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Roots of "ICONOCLASM"
For the last half century and more, certain academic writings on India have exhibited a remarkable proclivity to extricate Islamic iconoclasm from the religion of Islam.
For the last half century and more, certain academic writings on India have exhibited a remarkable proclivity to extricate Islamic iconoclasm from the religion of Islam.
The wholesale destruction of sacred shrines in the subcontinent has been dismissed and presented as "a lust for plunder," unconnected in any way to Quranic injunctions.
In a definitive enunciation of this viewpoint, Leftist Historian Muhammad Habib declared that the expeditions of Mahmud Ghaznavi:
"...were not crusades but secular exploits waged for the greed of glory and gold. It is impossible to read a religious motive into them. His Hindu opponents were infuriated, but not surprised, at what he did; they knew his motives were economic, not religious..." (Habib 1967)
Muhammad Habib's assertions were perplexing, given the Quran's explicit hostility to idols and idolatry. Before the Islamic advent, idol worship was widely prevalent in Mecca, as attested by Ibn Ishaq, the earliest biographer of the Prophet (Guillaume 1958).
The Prophet himself led the destruction of 360 idols around Kaaba. Among them were statues of the moon god Hubal, Abraham, and Ishmael. After the idols had been smashed, Muhammad came to the door of Kaaba and proclaimed the new dispensation:
"There is no God but God; there is none with him." (Payne 1987; Lapidus 1988; Glasse 1989)
Islamic tradition from early on, viewed India as the land par excellence of idolatry. One hadith described India as the first country where idolatry was practised and stated that ancient Arab idols were of Indian origin (Friedmann 1975).
Ibn Asir, author of the influential Kamilu-t Tawarikh, noted that on the night Mahmud was born, "an idol temple in India, in the vicinity of Parshawar, on the banks of the Sind, fell down" (Elliot and Dowson Vol. II).
Mahmud Ghaznavi proudly professed himself on his coins, Mahmud butshikan, 'Mahmud the breaker of idols.' His standing in the Islamic world rested on two interlinked successes - breaking the idols and de-hoarding the temple treasures of al-Hind (Wink 1997).
As Ibn Asir recorded, in recognition of his services, Mahmud became the first Muhammadan king to receive the title of Sultan from the Khalifa.
Source:
BOOK - Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History, by Meenakshi Jain.
BOOK - Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History, by Meenakshi Jain.
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