Peaceful Expansion of Islam in India

Syed Ubaidur Rahman’s book Peaceful Expansion of Islam in India is exhaustive, detailed and carefully researched. It speaks of the significant role played by Arab traders who were plying the region even before the advent of Islam and certainly before the first Islamic rulers came to India. The book emphasizes how Islam first reached the Malabar coast almost at a time when Prophet Muhammad was still alive and converted the King Cheraman Perumal who is also known to have made the hazardous journey to meet the Prophet in Mecca. 

As Rahman charts the gradual ‘peaceful’ expansion of Islam from Kerala, through Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bengal and Kashmir, he emphasizes the role played by the Sufis who belonged either to the Chishtiyya or Suharwardiyya order. The important names that come up in this context are those of Baba Farid Ganj-i-Shakar of Pakpattan and Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan. The exalted spiritual nature of the Sufis played a crucial role in convincing those who were marginalized in Indian society about the equal treatment and dignity that would be afforded to them in Islam. Sreemati Mukherjee Professor, Presidency University, Kolkata.

Expansion of Islam in India is something that has divided historians. While there are many who claim that Islam spread in the Indian Subcontinent by force and sword, the contending opinion suggests that Islam spread by peaceful means through merchants and Sufis. In this context, Syed Ubaidur Rahman’s latest work, based on rigorous research and using primary sources, is of immense importance as it dissects the false notion of forced conversion across much of India, especially South India. Peaceful Expansion of Islam in India fills a major gap in the history of Islam in India. No student of Islam in this region can afford to ignore this highly original, very well documented and flawlessly written book. Prof. Suchetana Chattopadhyay Jadavpur University, Kolkata.