Islam in east bengal

by truthbetold Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:13 pm

Rash,
You stated that concentration of Muslims east Bengal some how contradicted my theory of Islam following sword. The facts of history suggest that Islam indeed followed sword in east Bengal. That area of India was under muslin rule since 1200ad. That area had the least number of Hindu kingdom rise during a period of 500 years. While there were insurrections in those 500 years none succeeded in any meaningful. It is that isolation that caused Islamic spread in east Bengal.
To suggest that somehow those Hindus were attracted to Islam without coercion is a mere wishful thinking and against all available historical evidence.

You have a history of ignoring facts and throwing around your wishful thinking as truth by repeating false assertions. Get over that. Islam was never interested in uplifting downtrodden. It was always the religion of pompous ignorant rulers of Middle East. It's role in history is nearing an end. It will vanish much before Christianity.

by Idéfix Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:48 pm

One of the reasons for the high proportion of Muslims in east Bengal is the fact that Buddhism was stronger there at the time of the arrival of the Muslim conquerors than it was in say UP and Rajasthan. The early Muslim conquerors of Bihar and Bengal targeted and destroyed Buddhist centers like Nalanda. The rulers of Bengal and Bihar were in decline by the time those armies arrived, so the conquest was more thorough than in Rajasthan or even Uttar Pradesh.

Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism was more dependent on a monastic system for its survival, and the conquerors decimated those centers. Hinduism had already eclipsed Buddhism in other parts of India by that time, and Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were the last strongholds of Buddhism, and Buddhism wad already on the decline in those areas. There was also long established rivalry between Hindu and Buddhist elites in the region. So when Buddhism was dealt a final blow by the marauding Islamic armies, its followers likely fragmented between Islam and Hinduism.

At the time of independence, east Bengal had 70% Muslim population. That was after many centuries of Muslim rule. If we assume that the original Buddhists were 60-70% of the population circa 1200 CE and they split half way between Hinduism and Islam after the destruction of the Buddhist centers, Muslims may have been a third of the population at the time. With centuries of Muslim rule that fraction doubled or so. (These percentages are just illustrations, as we will never know the actual numbers.)

I think this adequately explains the difference in proportion of Muslims between Bengal on the one side and UP and the south on the other side.

by truthbetold Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:05 pm

PP,
Your post clearly identifies your opinions as opinions related percentages of Muslim. That kind of clarity is required to have a honest discussion. Winning arguments by any means is not the purpose of these online forums. One mus argue passionately but must follow scientific approach of fact backed line of thought. I hope rashmun learns from his past follies and presents a coherent fact backed argument.

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Islam in east bengal

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