Islam in India

Essay # 104812

Asian Studies > East Asian Cultures
History > Asian
History > Religion

Islam in India

This paper discusses the expansion of Islam into India in the 7th century.

1,464 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer explores the early history of Islamic expansion into India, in particular during the 7th century CE. The writer notes that this discussion is in order to understand how this early expansion defined the later history of Islam in India. As is seen, the writer discusses that while there was an undeniable military aspect to this expansion, one's focus during this early period must be upon how Islam entered India through long-existing trade networks. Further, the writer looks at how Muslim preconceptions of Indian religion and culture defined these contacts with implications for the future of Islamic India.

From the Paper:

"This being said, however, it is important to recognize that these early Islamic views of India were not based upon ignorance but were actually highly complex. As well, it would be erroneous to assume that these views stemmed from Muslim religious prejudices. On the contrary, historians contend that early Islamic expansion in India in the 7th century CE was not a consequence of the desire to spread Islam or even to acquire territory. Instead, it is argued that the motives behind the initial Islamic military incursions in India during this period were commercial in nature, and stemmed from a desire to protect trade between the Persian Gulf and the western Indian Ocean.
From this perspective, the early Islamic expansion into India in the 7th century CE occurred in the context of a complex trade and cultural relationship between Arabian society and Indian civilization that stretched back for centuries."

Sample of Sources Used:

Eaton, R. (2000). "Temple desecration and Indo-Muslim states." Journal of Islamic Studies, 11.3, pp.283-319.
Friedmann, Y. (1975). "Medieval Muslim views of Indian religions." Journal of the American Oriental Society, 95.2, pp.214-221.
Talbot, C. (1995). "Inscribing the other, inscribing the self: Hindu-Muslim identities in pre-colonial India." Comparative Studies in Society and History, 37.4, pp.692-722.
Wink, A. (1990). Al-Hind - The making of the Indo-Islamic world volume I: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam 7th-11th centuries. New York: E.J. Brill.