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Muslim resistance to Sikh conquests
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After the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire empire started to decline. The Punjab had majority Muslim population of over sixty-six percent. The Mughal Empire faced the insurgency of the Sikh militant groups. The Sikh "misl", militant armies, took the advantage and occupied parts of the Punjab region. The Sikh instituted anti-Muslim pograms. The lands of the Muslim nobility was confiscated and atrocities were committed against the Muslim populace. The Muslim Adhan call to prayers, the Halal slaughter, especially the Cow slaughter, was punishable by death, many mosque were demolished or converted to gurdwaras, many tombs and buildings of were plundered and destroyed. Sikhs were particularly harsh on Ulemas, Muslim scholars, and Mullahs many were put to death. The Muslim nobility and clergy that protected the interests of Muslims was eliminated in the Sikh occupied areas of Punjab. The Muslims of Punjab were persecuted by the Sikhs. Many Muslims were coerced to convert to Sikhism and the percentage of the Muslims declined from sixty-six to fifty-five percent, a drop of over ten percent, during the Sikh rule in Punjab. The Muslims of Punjab requested help of Syed Ahmad Barelvi and he proclaimed a jihad (holy war) against the oppressive Sikh rule. The Sikhs, who ruled from (1799-1849), demolished monuments built by the Muslims and damaged the decorative art of several historic buildings. The diet of Muslims of Punjab changed due to prohibition of Halal meat, especially the beef. Shaheed Ganj Mosque There was a public square near the Shaheed Ganj Mosque, where criminals were punished during the tenure of Nawab Zakaria Khan, a Mughal governor of the Punjab in the 18th century. Taru Singh, a convicted supporter of rebels was hanged in this public square by the Mughal governor. After that incident, the Sikhs declared Taru Singh as a martyr and named the public square as Shaheed Ganj (Martyr Square). In 1762, the Bhangi Sikh Sardar army conquered Lahore and occupied the mosque, together with the public square. The Muslims were prohibited from entering and praying at the mosque. The Sikhs built a gurdwara (Sikh temple), known as Gurudwara Shaheed Ganj Bhai Taru Singh, in the courtyard and used the mosque building to house Sikh priests. Peshawar The Battle of Jamrud was fought by Emirate of Afghanistan against the invasion of Sikhs. The tribesman of Khattak and Yousafzais suffered enormous casualties due to the Sikh artillery and atrocities. The Pashtun faced atrocities in revenge by the Sikhs for the invasion of Punjab in 1757 by Ahmad Shah Durrani.
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