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: ‘Tarikhu’l-Hind’ by Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi.
(This author spent 40 years in India during the reign of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (997- 1030 CE). His history focuses on the literature and learning of the Hindus at the commencement of the 11th century.)
- Invader: Jalam ibn Shaiban (9th century CE)
Multan (Punjab): “A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan, dedicated to the sun, and therefore called Aditya. It was of wood and covered with red Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were two red rubies. It is said to have been made in the last Kritayuga …..When Muhammad Ibn Alkasim Ibn Almunaibh conquered Multan, he inquired how the town had become so very flourishing and so many treasures had there been accumulated, and then he found out that this idol was the cause, for there came pilgrims from all sides to visit it. Therefore he thought it best to have the idol where it was, but he hung a piece of cow’s flesh on its neck by way of mockery. On the same place a mosque was built. When the Karmatians occupied Multan, Jalam Ibn Shaiban, the usurper, broke the idol into pieces and killed its priests…”
- Invader: Mahmud of Gazni (997-1030 CE)
Thanesar (Haryana): “The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus. The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the chakra, a weapon which we have already described. It is of bronze and is nearly the size of a man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna, together with the Lord of Somnath, which is a representation of the penis of the Mahadeva, called Linga.”
Somnath (Gujrat):- “The linga he raised was the stone of Somnath, for soma means the moon and Nathan means master so that the whole word means master of the moon. The image was destroyed by Prince Mahmud; may God be merciful to him! –AH 416. He ordered the upper part to be broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence, Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together with Cakrasvamin, an idol of bronze that had been brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from Somnath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet.”
