Editing Muhammad ibn al-Qasim (section)

==Controversy==
There is controversy regarding the conquest and subsequent conversion of Sindh. This is usually voiced in two antagonistic perspectives viewing Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's actions.<ref name="Derryl2">{{harvnb|MacLean|1989|pp=22–29}}</ref>

His conquest, as described by Stanley Lane-Poole, in Medieval India (Published in 1970 by Haskell House Publishers Ltd), was "liberal". He imposed the customary poll tax, took hostages for good conduct and spared peoples' lives and lands. He even left their shrines undesecrated: 'The temples;'  he proclaimed, 'shall be inviolate, like the churches of the Christians, the synagogues of the Jews and altars of the Magians'.<ref>''Medieval India'' by Stanley Lane-Poole, Published by Haskell House Publishers Ltd. NY 1970. Page 10</ref> In the same text, however, it is mentioned that "Occasional desecration of Hindu fanes took place... but such demonstrations were probably rare sops to the official conscience...", as destruction of temples and civilian massacres still took place.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4oxDQAAQBAJ&dq=arisen+from+the+small+number+of+the+invading+force%2C+as+well+as+from+ignorance+of+civil+institutions&pg=PA169 A Book of Conquest]'', p. 169, authored by Manan Ahmed Asif, published by Oxford University Press, 19-Sep-2016.</ref>

#''Coercive conversion'' has been attributed to early historians such as Elliot, Cousens, Majumdar and Vaidya.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=22-29}} They hold the view that the conversion of Sindh was necessitated. Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's numerical inferiority is said to explain any instances of apparent religious toleration, with the destruction of temples seen as a reflection of the more basic, religiously motivated intolerance.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=22-29}}
#''Voluntary conversion'' has been attributed to Thomas W. Arnold and modern Muslim historians such as Habib and Qureishi. They believe that the conquest was largely peaceful, and the conversion entirely so, and that the Arab forces enacted liberal, generous and tolerant policies.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=22-29}} These historians mention the "praiseworthy conduct of Arab Muslims" and attribute their actions to a "superior civilizational complex".<ref name="Derryl3">{{harvnb|MacLean|1989|pp=31–33}}</ref>

Various [[polemic]]al perceptions of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are also reflected in this debate.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=31–33}} The period of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's rule has been called by U.T. Thakkur "the darkest period in Sindh history", with the records speaking of massive forced conversions, temple destruction, slaughters and genocides; the people of Sindh, described as inherently pacifist due to their Hindu/Buddhist religious inclinations, had to adjust to the conditions of "barbarian inroad".<ref name="Thakkur">''Sindhi Culture'' by U.T. Thakkur, University of Bombay 1959</ref> On one extreme, the [[Arab Muslims]] are seen as being compelled by religious stricture to conquer and forcibly convert Sindh, but on the other hand, they can be seen as being respectful and tolerant of non-Muslims as part of their religious duty, with conversion being facilitated by the vitality, equality and morals of the Islamic religion.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=31–33}} Citations of towns taken either violently or bloodlessly, reading back into Arab Sindh information belonging to a later date and accounts such as those of the forcible circumcision of Brahmins at Debal or Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's consideration of Hindu sentiment in forbidding the slaughter of cows are used as examples for one particular view or the other.{{sfn|MacLean|1989|pp=31–33}}

Some historians strike a middle ground, saying that Muhammad ibn al-Qasim was torn between the political expediency of making peace with the Hindus and Buddhists; having to call upon non-Muslims to serve under him as part of his mandate to administer newly conquered land; and orthodoxy by refraining from seeking the co-operation of "infidels". It is contended that he may have struck a middle ground, conferring the status of [[Dhimmi]] upon the native Sindhis and permitting them to participate in his administration, but treating them as "non-citizens" (i.e. in the Caliphate, but not of it).<ref name="Appleby292"/>

While Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's warring was clearly at times brutal, he is supposed to have said of Hinduism that 'the idol temple is similar to the churches of the Christians, (to the synagogues) of the Jews and to the [[fire temples]] of the [[Zoroastrians]]' (''mā al-budd illā ka-kanāʾis al-naṣārā wa ’l-yahūd wa-buyūt nīrān al-madjūs'').{{sfn|Friedmann|1993|pp=405–406}} This 'seems to be the earliest statement justifying the inclusion of the Hindus in the category of ''[[Dhimmi|ahl al-dhimma]]'', leading Muhammad to be falsely viewed by many modern Muslims as a paragon of religious tolerance.{{sfn|Friedmann|1993|p=406}}