There has been a good deal written about Canaanite-Israelite syncretism in the period of say 1100 BCE-587 BCE. It occurred to me that it might be possible to consider inter-religious/inter-cultural relations in India as an analogue that might provide insights into what might have been going on in Ancient Israel if, what I call, the sui generis scenario were being considered. See my paper Israelite Religion to Judaism: the Evolution of the Religion of Israel which is organized as follows. I do not think it useful to repeat that discussion here

2. How are Ancient Canaan and India Similar and How Different?

Superficially, Vedic Religion and popular Hinduism have many apparent similarities with Canaanite religion as we know it. An example could be the similarity of Indra to the Canaanite Baal. However, there is no known tradition of theological speculation in Canaan that can in any way compare with the Hindu philosophical tradition.

3. Islam and Hinduism – Polar Opposites[1]

“… Islam, like Hinduism, was less a religion than an entire civilization; and two ways of life more antipathetic it would be hard to conceive. Indeed had it been attempted deliberately to frame a culture point by point the opposite of Hinduism no better results could have been achieved than the system of Muhammed. In theological ideas, in legal conceptions, in philosophy of life, in the family organizations, in food, social customs, language, even in clothes, Hindus and Moslems found themselves opposed. Breathing from infancy the axioms of caste, Hindus accepted human inequality as a permanent and inexpugnable fact; Islam was a leveling religion with a passion for equality by which even its monarchs were periodically humbled. Hinduism, if in its purest form neither idolatrous nor polytheist, permitted among its rank and file the crudest forms of worship; Islam has always been iconoclast. In spite of the worldly display of India, Hinduism honoured the ascetic and was awed by the other-worldly; Islam, in spite of its puritan sects was a voluptuous religion. The emotional impulse of Hinduism was the quest for tranquility; of Islam … the lust for action. Hinduism was subtle, elaborate, luxuriant; Islam plain and unadorned

“That the two cultures interacted and modified one another goes without saying…. The great bulk of the Moslems of the lower class were converts form the depressed castes of Hindus, and these at least in part retained caste observance, conserved something of the Hindu ritualism which in theory was so abhorrent to their new faith, and refused to be turned from the age-old superstitions of their race. Hindus on the other side adopted Moslim saints as their deities, in some cases permitted Moslems to worship according to Islamic practice in Hindu temples, and in others participated in Moslem festivals; and to the detriment of their intellectual life adopted the Moslem custom of purdah. But the rapprochement never amounted to fusion. The communities were too unlike to be fitted together. On both sides there remained solid blocs of the orthodox – ultra-montane, uninfluenced, intransigent, and capable of developing within themselves fierce proselytizing movements in favour of a return to the strictest exclusiveness.” . From Schuster, Sir G. and Wint, G, India and Democracy, MacMillan 1941

“In most of the environments where Hindus and Muslims found themselves during the Islamic period in India, there were varying degrees of interpenetration of cultures; in some respects, by the eighteenth century, a synthetic Indo-Islamic culture had developed. At the rural level, the synthetic or syncretistic culture was represented by the use of ritual and social forms associated with the other religion by members of each religion. Most rural Muslims, many of whom were descended from Hindus, continued many of the same religious practices they had followed as Hindus. For example, the cult of Pancho Pir… was devoted to Muslim saints, and Hindus and Muslims alike went on pilgrimages to worship at the shrine of the five Pirs or saints.” From India: the Social Anthropology of a Civilization by B. S. Cohn, Prentice-Hall 1971

4. Sikhism a Synthesis of Hinduism and Islam

Sikhism was a historical development of the Hindu Vaisnava Bhakti movement—a devotional movement among followers of the god Vishnu—that began in the Tamil area of southern India and was introduced to the north in the 12^th century. In the 14th and 15th centuries, and after prolonged confrontation with Islam, the movement spread across the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Bhaktas believed that God, in spite of his many names is the one and the only reality; that all else is illusion. Kabir (1440–1518), a medieval mystic poet and religious synthesist, was the link between Hindu Bhakti and Islamic Sufi mysticism. The Sufis believed in singing hymns and in meditation under guidance of a leader. They welcomed non-Muslims in their hospices. Sikhism drew inspiration from both Bhaktas and Sufis.

From India: the Social Anthropology of a Civilization by B. S. Cohn, Prentice-Hall 1971

Tables and Diagrams

Table A

Canaanite Religion vs. Israelite Religion and Indian Analogues

	Canaan - Israel	Indian Analogues
Polytheistic Culture and Religion	Canaanite Polytheism as reflected in the Ugaritic Tablets	Old Iranian Polytheism, Vedic and then popular (not philosophic) Hindu Polytheism as reflected in India’s ancient literature and what records exist
Typology of Early Israelite (before Deut. Reform) Religion	1. Either it was a henotheism that developed into a monotheism that either emerged from Canaanite religion when a national god YHWH was brought in from outside; or, developed from early Semitic religion which was a “practical monotheism” in which only El= YHWH was worshiped.[2] In either case YHWH was identified with the Canaanite High God El[3], and accepted as the only or main object of worship by the emerging Israelite confederacy i.e. association of clans and tribes; or,	Sikhism – monotheistic development of Hindu Bhakti very strongly influenced by Islamic Sufi mysticism
	*2. It came into being as a sui generis* ethical monotheism.**	Islam – Entered India fully formed, completely from outside. Radically different both in ideology, practices and in culture of bringers.
Relationship to Earlier Population Groups	Probably a small number of outsiders brought the worship of YHWH and the major traditions of: the Sinai Experience; the Egyptian and liberation; and, having been of Aramean origin. Their tradition provided the binding ideology and identity for a nascent Israel made up of both immigrant groups and disaffected Canaanites. The hill-country settling Israelites continued to share the land, sometimes peacefully and sometimes violently, with the city-dwelling traditional Canaanites until the latter were absorbed into Israel under the monarchy.	Islam was brought to India by a ruling class mostly of Turkish, Mongol and Afghan extraction. After taking power, they succeeded in making many local converts mostly from very poor and marginalized who continued to share culture, language, social practices and values with former co-religionists and to live among them.
Synthesis *I am defining synthesis* as being an attempted union or reconciliation of diverse, but ultimately reconcilable tenets, institutions or practices producing a religion or culture that is viable.**	See for details Ø Accepted Canaanite language; Ø Accepted Canaanite cultic nomenclature; Ø Accepted Canaanite agricultural festivals Ø Israelites identified YHWH with the Canaanite High God El Ø *Israelites took over Canaanite cult sites (bamot).*	Sikhism – a new monotheistic Indian religion formed from elements of Islam and Hinduism
Syncretism I am defining syncretism as being an attempted union or reconciliation of diverse, ultimately irreconcilable tenets, institutions or practices producing a religion or culture that is "artificial", "synthetic" or derivative rather than one which is sui generis. Such religions or cultures are usually doomed by the ultimate irreconcilability of their constituents.	See	1. Islam – sharing of worship and customs at village level with Hindus 2. Sikhism – sharing of worship and customs at village level with Hindus *3. Akbar’s idiosyncratic Din Illahi.*

Table B

Canaanite Religion Compared to Israelite Religion (as reflected in the Torah)

Canaanite Religion	Israelite Religion
Many gods	Only YHWH may be worshiped by Israel and he is unique and without rival. Other gods may exist but they cannot be compared with YHWH.
Images	No images
Many local shrines, ritual, organized priesthood, nature festivals	Before settlement earthen alters at encampments. Head of clan sacrifices.
Priesthood probably hereditary[4]	Priesthood hereditary by time of the Torah but earlier sacrificial functions carried out by family or clan heads.
El creates and procreates sexually	YHWH is creator of everything and has complete control. He is the god of war.
Baal controls the weather and hence fertility of land. Baal and consort are deities of fertility, sex and war.
Pattern is cycle of nature.	God acts and the people live in meaningful history with direction. Covenant is part of this
Destruction on earth is due to conflict between the gods i.e. Baal and consort vs. gods of death, chaos and the sea.	Destruction due to human sin.
Child sacrifices and cult prostitution.	Forbidden

Table C

Israelite Religion [5] as Reflected in the Torah Compared to Islam[6]

Israelite Religion	Islam
Only YHWH may be worshiped by Israel and he is unique and without rival. Other gods may exist but they cannot be compared with YHWH.	Same for Allah
No images	Same
Before settlement earthen alters at encampments. Head of clan sacrifices. After Deuteronomic Reform prayers become dominant.	Prayers
YHWH is creator of everything and has complete control. He is the god of war.	Same for Allah
God acts and the people live in meaningful history with direction. Covenant is part of this	Same
Destruction due to human sin.	Same
After Deuteronomic Reform divine Law is supposed to dominate every aspect of life	Same

Table D

Canaanite Religion Compared to Popular Hinduism

Canaanite Religion	Popular Hinduism
Important Ancient religious literature but no “scripture” in Judeo-Christian-Islamic sense	Important Ancient religious literature but no “scripture” in Judeo-Christian-Islamic sense.
Theology implicit in myths but No fixed dogmas	No fixed dogmas
Nature gods - cyclical view of time	Nature gods - cyclical view of time
Direct descendant of early West Semitic religion.	Direct descendant of Vedic Religion
Polytheistic	Polytheistic
Statues of gods	Statues of gods
Probably hereditary priesthood	Brahmins are hereditary priesthood

Table E

Comparison of the Key Features of Hinduism and Islam

Hinduism	Islam
Total Way of Life	Total Way of Life
Important Ancient religious literature but no “scripture” in Judeo-Christian-Islamic sense.	Koran is binding scripture.
No fixed dogmas	Crystalline theology
Cyclical view of time	History is linear
Direct descendant of Vedic Religion	Alien import
Polytheistic in practice though in theory can be from polytheistic to agnostic in theology	Rigidly monotheistic
Statues of gods	Rigidly anti-iconic.
Brahmins are hereditary priesthood	Non-hereditary elite of religiously learned - Mullahs
Caste is seen as divinely sanctioned institution.	Caste rejected.
Not part of international religion.	International religion.

Table F

Proposed Program for Research

Subjects For Study	Requirement	Existing Published Material
A. Development/Selection of a Methodology for Comparison of 18^th-19^th century Indian Reality with that of Early iron Age Canaan/Israel	Literature review followed by development of proposed methodology	Probably extensive relevant anthropological and history of religions literature.

B. Indian Culture
1) Popular Hindu (1700-1900) culture (social structure, values, religion)	Literature review	Probably voluminous
2) History of Islam in India with emphasis on the nature and processes of Hindu-Muslim synthesis and syncretism	Literature review	Probably voluminous with many of the studies done from a social science, not history of religion, perspective.

C. The nature of Canaanite society and religion	Literature review.	Fairly extensive

D. Early Israel, its religion and the problem of syncretism	Literature review.	Extensive
E. Comparison of Popular Hindu (1200-1700) culture (social structure, values, religion) with Canaanite culture (social structure, values, religion)	Literature review followed by serious analysis and synthesis	Little or, more likely, none

F. What can the Indian Hindu-Islamic experience tell us of the possible nature and processes of Israelite-Canaanite synthesis and syncretism in the Iron Age (1200 BCE-586 BCE)?	Synthesis	Probably none

G. Proposals for further study

Illustration 1

Descendants of Ancient Indo-Aryan Religion

Illustration 2

Descendants of Ancient Vedic Religion

Illustration 3

Origin of Islam

Illustration 5

Hindu-Islamic and Hindu-Sikh Syncretism in India

Select Bibliography

To be prepared

Vogel, M. H., article on Monotheism in cols. 260-263, vol. 12, Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter 1972.