Abstract
The British colonial rule in the Indian Sub-Continent created a lasting social, cultural and religious impact on the lives of the local people. Islam was specially treated as a grave threat by the colonial government, and it took a number of steps against Islam to undermine it. Literature carrying highly provocative and incendiary material against Islamic beliefs and traditions was produced by the priests in tacit connivance of the British government. It resulted in the conversion of some Muslims to Christianity who wrote their tales of conversion in the form of autobiographies in which they subjected both Islam and Muslims to severe criticism. They tried to discredit the Qur’ān, Ḥadīth, Sīrah and Taṣawwuf and made fun of the different eras of the Muslim history with a view to promote hatred from for Islamic values among Muslims. Such criticism of Islam by these new converts needed to be countered and answered in a balanced way. The present study, therefore, presents an overview of the specific Christian literature against Islam in order to fulfill the scholarly needs of the subject. The scholarly work on this topic will offer a strong defense of Islam and the Islamic values against the external attacks.
Keyword(s)
Autobiography, Biography, Christianity, Conversion, India, Islam, Priest, The British