برصغیر کے مرتدین: سلطان محمد پال کا خصوصی مطالعہ

Apostates of the Subcontinent: A Case Study of Sulṭān Muḥammad Paul

Abstract

Islām started in the Subcontinent in the early 8th century. Though, Hinduism and Christianity already existed here but Islam affected the Indian society rapidly more than these two religions. This was the reason it spread all over the Subcontinent very soon. Christian preachers established intellectual and theoretical circumambience against the Muslims particularly during British imperialism some anti-Islāmic activities were started because of which a great number of Muslims reverted from Islām. There were people in these apostates related to different classes of Indian society. These apostates not only published anti-Islāmic literature based on objections and allegations but also established such organizations and institutions from which different anti-Islāmic movements set in. Sulṭān Paul, who was born in 1881 and raised in an Afghan Muslim family, subsequently converted to Christianity in 1903. He rose to prominence in the Subcontinent for his Christian activities. He made an effort to integrate biblical literature with the Qur‘ān through his writings, defending Christianity and addressing Islam and other religions. The study explores Sulṭān Paul’s contributions and illuminates his thoughts on Islam.