The second religion in size is Islam, with Muslims accounting for 15% of the population, more or less. It is tightly woven into the history of India, with the Mughal empire (16th - 18th century) creating some of India's greatest art pieces, buildings and literature.
Originating in 610 AD by the prophet Mohammed, Islam immediately began to spread, with the first Muslims arriving in what is now India from across the Arabian Sea in the 7th century. The word "islam" means to surrender and the guiding text has been the Quran (Koran), which advocates surrendering to the will of Allah (God). Allah is never to be depicted, so there are no statues, idols, or images. After Mohammed died, there was an argument over succession, and the religion split into Sunnis and Shiites, with India's population of Muslims now mostly Sunnis. All Muslims advocate a belief in five pillars: 1) Declaration of Faith, 2) Prayer (5 times a day), 3) Charitable Donations in the form of a tax, 4) Fasting during Ramadan (except for children, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly), and 5) the Hajj, which is a pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are encouraged to do at least once in their lifetimes.
After a few hundred years, skirmishes became assaults, particularly in the north, from what is now Afghanistan, where Islam flowered. Hindus and Muslims fought each other for centuries. In early 16th century the Mughal empire was established by Babur, a direct descendant of both Genghis Khan and Timur (also known as Tamerlane). Imagine those family reunions!
By the 18th century the empire was beginning to crack under pressure through a combination of over-expansion and the British who were establishing and expanding their own commercial interests. India's independence in 1947 meant another battle between Hindus and Muslims, this one initiated by bureaucracy. Overruling Ghandi's advocacy of one India for all, activists intervened (one Hindu activist murdered Ghandi, himself a Hindu). Lord Louis Mountbatten (Viceroy of India) was put in charge of the transition to independence, caved to civil protests and allowed the country to be split into three countries: Pakistan, the Republic of India and East Bengal (which is now Bangladesh) . This partition was roughly along religious lines, but it meant that all the Hindus in Pakistan and East Bengal were now in danger and fled for their lives to India, while Muslims in India did likewise to Pakistan and East Bengal. More than 10 million people had to change sides, and almost 1 millions lost their lives to Hindu and Sikh mobs on one side, and Muslim mobs on the other. The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was and is still caught in the middle of this conflict.
Surely one of the most beautiful sounds is the call to prayer at specific times of the day. Mosques generally have minarets which would be climbed by the caller so that people in the neighbourhood would know when to bow towards Mecca and pray, either in the mosque or at home or work. We would be sitting in our room and suddenly hear a sonorous human voice calling through the dark. It was haunting and such a vibrant connection to humanity, this one voice calling to others in the dark.
We visited India's largest mosque, Old Delhi's Jama Masjid, which has a lovely big courtyard overlooking the Red fort. We climbed one of the minarets for a spectacular view and witnessed prayer rugs being laid out by the thousands 25,000 people can be accommodated) for Friday afternoon afternoon prayers, all directed towards Mecca. No photos were allowed inside, and women had to wear a special robe (strict adherents to the Muslim faith have a very sketchy record when it comes to women's rights and freedoms), but the large domed space, built by Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal for his favourite wife) in the mid 17th century, was gorgeous.
Originating in 610 AD by the prophet Mohammed, Islam immediately began to spread, with the first Muslims arriving in what is now India from across the Arabian Sea in the 7th century. The word "islam" means to surrender and the guiding text has been the Quran (Koran), which advocates surrendering to the will of Allah (God). Allah is never to be depicted, so there are no statues, idols, or images. After Mohammed died, there was an argument over succession, and the religion split into Sunnis and Shiites, with India's population of Muslims now mostly Sunnis. All Muslims advocate a belief in five pillars: 1) Declaration of Faith, 2) Prayer (5 times a day), 3) Charitable Donations in the form of a tax, 4) Fasting during Ramadan (except for children, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly), and 5) the Hajj, which is a pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are encouraged to do at least once in their lifetimes.
After a few hundred years, skirmishes became assaults, particularly in the north, from what is now Afghanistan, where Islam flowered. Hindus and Muslims fought each other for centuries. In early 16th century the Mughal empire was established by Babur, a direct descendant of both Genghis Khan and Timur (also known as Tamerlane). Imagine those family reunions!
By the 18th century the empire was beginning to crack under pressure through a combination of over-expansion and the British who were establishing and expanding their own commercial interests. India's independence in 1947 meant another battle between Hindus and Muslims, this one initiated by bureaucracy. Overruling Ghandi's advocacy of one India for all, activists intervened (one Hindu activist murdered Ghandi, himself a Hindu). Lord Louis Mountbatten (Viceroy of India) was put in charge of the transition to independence, caved to civil protests and allowed the country to be split into three countries: Pakistan, the Republic of India and East Bengal (which is now Bangladesh) . This partition was roughly along religious lines, but it meant that all the Hindus in Pakistan and East Bengal were now in danger and fled for their lives to India, while Muslims in India did likewise to Pakistan and East Bengal. More than 10 million people had to change sides, and almost 1 millions lost their lives to Hindu and Sikh mobs on one side, and Muslim mobs on the other. The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir was and is still caught in the middle of this conflict.
Surely one of the most beautiful sounds is the call to prayer at specific times of the day. Mosques generally have minarets which would be climbed by the caller so that people in the neighbourhood would know when to bow towards Mecca and pray, either in the mosque or at home or work. We would be sitting in our room and suddenly hear a sonorous human voice calling through the dark. It was haunting and such a vibrant connection to humanity, this one voice calling to others in the dark.
We visited India's largest mosque, Old Delhi's Jama Masjid, which has a lovely big courtyard overlooking the Red fort. We climbed one of the minarets for a spectacular view and witnessed prayer rugs being laid out by the thousands 25,000 people can be accommodated) for Friday afternoon afternoon prayers, all directed towards Mecca. No photos were allowed inside, and women had to wear a special robe (strict adherents to the Muslim faith have a very sketchy record when it comes to women's rights and freedoms), but the large domed space, built by Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal for his favourite wife) in the mid 17th century, was gorgeous.
 |
| at India's largest mosque |
 |
| visiting women in their required robes - unflattering to all and yet quite lovely too |
 |
| laying out tens of thousands of rugs before visitors had to leave to allow adherent prayers you can see the rug pattern indicating the direction of Mecca |
 |
| the view from the minaret to the Red Fort beyond |
No comments:
Post a Comment