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: ‘Taju’l-Ma’sir’ by Sadru’d-Din Muhammed Hasan Nizamii
(The author was born at Nishapur in Khurasan. He had to leave his ancestral place because of the Mongol invasion. He came to India and started writing his history in 1205 CE.)
- Muslim invader: Muhammed Ghuri (1175-1206 CE)
Ajmer (Rajasthan): “He destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam and the customs of the law were divulged and established. ..”
Kuhram and Samana (Punjab): “The Government of the fort of Kohram and Samana was made over by the Sultan to Kutuu-din. He purged by his sword the land of Hind from the filth of infidelity and vice and freed it from the thorn of God-plurality, and the impurity of idol-worship and by his royal vigor and intrepidity left not one temple standing…”
Meerut (Uttar Pradesh): “Kutub-d din marched from Kohran and when he arrived at Meerut which is one of the celebrated forts of the country of Hind, for the strength of its foundations and superstructure, and its ditch, which was as broad as the ocean and fathomless- an army joined him, sent by the dependent chiefs of the country. The fort was captured, and a Kotwal was appointed to take up his station in the fort, and all the idol temples were converted into mosques.”
Delhi: “He then marched and encamped under the fort of Delhi…The city and its vicinity were freed from idols and idol worship, and in the sanctuaries of the images of the Gods, mosques were raised by the worshippers of one God. Kutub-d din built the Jami Masjid at Delhi and adorned it with stones and gold obtained from the temples which had been demolished by the elephants, and covered it with inscriptions in Toghra, containing the divine commands.”
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): “From that place (Asni) the royal army proceeded towards Benares which is the center of the country of Hind and here they destroyed nearly 1000 temples and raised mosques on their foundations and the knowledge of the law became promulgated, and the foundations of religion were established. .”
Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh): “There was a certain tribe in the neighborhood of Kol which had occasioned much trouble. Three bastions were raised as high as heaven with their heads, and their carcasses became the food of beasts of prey. That tract was freed from idols and idol-worship and the foundation of infidelity was destroyed.”
Bayana (Rajasthan): “When Kutub-d din heard of Sultan’s march from Ghazna, he was much rejoiced and advanced as far as Hansi to meet him. In the year AH 592 (1196CE), they marched towards Thangar, and the center of idolatry and perdition became the abode of glory and splendor.”
Kalinjar (Uttar Pradesh): “In the year AH 599 (1202CE), Kutub-d din proceeded to the investment Kalinjar, on which expedition he was accompanied by the Sahib-Kiran, Shamsu-d din Altmash… The temples were converted into mosques and abodes of goodness, and the ejaculations of bead counters and voices of summoners to prayer ascended to high heaven, and the very name of idolatry was annihilated.”
- Invader: Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (1210-1236 CE)
Delhi: “The Sultan then returned from Jalor to Delhi..and after his arrival ‘not a vestige or name remained of idol temples which had raised their heads on high, and the light of faith shone out from the darkness of infidelity.. and the moon of religion and the state became resplendent from the heaven of prosperity and glory.”
