Despite the shared conviction among many Britons and Americans that Islam stood in inherent antagonism to Christianity and the sentiment among some that it should be destroyed, Britons in India – especially those serving the government – remained conflicted about how to proceed. Although some of its servants viewed Muslims as antithetical to Company aims, the EIC preferred to minimalize Christian missionary activity, concerned that resulting antagonisms might disrupt commerce. … The Bengal government justified itself to the Court of Directors through allusion to the principles of toleration practiced in England toward minorities, notably Jews and Catholics.

XREF: Connects to broader history of colonial religious tolerance as commercially motivated.

Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon F…, loc. 109