Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site t12tst.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!decwrl!sun!saber!t12tst!seshadri
From: seshadri@t12tst.UUCP (Raghavan Seshadri)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: Islamic Mystics - The Sufi
Message-ID: <608@t12tst.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Sep-85 20:07:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: t12tst.608
Posted: Sat Sep 28 20:07:38 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 2-Oct-85 21:01:15 EDT
References: <542@scc.UUCP> <755@cvl.UUCP> <544@scc.UUCP> <785@cvl.UUCP> <1758@psuvax1.UUCP> <3830@amdcad.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Intel Microprocessor Mfg, Santa Clara
Lines: 57
Xref: linus net.politics:10584 net.religion:7424

> From: linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer)
> Date: 12 Sep 85 03:42:24 GMT
> 
> > > > > What I mean to say is that ALL religions have their weak points
> > > > > and strong points. But some religions are, on the whole,
> > > > > obviously better than others and, from the present day world events,
> > > > > it appears that Islam is certainly not one of them.
> > > > >              Comments?

> In looking at the whole picture concerning Islam, we should look at
> its cultural contributions in India.  Under the patronage of the
> Mughals in India, music was patronized, and much of North Indian
                           .
                           .

                          etc


In the long horrifying record of Muslim devastation of northern India,the
fostering of Indo-Persian music stands as the sole exception,a testimony
to the catholic,civilized mindset of the emperor Akbar rather than Islam.
(It is not without significance that all his life he carried on a feud
with orthodox Muslim clergy,found Islamic theology un satisfying and tried
to cultivate a new religion which would be a synthesis of the best (as he
saw it) of Islamic,Hindu,Zoroastrian and Christian doctrines.Otherwise 
Indian history after the first half of the 12th century saw wholesale
destruction of thousands of beautiful temples,monuments,monasteries,
universities, massacre of the indigenous peoples,forcible conversions,
etc..The diary of Allah-uddin Khilji reads " The district of Mathura
alone had more than 1000 temples made of marble of different hues ,of a
grandeur that is difficult to describe,so awe-inspiring that I spent days
marvelling at them.....Of course I destroyed them all" !The grand tradition
of Hindu temple building survived in an attenuated form in southern India
out of reach of the invaders.The myriad legends sung in the martial songs
of Rajasthan speak of the gotterdammerung ,the defilation,the loss of honor
the peculiarly intolerant nature of the new alien marauders which sought
to destroy every thing that they held sublime.They were not content to loot
the gold and diamonds,they believed themselves as qualifying for Heaven
by destroying and setting on fire all symbols of the native faith..a notion
totally incomprehensible to the Indians (and I hope,to all of us).The 
destruction of the splendid Buddhist monasteries in Gandhara (modern Afghani-
-stan) and all the books on philosophy,astronomy,geology,medicine,art
as well as the stupendous carvings on the mountain sides will forever be
lamented by everyone who understands the rudiments of culture.After destroying
the monastic communities of central India,Bengal and the Shaivites of Kashmir,
desecrating Hindu holy pilgrimage centres of Benares,Brindavan ,Ayodhya and
others too numerous to mention,the Muslim rulers and the army vigorously
involved themselves in conversions by force.Only the primitive means of trans-
-portation and logistics prevented their total domination and wholesale
destruction of all vestiges of the Hindu faith.It took 4 more centuries for
a Hindu rebel to pose a credible challenge to this monstrous force.
                        I can hardly summarise the entire story of post Muslim
Indian history here.I hope I have written enough to buttress the comments of the
original writer . If you want more details,lets use mail. 
the monastic communities 
-- 
Raghu Seshadri


Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com