Between 800 CE and 1600 CE Islam penetrated into South Asia bringing them

lighter taxes and a stricter government system but many aspects of the South Asian

religions and gender-roles remained the same. While the Islamic culture adhered to its

rigid monotheistic religion, the Hindus remained uninfluenced and prevailed with their

sacred beliefs but became culturally weak and were swayed by Islam. Islam aimed to

seize political power over parts of India and succeeded. This rooted a Muslim dynasty in

Delhi, the heartland of India, which ruled for 300 years, transforming the Indian culture

into Islamic, but the overall role of woman remained unchanged.

When Islam first arrived to South Asia during the reign of Uthman, the Islamic

and Hindu people retained peace by socially refraining from interacting with each other.

It was uncommon and nearly forbidden for Hindus to marry or communicate with the

converts of Islam. Although Islam impacted India, the women of India still continued to

marry at young ages. The most common people to convert to Islam were Buddhist and

the lower classes of the caste systems because they wanted to escape the taxes of the

Muslim rulers who taxed heavier on non-believers. This gave the lower class a new title

and a place in society. Hinduism on the other hand grew stronger in cults and persisted to

practice worshipping their many gods. This created a strong division, which did not exist

before, between the converts and Hindus. Indian architecture slowly changed as mosques

and buildings with circular domes were built. With time the Islamic community was also

impacted by the Indian culture. Around the 8th century Islam began to be enriched by the

discoveries and skills introduced by the Indians. Arab thinkers began to use the numerical

system which originated from the Indians. This system brought advancements in trading

and is used all over the world. As Islam spread it furthered India’s recognition which
broadened their achievements in algebra and geometry, science, and music to Baghdad

and surrounding countries.

Islamic schools and mosques frequently became the centers of regional political

power in India. Sufis organized a military to protect the Islamic community from rivals

but they welcomed low-castes and out-castes of the Hindus to convert to Islam. The

Muslims also began to dictate sectors within Indian cities by building mosques and

temples which added to the present tension between the Hindus and Muslims, eventually

the tension exploded with warfare and rioting. Soon Muslim rulers began to acquire

political traits of Hindu beliefs. Hindus staffed the bureaucracies and made up most of the

Muslim armies while Muslim leaders adopted the Hindu-inspired regal styles and laws.

Some of the Muslim rulers thought themselves as divine and changed the currency by

minting coins with Hindu images such as a the Nandi which is the bull associated with a

major Hindu god, Shiva.

Although Muslims promised to tax lighter, the rulers taxed non-Muslims greater

than the Muslims with jizya and property taxes. This caused the non-Muslims to

intermarry or convert in order to escape taxes which increased the Islamic population.

Muslims and Hindus traded peacefully despite the constant tension between them.

Muslim merchants traded goods along the Indian Ocean Trade Network which is still in

use today. They brought new agricultural goods, spices and most importantly, cotton.

The trade of cotton sparked the beginning of the textile industry. The Indian Ocean

Trade Network is also responsible for the spread of Islam which affected the entire world.

As Islamic merchants traveled along the trade route which connected them to many

regions they were allow to share their beliefs with others. Also they brought Indian
inventions such as sophisticated instruments, Arabic numbers and the concept of zero.

These new discoveries and ideas furthered technology and eventually brought about great

advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art,

literature, and history.

When Islam entered India it automatically sucked in the lower caste system who

felt they had no place in society, and the Buddhist who had a weak religion compared to

the rigorous organized Muslims. Islam, however could not impact the faith of Hinduism.

With Hinduism being unaffected, they influenced the Muslim rulers with their regal

styles and laws. The Indian economy was changed when the Muslims made heavier

taxes on the non-Muslim people and traded cotton along the Indian Ocean trade network.