The destruction of Hindu temples at the hands of Islamized invaders continued for more than eleven hundred years, from the middle of the seventh century to the end of the eighteenth. It took place all over the cradle of Hindu culture, from Sinkiang in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South, and from Seistan in the West to Assam in the East.

All along, the iconoclasts remained convinced that they were put- ting into practice the highest tenets of their religion. They also saw to it that a record was kept of what they prized as a pious performance. The language of the record speaks for itself. It leaves no doubt that they took immense pride in doing what they did. It is inconceivable that a constant and consistent behaviour pattern, witnessed for a long time and over a vast area, can be explained except in terms of a settled system of belief which leaves no scope for second thoughts.

Looking at the very large number of temples, big and small, destroyed or desecrated or converted into Muslim monuments, eco- nomic or political explanations can be only a futile, if not a fraudulent, exercise. The explanations are not even plausible.. In fact, it is not at all difficult to locate the system of belief which inspired the behaviour pattern. We have only to turn to the scriptures of Islam-the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet-and we run straight into what we are looking for.

The principles which were practised, and the pious precedents which were followed by the subsequent swords- men of Islam are, all of them, there.The scriptures of Islam do not merely record what its Allah ordained and its prophet did in the past; they also prescribe that what is recorded should be imitated by the faithful in the future, till the end of time. That is why the swordsmen of Islam who functioned in times much later than that of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, did what they did.

Credit – @SitaRamGoel_Voi

Reference – Islam vis-à-vis Hindu Temples, Page 18

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