Islamisation of Europe
As Europe faces the forces of Islamisation I wonder how it would have been in the 1100s when the Islamisation of India started.
The recent pro-Palestinian protests in Europe have raised the spectre of Islamisation of the continent. I can remember a Europe of the 1980s, free, teeming with ideas, partly racist (yes), but looking at global integration. Compared to that, the Europe of today has changed drastically. It is now vastly more racist, and the society is fragmenting. But the core value system was still there till the huge influx of Islamic migrants - mostly single young men.
In today’s Europe, I see the India of 1100CE.
As per Angus Madison, India was the richest country at the time.
It was a free country, and Greek writer Megasthenes observed in the 4th Century BCE that slavery was banned.
Freedom of faith was respected, and diverse philosophies thrived and were encouraged. New religious thoughts and experiments were undertaken.
Victims of religious persecution were given protection.
Jews fleeing the Babylonian and Roman conquest found refuge in India.
The descendants of Prophet Mohammaed, persecuted by then Caliphs, also found refuge in India around the 8th Century.
Iranian Zoroastrian followers, persecuted by Islamic invasions, had arrived in the 8th Century CE.
Science and technology were thriving with the invention of surgery, mathematics, astronomy, etc. These developments were backed by some of the oldest universities in the World [Taxashila and Nalanda being two well-known of the many]
We already had women scholars and monarchs. There was advancement in women’s fashion and jewellery. Women did not feel compelled to cover themselves.
There was trade and commerce with the world, including ships and caravans. Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and African traders travelled within the country.
There were grand temples with exquisite carvings and sculptures. Many of these were crowd-funded.
It was around this time that the second wave of Islamic invasions of India began. What followed was a cultural churn and turmoil.
Indians were sent into ISIS-style slavery in the Middle East. Indian wealth was gradually extracted and sent to finance the conquests in Turkey and elsewhere. Women preferred dying to being captured by the Islamic invaders.
Universities were burnt, and knowledge was lost. Temples were looted and destroyed.
However, much of the change was cultural. Obnoxious ideas developed in the Middle East became part of Indian culture.
Probably for the fear of being abducted and sold into slavery, Indian women and girls began retreating into the privacy of their homes.
Men and boys were now compelled to take up arms to protect their land, crops, cows, wealth and, most importantly, women.
While the Islamic control over India was tenuous, there were periods of pogroms and genocide where mounds of Hindu skulls were created at every town square. The period was brutal, with the same acts we saw in ISIS-controlled Iraq and Syria. The very same acts we saw Hamas inflict on Israelis on Oct 7th 2023.
The personal and physical exploitation by the British seemed quite tame when compared to the Islamic barbarity experienced in various parts of the country. British were seen as saviours at times (for attacking and killing the Islamic controllers). However, Britain was deliberate and systematic in their economic exploitation of India.
To create the cultural space to fight Islamisation, India had to give up land. Before 1100 CE, it gave up Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia. In 1947, when the Brits left, India had to give up one-third of its territory - what is today’s Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan (parts) and Myanmar.
Another template for Islamisation - the Iran model model
What I call the Iran model actually began with the Islamisation of Persia. The Persian empire, with its capital in Persepolis in the South of Iran, was a thriving centre which fell to the Islamic forces later. The first wave eliminated the Zoroastrians who fled to India in the 8th century CE. The rest of Iran quickly succumbed and became the hotbed of Shia Islam.
The process of de-Islamisation of the Middle East was initiated by the Shah of Iran here (and Atatürk in Turkey), but it fell apart quickly. The re-Islamisation was swift and more radical.
I suspect if Europe is indeed Islamised, then it will follow the Iran model.
Islamisation of India is still in progress.
While the Indian model is the only one where the original culture is still standing, the cost in terms of lives, land and resources is quite high. Further, the forces of Islamisation are still at work in India. The radical Islamic forces are still trying their damnest to push this project forward. As goes the Talibani saying, “You may have the clock, but we have the time.”
In Sum
Today’s Europe is in a similar position as India was in 1100CE. At the same time, we in India will see first-hand some rationale for the decisions our ancestors made in defence of India. Probably, when Indians see the Islamisation of Europe, we will be able to develop new strategies to ward off this threat.
Or, Europe can wake up, and we can avoid all this.