Hindu-Muslim Religious Encounters during the Delhi Sultanate Period

Abstract

This article is an analytical reconsideration of the nature of the theological and cultural relationship that existed between Muslims and the Hindus in the Delhi Sultanate. It further aims at an examination of the religious attitudes of both communities towards each other. Historical links between Islam and Hinduism in the Indian subcontinent are extended into the very ancient past. Both religions have shared a long history that goes back to the early days of Islam. Religious interaction between Islam and Hinduism is a complex and multidimensional theme. It has its significance in the present world and in fact, it not only involves religious and theological issues but also many current socio-political and anthropological themes like race, gender, nation, and majority-minority relations are linked with the shared past of both communities in the Indian subcontinent. In this article, I explore the nature of the religious or theological interactions between both communities i.e., how Hindus generally and Brahmans particularly perceived and interpreted Islam and Muslims as newcomers to their land and what were the Muslim theological and intellectual perspectives on Indian traditions generally and on Hindus particularly.