Islam has triumphed for hundreds of centuries in India

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Taj Mahal is a landmark in the city of Agra, India, which due to its architectural brilliance is called one of the wonders of the world. But this white marble palace, besides the background of the love story behind it, is also a testimony to the history of existence Islam in this country of Bollywood.

The Taj Mahal is a trace of presence Islam in India best known to date. A work of Islamic architecture which was built during the time of Emperor Shah Jahan or Syihabuddin Shah Jahan who ruled in AH 1038-1069/AD 1628-1658).

According to Ahmad Rofi Usmani in Traces of Islam Explained, the era of Shah Jahan is widely known as the height of the glory of the Mughal Empire in India. This is because Shah Jahan was a general and avid art lover who left a rich architectural legacy including Taj Mahal and Old Delhi.

The Islamic civilization of India had incised the golden ink of its glory. One of them, when Mughal Empire stand up and grow quickly. Around this time, the Mughals became a superpower and were listed as one of the greatest empires in the world.

During its peak of about three Mughal centuries (1526-1858), the Mughal Empire controlled a very large region including Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Oud, Allahabad, Ajmer, Gujarat, Melwa, Bihar , Bengal, Khandes, Berar, Kashmir, Bajipur, Galkanda, Tahore and Trichinopoli. In the economic field, the Mughals exported fabrics to Europe

Mohamad Nurhakim in his book The Fall of a Tamadun, stated that the Mughals were not actually the first Muslim rulers in India.

Previously, the Umayyad dynasty under Caliph Al Walid attempted to open up India. There were also several small Islamic-style kingdoms before the birth of the Mughals, including the kingdom of Ghaznawi (977-1186), Khalji (1296-1316), Tughlaq (1320-1412), Sayyid (1414-1451) and Lodhi ( 1451). -1526). .

The Mughals were the last Islamic empire before India finally fell to the British. The sultanate was founded by Zahiruddin Babur, who is none other than a descendant of Timur Lenk, the ruler of the Mongols. The Mughal name is also said to be an Indo-Aryan dialectal spelling of the word Mongolian.

However, India’s encounter with Islam actually happened long before the time of the Mughal Empire. The meeting had started through the commercial network of Arab merchants since the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

Meanwhile, the official expedition was led by Muhammad Ibn Qasim of the Umayyads and then reached its peak during the time of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi who is also considered to be the person who started the history of Islam in the Indian subcontinent.

According to historians, the teachings of Islam came to the Indian subcontinent in three waves, namely when it was brought by the Arabs (8 AD), the Turks (12 AD) and in the 16th century AD by the Afghans.

Why Islam Has Ruled For Many Centuries Apart from the Taj Mahal in Agra, India also preserves other Islamic heritages, such as Jama’ Mosque, Qutub Minar and the Tomb of Hu mayun.

But a series of recent events in India highlight cases of alleged Islamophobic acts. From the hijab ban for students to the latest insulting statement from a ruling party spokesperson to the Prophet Muhammad and Sayyidah Aisha RA.