معرفت ادیان

With many followers in the world, Islam and Buddhism are two major schools which have a lot in common despite having many differences. The first conflicts between them occurred in the first years of the emergence of Islam in the eastern borders of Iran and northern India and reached their peak a few centuries later with the invasion of the Ghaznavid Turks. Many studies so far have been conducted regarding Muslims' viewpoint about Buddhists but what needs more investigation is the view of Buddhists concerning Islam as a new religion. In the beginning of the 11th century AD, the Buddhists, for the first time, dealt with and analyzed Islam and the beliefs and customs of Muslims in a collection of texts called "Kalachakra Tantra" which belongs to the school of Vajrayana. Despite admiring Islam in some aspects, the authors of these texts present an unfair image of Islam and argue in an old myth that the religion of the Muslim invaders is a satanic system that will eventually be destroyed by the Buddhist kingdom. This research, which was carried out using the library method, is aimed at introducing the Kalachakra Tantra texts and investigating the views of the Buddhists of that time about Muslims. It is hoped that the paper provides a basis for a better understanding of these two religions.