantly, such as by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head, as opposed to ritualistically slow slaughter (kutha) in the halal method (dhabihah). Jhatka is the method of meat production demanded by most Hindus who eat meat, as this provides a quick and painless death to the animal. Both methods use sharp knives. In the Jhatka method, a swift uninterrupted cut severs the trachea, esophagus, carotid arteries, jugular veins, vagus nerves and the spine. In the Halal method, the slaughter is done with a swift deep incision with a sharp knife on the throat, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but leaving the spinal cord and nervous tissue intact, followed by a period where the blood of the animal is drained out. A prayer to God is not required in the Jhatka method with each animal commercially slaughtered, but a prayer to God (Allah) is required at the start or if there is any interruption during Halal meat production.

Slaughter of a cow is considered heinous in Hinduism and has been a cause of Hindu-Muslim riots in India.

Politics and historical interaction

H.G. Rawlinson, in his book: Ancient and Medieval History of India claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century. It was however the subsequent expansion of the Turkish and Persian led Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent over the next millennium that significantly expanded the interaction of Islam with Hinduism.

Peaceful cooperation

Translation of scriptures

The Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned many Hindu texts to be translated into Persian.

Girish Chandra Sen, a Brahmo Samaj missionary, was the first person to produce the complete translation of the Qur’an into Bengali in 1886.

Music

There have been instances of syncretic cooperation on music on Islamic and Hindu theme. The national poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam, for example, wrote a lot of Islamic devotional songs for the mainstream of Bengali folk music. He also explored Hindu devotional music by composing Shama Sangeet, bhajans and kirtans, often merging Islamic and Hindu values. Nazrul’s poetry and songs explored the philosophy of Islam and Hinduism.

Religious violence

Further information: Religious violence in India

Historical records of Religious Violence are extensive for medieval India, in the form of corpus written by numerous Muslim historians. Will Durant states that Hindus were historically persecuted during Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent.

Recurrent clashes between Hindus and Muslims appear in the historical record during the Delhi Sultanate. They continued through the Mughal Empire, and then in the British colonial period.

During the British period, religious affiliation became an issue … Religious communities tended to become political constituencies. This was particularly true of the Muslim League created in 1905, which catered exclusively for the interests of the Muslims … Purely Hindu organizations also appeared such as the Hindu Sabha (later Mahasabha) founded in 1915. In the meantime Hindu-Muslim riots became more frequent; but they were not a novelty, they are attested since the Delhi sultanate and were already a regular feature of the Mughal Empire …. When in 1947 he [Muhammad Ali Jinnah] became the first Governor General of Pakistan and the new border was demarcated, gigantic riots broke out between Hindus and Muslims.

— Marc Gaborieau, Anthropology Today

There have been periodic instances of violence against Muslims in India from before its partition from Pakistan in 1947, frequently in the form of mob attacks on Muslims by Hindus that form a pattern of sporadic sectarian violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Over 10,000 people have been killed in Hindu-Muslim communal violence since 1950 in 6,933 instances of communal violence between 1954 and 1982.

The roots of violence against Muslims lie in India’s history, stemming from lingering resentment toward the Islamic domination of India during the Middle Ages, policies established by the country’s British colonizers, the violent partition of India into a Muslim Pakistan, and a Hindu Majority, but secular India with a large but minority Muslim population. Some scholars have described incidents of anti-Muslim violence as politically motivated and organized anti-Muslim violence are politically motivated and a part of the electoral strategy of mainstream political parties they called them pogroms or acts of genocide, or a form of state terrorism with “organized political massacres” rather than mere “riots”. Others argue that, although their community faces discrimination and violence, some Muslims have been highly successful, that the violence is not as widespread as it appears, but is restricted to certain urban areas because of local socio-political conditions, and there are many cities where Muslims and Hindus live peacefully together with almost no incidences of sectarian violence.

Hindu-Islamic relations in India

Though it is widely believed that violence between Hindus and Muslims began with British interference, this is not true. Problems between Hindus and Muslims in India can be traced back to the 14th century, when regular fights broke out between them in small Indian cities such as Mangalore. This hate between Hindus and Muslims was further fueled by the British, using their strategy of “divide and rule”.

In 1947, Pakistan was created as a separate entity for Muslims, making the Muslim population in India a minority compared to Hindus and further deepening the divide between them. Since then, there have been many riots between Hindus and Muslims. One of the most destructive riots was the 2002 Gujarat Riots which was spread over three days and led to the death of more than 1000 people. This occurred as a result of the burning of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, which was followed by Hindu retaliation against Muslims. Another prominent controversy between Hindus and Muslims is the Faizabad Ram Mandir – Babri Masjid case. The premise for this was that a Mosque was built by Mir Baqi, a commander of Babur in the birthplace of Lord Ram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. However, Hindus believed that this Mosque was built after tearing down a Temple that used to be in its place and the Hindus thus raised legal objections to the presence of the Mosque. Fortunately, both Hindus and Muslims have agreed to maintain peace and preserve communal harmony in Ayodhya, in light of the Supreme Court delivering its verdict regarding this case on 9 November, 2019. Thus, though Hindu-Muslim relations are complicated and are fueled by hate, there are also many places where they peacefully coexist in India.

Contemporary interaction

India helped Bangladesh gain independence from Pakistan in 1971 AD. Various agencies, such as BBC, Associated Press and Reuters have reported periodic violence against Hindus by some Muslims in Bangladesh, and attempts by the Bangladeshi government to punish such violence. For example, in early 2013, Hindu families were attacked and killed, as well as dozens of temples burnt/destroyed after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for the war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia