Over the last 1200 years, Islamic barbarians have destroyed thousands of Hindu mandirs in India. Many apologists try to whitewash this brutal destruction of the Hindu religious and cultural symbols. Luckily for us, the invaders and their scribes left behind plenty of contemporary records, enabling scholars to piece together the sordid history of their brutal exploits.
We have launched a series of short articles to daylight this terrible destruction of Hindu mandirs. Each article will contain excerpts from the writings of a well-known Islamic scholar. The entire series is based on an article by Stephen Knapp. (https://www.stephen-knapp.com/islamic_destruction_of_hindu_temples.htm)
Islamic source used: Masalik’ul Absar fi Mamalik’ul Amsar by Shihabu’d-Din ‘Abu’l Abbas Ahmed bin Yahya.
(This Islamic historian was born in 1301 CE. He was educated in Damascus and Cairo. He is considered to be a great man and scholar of his time and author of many books. He occupied high positions in Syria and Egypt.)
Islamic Ruler: Sultan Muhammed bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 CE)
“The Sultan is not slack in Jihad. He never lets go of his spear or bridle in pursuing jihad by land and sea routes. This is his main occupation which engages his eyes and ears. Five temples have been destroyed and the images and idols of ‘Budd’ have been broken, and the lands have been freed from those who were not included in the daru’l Islam that is, those who had refused to become zimmis. Thereafter he got mosques and places of worship erected, and music replaced by calls to prayers to Allah… The Sultan who is ruling at present has achieved that which had not been achieved so far by any king. He has achieved victory, supremacy, the conquest of countries, destruction of the infidels, and exposure of magicians. He has destroyed idols by which the people of Hindustan were deceived in vain…”
Islamic source used: Rehala of Ibn Battuta by Shykh Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lawatt at-Tanji al-Maruf be Ibn Battuta
This author belonged to an Arab family which was settled in Spain since 1312 CE. His grandfather and father enjoyed a reputation as scholars and theologians. He himself was a great scholar who traveled extensively and over many lands. He came to India in 1325 and visited many places. He was very fond of sampling Hindu girls from different parts of India. They were presented to him by the Sultan Mohammed bin-Tughlaq with whom Ibn Battuta came in close contact. He also married Muslim women wherever he stayed and divorced them before his departure.
He describes the situation in Delhi as follows: “Near the eastern gate of the mosque, lie two very big idols of copper connected together by stones. Every one who comes in and goes out of the mosque treads over them. On the site of this mosque was a bud Khana that is an idol-house. After the conquest of Delhi, it was turned into a mosque…”
