of course really meant a banishment of several years. Other unworthy
Ulemâs were displaced from their positions or deprived of their
sinecures; others who in their bitterness had caused rebellion or
incited or supported mutiny were condemned for high treason. The rich
property of the churches was for the most part confiscated and
appropriated for the general weal. In short, the power and influence
of the Ulemâs was completely broken down, the mosques stood empty and
were transformed into stables and warehouses.

Akbar had long ceased to be a faithful Moslem. Now after the fall of
the Ulemâs he came forward openly with his conviction, declared the
Koran to be a human compilation and its commands folly, disputed the
miracles of Mohammed and also the value of his prophecies, and denied
the doctrine of recompense after death. He professed the Brahman and
Sûfistic doctrine that the soul migrates through countless existences
and finally attains divinity after complete purification.

The assertion of the Ulemâs that every person came into the world
predisposed towards Islam and that the natural language of mankind was
Arabic (the Jews made the same claim for Hebrew and the Brahmans for
Sanskrit), Akbar refuted by a drastic experiment which does not
correspond with his usual benevolence, but still is characteristic of
the tendency of his mind. In this case a convincing demonstration
appeared to him so necessary that some individuals would have to
suffer for it. Accordingly in the year 1579 he caused twenty infants
to be taken from their parents in return for a compensation and
brought up under the care of silent nurses in a remote spot in which
no word should be spoken. After four years it was proved that as many
of these unhappy children as were still alive were entirely dumb and
possessed no trace of a predisposition for Islam.[35] Later the