Islam+in+India

The spread of Islam into south Asia had started in the 7th century. It had started with Muslim invasions into India, but had grown stronger with Arabian traders, trading with the people of India. With the growing numbers of traders, farmers, herders, Sufi mystics, and Muslim warriors settling into India, the appeal for Islam was growing higher. Mainly Islam appealed to, the lower caste and the un-touchables, and also, it appealed to many traders and merchants, since Arabian traders were becoming very friendly with the Indian traders. With many traders converting to Islam, trading had fairly stayed the same, trade was still strong between Italy to the Mediterranean to the South China Sea. Invasions of Muslims into India meant that many rulers were now Muslims, but still, many Hindus still kept or tried to keep their positions as administrators and bureaucrats. Since, both Muslims and Hindus were in power together, that would mean politics started to blend with each other. Some Muslim rulers had started to use Hindu-inspired practices, that went against the Qu'ran. Some rulers even minted coins decorated with images such as Nandi, the bull of the Hindu god, Shiva. But even though politics started to blend, socially, Muslims and Hindus were under strict regulations, atleast between the higher castes. Muslims and Hindus could not marry into each other races, which was completely restricted, and friendships between Muslims and Hindus, were hard to come by. Syncretism between Islam and Hinduism and Buddhism did not exist much either. Hindus thought very highly of their religion and stuck by it, as did the Muslims and Buddhist. But regular practices of the Hindus were starting to become practices of the Muslims. The Muslims had started to adopt Indian food and clothing, along with their caste system. Also, Muslims had started to practice marrying women at younger ages and even perform the ritual of Sati, burning widows on the same pyre of their deceased husbands. But besides from everyday practices, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhist had remained different religions. Many Hindus were starting to realize that many lower-caste, untouchables, traders, and merchants were converting to Islam, because of the appeal of it, and also because they did not have to pay as many taxes, had started to feel threatened. The Hindus had started to create cults to keep from further convertions of Islam, and tried to show the importance of devotion to Hinduism. The bhaktic cult, was open to all, including women and the untouchables, and was also the most appealing to them.

