Da'wa - The invitation to convert to Islam

Hinduism is the most accepting and tolerant of all the world’s religions. It has a 2 thousand year record of living in harmony with all religions and never disparaging the beliefs of others. The early Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians all found refuge and the complete freedom to practice their religion in India. In fact the first post exile independent Jewish state was founded in Malabar, South India.

“Islam” is said to be the religion of peace. But “Islam” does not mean peace (although it comes from the same root slm) but submission to the will of Allah — and the will of Allah is the subjugation of the whole world to Islam. The Muslims invaded India, massacring the civilian population, looting, pillaging and demolishing thousands of temples and forcing tens of thousands of Hindus into conversion. Mosques were built on the most sacred of Hindu sites — the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, one in Mathura on the birth-place of Krishna and one in the most sacred cities of all — Banares – right next to the Vishvanatha Mandir. The usual practice was to demolish the temple and then incorporate the temple masonry into the building of the Mosque to testify to the victory of Islam. After all this the Hindus still accepted their presence and were gracious to them. (In Saudi Arabia one cannot even bring a Bible or a Gita or rosary into the country let alone build a church or a temple!).

The pre-medieval 6th century Arab pagan tribes were a proud, chauvinistic, aggressive, unruly people living in harsh unpredictable conditions. They fought amongst themselves, raiding, robbing and pillaging each other, enjoying blood feuds lasting for generations, practising female infanticide and polygamy (because of the number of men killed in battle), and trading in slaves. Islam united them and brought about peace among the tribes. It provided a form of radical justice that was perfectly suited to them. Islam was perfect for the Arabian peninsular of the pre-medieval world.

One can argue that all the laws of the Quran as well as the massacres perpetrated by Muslims are also found in the Bible. But there is a difference. Since the Reformation and Enlightenment in Europe and the ascent of humanism there is not a single priest, minister or rabbi who advocates returning to the Mosaic law1. Islam has yet to undergo a “Reformation”. There are a few lone Imams and scholars that are calling for a more moderate interpretation of the Quran and a contextualising of some of the more hostile passages denouncing the “unbelievers — Jewish, Christian and Pagan,” and playing down certain aspects of Muhammad’s personal example. But as long as Islam is obsessed with it’s own sense of superiority over all other religions and political ideaologies, and that the Quran is the last and perfect Word of Allah, valid and current for all times and places then peaceful co-existence in the pluralistic and democratic societies of the West will be difficult. Unfortunately the voice of moderation in the Islamic world is weak and those who do speak out against the radicals live in fear of their personal safety.

Hinduism is the oldest of the major religions having sacred texts dating back 7000. Our religion is a truly universal religion in that it accepts the Truths that are found in all other religions. It inculcates absolute values of goodness, and kindness to all sentient beings. The Hindu Scriptures declare that any form of injury to another living being by word, deed or thought is sinful and all acts of kindness to all beings is considered as merit. Ahimsa or non-injury is declared to be the highest form of religion. There are 3 core values which define Hinduism — (1) non-aggression to any living being, (2) universal compassion and (3) generosity to all. Hinduism was the predominant religion throughout the whole of South East Asia for thousands of years but Hindus have never conquered any other people or spread their religion through violence. Hindus achieved excellence in mathematics, medicine, art, astronomy, music, drama, dance and all other forms of civilization. The Hindus have had a tradition of philosophical enquiry supported by vigorous logic and debate, welcomed criticism, encouraged free-thought and free expression of ideas. There is no concept in Hinduism of heresy, blasphemy or any history of sectarian persecution or repression. When we pray, we pray for the welfare of all sentient beings wherever they are. We pray that peace may prevail — even for the animals, birds, and trees. Why would we want to accept the invitation to Islam and abandon intellectual and spiritual freedom, universalism and compassion for sectarianism, discrimination and hate? It’s like inviting a free person to become a slave! Islam has absolutely nothing to offer us that can in anyway improve our lives. If it be said that Islam guarantees our salvation, we reply that our religion already does that, as well as affirming that all beings will eventually be liberated and attain unification with the Godhead. A concept of eternal separation from God and eternal damnation for most souls is an abomination in itself and affront to the perfection God and humanity!

Islam is a proselytizing faith and all men and women are “invited” (da’wa) to accept Islam. In this pamphlet I examine the articles of Islam from a Hindu perspective. Hindu philosophical methodology has always fostered doubt and encouraged debate. The Quran repeatedly invites us to examine the proofs and to discern truth from falsehood2. It is very quick to point out the doctrinal faults of the Jews, Christians and the Pagans in order to affirm its own superiority. So it is with this right of reciprocal criticism that I write this pamphlet. My intention is not to denigrate Islam but examine the “invitation” and to point out it’s fallacies from a Hindu perspective.

Now with the rise of Islamic radicalism and chauvanism, Hindus are once again being targeted and attacked on the internet. This is not a conflict that we initiated or want, but we have a right and the intellectual duty to defend ourselves against false accusations and the promotion of false and delusional ideologies. The Holy Quran supports us in this endeavour:—

8:22 For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the (metaphorically) deaf and the dumb
— those who don’t use their intellect.

The Muslims aver that the Quran is the final Revelation of Allah, every word of it is the word of God, eternal and perfect. Hindus believe that the Gita is the eternal and perfect word of God spoken directly to his disciple Arjuna over 3000 years before Islam. Neither claim can be objectively substantiated and both are ultimately based on personal faith alone. If the god of the Hindus is same as the god of the Muslims then two opposing and incompatible revelations have been made, according to time, place and circumstance. If they are different gods then the revelation of one must be objectively superior to the other — it is up to the discerning reader to decide.

The articles of Islam that we are invited to accept are in black text and the Hindu response is in blue text. The boxes contain quotes from the Word of God revealed to the Hindus in the Gita.

1 In fact the prophet denounced the Jews of Arabia for failing to implement the Mosaic law of stoning for adulterers in the 6th century!

2 8: 8. That He might justify Truth and prove Falsehood false, distasteful though it may be to those in guilt.

Continue reading A Hindu Response to Da'wa (invitation to convert to Islam).

The Evangelical Christians have declared a war on Hinduism and are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into their pernicious agenda of converting a many Hindus as possible.  Hinduism is the oldest of the world's religions and has always rejected the concept of proselytisation. It spread throughout South East Asia through the truth of it's teachings that were absorbed spontaneously by the local populace. Hindus have never sent out missionaries to convert others and have always welcomed other religions and have given them space to build their churches, mosques and synagogues — even contributing to their construction. Now the same people that we welcomed as guests have now these ingrates have begun to deconstruct the house in which they were welcomed!

My position is that Christianity is a false religion. It is one in which I was baptised and which I have rejected. The reasons being many, but above all it is a religion based entirely on false  premises  such as Adam & Eve, talking snakes, original sin, vicarious sacrifice, resurrection of dead bodies etc. The God of the Christians is an angry, unstable, cranky, spiteful, ungrateful malicious being — who is even worse than the Asuras of Hinduism.

The entire edifice of evangelical1 Christianity is the Bible.  All the evangelical churches claim that the Bible is “The Literal Word of God” in it's entirety, revealed by the Holy Spirit. Modern textual criticism has shown that the Bible is a work of multiple authors who wrote pieces of it over many centuries. It is exactly what we Hindus call a Purana. It has a few extracts of history but consists mainly of tribal legends, myths, magic, hymns etc. The Bible is divided into the Jewish Scriptures called The Old Testament, and the Christian addition which is called the New Testament.  The Old Testament in it's fixed form was put together by the rabbis at the Council of Yavneh in around 70 CE. The New Testament was cobbled together by vote at the Council of Niceah by a council of 300 bishops.

In this article I base all my arguments  entirely on the Bible itself, assuming for the sake of debate that it is Truly the Word of God. Now if  this is so, then Christianity must  fulfil all the conditions that are prescribed in the Bible for it to be considered a valid religion and Jesus must be validated by the Bible  for who he claims to be. So in this article I lay before discerning readers evidence from the Bible itself for each and every thinking person to decide for him/herself. I do not present any Hindu arguments for or against. I merely take the Bible as evidence. I personally do not accept the Bible  as the word of God but  my personal opinion is irrelevant for this discussion, what matters is what the  Christians themselves claim and believe and ask us to believe too! Many Hindus take a very accommodating  attitude and include Jesus among the great Yogis  or even an avatara of Vishnu himself. There is absolutely no historical evidence that Jesus even existed let alone textual evidence that he became a Yogi or an enlightened being! As for being an incarnation of Vishnu — the idea is ludicrous!  So I ask my readers please to have an open mind and allow the text to speak for itself.

Continue reading Why Hindus Should Reject Jesus.

It is customary among women of the northern Indian states to wear veils (odhni) over their heads at the time of marriage.  Some modern young brides would prefer not to wear a veil but are pressured into doing so by their mothers and older female relatives.

It is important to note that veils began to be worn by Hindu women only after the Muslim conquest — either through social influence or to avoid the prying eyes of Muslim men. Women at the courts also started wearing veils and submitting to various forms of seclusion (purdah). The common people followed suit and soon all Hindu women of social status began observing the same degree of seclusion followed by the Muslim women. The only exception were the poor who had to work in the fields or in the markets – but even they covered their heads and in Rajasthan took to covering their faces as well.

What is the real Hindu position on this matter?

Nowhere in any of the scriptures are there prescriptions for men or women’s clothing.  Both men and women can wear what they like in accordance with their regional customs and traditions. In the old pre-islamic painting and sculptures we note that both women and men wore almost the same attire — a single cloth around the waist, bare upper body and sometimes some form of turban on the head.

In South India the Muslim influence was considerably less and there we see that women have never been either secluded from daily social life or in any way covered.  On the contrary — since all women are the embodiments of Lakshmi it is considered highly offensive that any woman would cover her head — especially at the time of marriage where the bride is honoured as Lakshmi herself and the groom as Vishnu!

Even on the Hindu island of Bali – both men and women were bare-chested until the Dutch occupation in the early 1900’s — the Dutch officials then demanded that the women cover their breasts in order not to disturb the minds and morals of the Dutch soldiers! 

So living in the West, free from the constraints of family and village influences, we now have the perfect opportunity of divesting ourselves of this custom of Muslim origin and return to real Hindu values in which women are honoured as goddesses not veiled as chattels or a temptresses.