Page 20 - Islam and Far Eastern Religions

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he first religion that springs to mind when Eastern
Religions are mentioned is the superstitious religion
of Hinduism with its 900 million followers. This is a

significant number. Around 15% of the world popu-
lation follows Hinduism and a great proportion of
India, Nepal and Indonesia are Hindu.
Approximately 90% of India’s population or 700 million of its people be-
lieve in Hinduism.
Strictly speaking it is wrong to call Hinduism a religion, because
whereas Islam, Christianity and Judaism (though Christianity and
Judaism were altered after their revelation) are true religions based on
Divine revelation, Hinduism is a philosophy, a way of life and a culture
originating from superstitious traditions that developed over many cen-
turies. When we say “Hinduism is a false religion”, we are speaking of
the centuries old pagan Hindu culture.
Throughout history the lands around the Indus River have been
populated by different cultures with different beliefs and traditions.

India has been occupied many times. The oldest known conquerors of
these lands are the Aryans who, descended from the North West and oc-
cupied Northern India between BC 2500-1500. This was not just a mili-
tary occupation of Indian lands; the Aryans established their own civi-
lization formed by synthesizing their own culture with elements of the
native traditions. Whilst the native Indians were dark-skinned, Aryans
were a white-skinned and tall race and the new culture was racist; it
privileged the whites at the expense of the native population.
The Vedas written by the Aryans in Sanskrit around 1000 BC are
generally acknowledged to be the oldest known Hindu texts. In the sub-
sequent periods more texts by different authors were added to the
Vedas, which when combined, became acknowledged as the so-called

Islam And Far Eastern Religions