The Prophet Mohammed himself was dead against the priestly class in any shape and tried his best for the total destruction of this power by formulating rules and injunctions to that effect.
Under the Mussalman rule, the king himself was the supreme priest; he was the chief guide in religious matters; and when he became the emperor, he cherished the hope of being the paramount leader in all matters over the whole Mussulman world.
To the Mussulman, the Jews or the Christians are not objects of extreme detestation; they are, at the worst, men of little faith.
But not so the Hindu.
According to him, the Hindu is idolatrous, the hateful Kafir; hence in this life he deserves to be butchered; and in the next, eternal hell is in store for him. The utmost the Mussulman kings could do as a favour to the priestly class -- the spiritual guides of these Kafirs -- was to allow them somehow to pass their life silently and wait for the last moment.
This was again sometimes considered too much kindness!
If the religious ardour of any king was a little more uncommon, there would immediately follow arrangements for a great Yajna by way of Kafir-slaughter!
- Swami Vivekananda,
‘Modern India’ – an article written
in Bengali for Udbodhan
Under the Mussalman rule, the king himself was the supreme priest; he was the chief guide in religious matters; and when he became the emperor, he cherished the hope of being the paramount leader in all matters over the whole Mussulman world.
To the Mussulman, the Jews or the Christians are not objects of extreme detestation; they are, at the worst, men of little faith.
But not so the Hindu.
According to him, the Hindu is idolatrous, the hateful Kafir; hence in this life he deserves to be butchered; and in the next, eternal hell is in store for him. The utmost the Mussulman kings could do as a favour to the priestly class -- the spiritual guides of these Kafirs -- was to allow them somehow to pass their life silently and wait for the last moment.
This was again sometimes considered too much kindness!
If the religious ardour of any king was a little more uncommon, there would immediately follow arrangements for a great Yajna by way of Kafir-slaughter!
- Swami Vivekananda,
‘Modern India’ – an article written
in Bengali for Udbodhan
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