Islam in India

Indian Muslims

Total population
approx. 180 million (2015 estimate)[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Regions with significant populations
Throughout India Large concentration in Assam and West Bengal. Large populations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Kerala
Languages
Main languages spoken are Urdu, Bengali, Dakhini, Awadhi, Arabic and some other regional languages of India
Religion
Sunni, Ahle Sunnat Barelvi, Ahmadiyya, Shia, Dawoodi Bohra, Wahabi and Deobandi.

Islam is a minority religion in India, with 14.2% of the country's population or roughly 172 million people identifying as adherents (2011 census).^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} Islam first came to the western coast of India with Arab traders as early as the 7th century AD to coastal Malabar^[12] and the Konkan-Gujarat.^[13] Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kerala is thought to be the first mosque in India, built in 629 AD by Malik lbn Dinar.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]} Following an expedition from the governor of Bahrain to Bharuch in the 7th century AD, immigrant Arab and Persian trading communities from South Arabia and the Persian Gulf began settling in coastal Gujarat.^[20] Islam arrived in North India in the 12th century with Turkic invasions and has since become a part of India's religious and cultural heritage.^[21] Over the centuries, there has been significant integration of Hindu and Muslim cultures across India^[22][23] and the Muslims have played a prominent role in India's economic rise and cultural influence.^[24]

Early history of Islam in India

Cheraman Perumal Juma Masjid on the Malabar Coast, probably the first Mosque in India

Jama Masjid, Delhi, one of the largest mosques in the "Asia-Pacific" region^[25]

Trade relations have existed between Arabia and the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Even in the pre-Islamic era, Arab traders used to visit the Konkan-Gujarat coast and Malabar region, which linked them with the ports of South East Asia. Newly Islamised Arabs were Islam's first contact with India. The historians Elliot and Dowson say in their book The History of India as told by its own Historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travellers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 AD. H.G. Rawlinson, in his book: Ancient and Medieval History of India^[26] claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century AD. Shaykh Zainuddin Makhdum's "Tuhfat al-Mujahidin" is also a reliable work.^[27] This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in his South Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals,^[28] and also by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV.^[29] It was with the advent of Islam that the Arabs became a prominent cultural force in the world. The Arab merchants and traders became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went.^[30]

Muslim neighbourhood in Delhi c. 1852

Pencil and wash drawing of a mosque at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh by Thomas (1749–1840) and William (1769–1837) Daniell, 24 March 1789

The first Indian mosque, Cheraman Juma Masjid, is thought to have been built in 629 AD by Malik Bin Deenar.^{[31][32][33][34]}

In Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and many natives also embraced Islam. These new converts were now added to the Mappila community. Thus among the Mappilas, we find, both the descendants of the Arabs through local women and the converts from among the local people.

In the 8th century, the province of Sindh (in present-day Pakistan) was conquered by an Arab army led by Muhammad bin Qasim. Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate.

In the first half of the 10th century, Mahmud of Ghazni added the Punjab to the Ghaznavid Empire and conducted 17 raids on modern-day India. In the 11th century, Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud played a significant role in the conversion of locals (Hindus) to Islam. A more successful invasion came at the end of the 12th century by Muhammad of Ghor. This eventually led to the formation of the Delhi Sultanate.

Arab–Indian interactions

There is much historical evidence to show that Arabs and Muslims interacted with India and Indians from the very early days of Islam, if not before the arrival of Islam in Arabia. Arab traders transmitted the numeral system developed by Indians to the Middle East and Europe.

Many Sanskrit books were translated into Arabic as early as the eighth century. George Saliba writes in his book Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance that "some major Sanskrit texts began to be translated during the reign of the second Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (754–775), if not before; some texts on logic even before that, and it has been generally accepted that the Persian and Sanskrit texts, few as they were, were indeed the first to be translated."^[35]

Political history of Islam in India

For further details see: History of India

Delhi sultanate

Gujarat sultanate

Deccan sultanates

The first independent sultanate in central Indian region of the Deccan was the Bahmani Sultanate. Later this broke down into a number of different kingdoms collectively known as Deccan Sultanates.

Main articles: Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Bidar Sultanate, Berar Sultanate, Bijapur Sultanate, Golconda Sultanate

Mughal Empire

Post Mughal era

For decline of Muslim politics in India see: Maratha Confederacy, East India Company.

Role in Indian independence movement

The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is documented in the struggle for independence. Titu Mir raised a revolt against British. Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai are Muslims who engaged in this purpose. Muhammad Ashfaq Ullah Khan of Shahjehanpur conspired to loot the British treasury at Kakori (Lucknow). Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (popularly known as Frontier Gandhi), was a noted nationalist who spent 45 of his 95 years of life in jail; Barakatullah of Bhopal was one of the founders of the Ghadar party which created a network of anti-British organisations; Syed Rahmat Shah of the Ghadar party worked as an underground revolutionary in France and was hanged for his part in the unsuccessful Ghadar (mutiny) uprising in 1915; Ali Ahmad Siddiqui of Faizabad (UP) planned the Indian Mutiny in Malaya and Burma along with Syed Mujtaba Hussain of Jaunpur and was hanged in 1917; Vakkom Abdul Khadir of Kerala participated in the "Quit India" struggle in 1942 and was hanged; Umar Subhani, an industrialist and millionaire of Bombay provided Gandhi with congress expenses and ultimately died for the cause of independence. Among Muslim women, Hazrat Mahal, Asghari Begum, Bi Amma contributed in the struggle for independence from the British.

Maulana Azad was a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and a strong advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. Shown here is Azad (left) with Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi in 1940.

The first ever Indian rebellion against the British saw itself in the Vellore Mutiny of 10 July 1806 which left around 200 British Officers and troops dead or injured. But it was subdued by the British and the mutineers and the family of Tippu Sultan who were incarcerated in the Vellore Fort at that time had to pay a heavy price. It predates the Indian Rebellion of 1857. And as a result of the Sepoy Mutiny, mostly the upper class Muslim rebels were targeted by the Britishers, as under their leadership the war was mostly fought in and around Delhi. Thousands of kith and kins were shot or hanged near the gate of Red Fort, Delhi, which is now known as 'Khooni Darwaza'(the bloody gate). The renowned Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib(1797–1869) has given a vivid description of such executions in his letters now published by the Oxford University Press 'Ghalib his life and letters'compiled and translated by Ralph Russel and Khurshidul Islam(1994).

As the Muslim power waned with the gradual demise of the Mughal Empire, the Muslims of India faced a new challenge – that of protecting their culture and interests, yet interacting with the alien, technologically advantaged power. In this period, the Ulama of Firangi Mahal, based first at Sehali in District Barabanki, and, since the 1690s, based in Lucknow, educated and guided the Muslims. The Firangi Mahal led and steered the Muslims of India.

Other famous Muslims who fought for independence against the British rule: Abul Kalam Azad, Mehmud Hasan of Darul Uloom Deoband who was implicated in the famous Silk Letter Conspiracy to overthrow the British through an armed struggle, Husain Ahmed Madani, former Shaikhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, Ubaidullah Sindhi, Hakeem Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Syed Mahmud, Professor Maulavi Barkatullah, Zakir Husain, Saifuddin Kichlu, Vakkom Abdul Khadir, Manzoor Abdul Wahab, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Hakeem Nusrat Husain, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Colonel Shahnawaz, M.A.Ansari, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, Ansar Harwani, Tak Sherwani, Nawab Viqarul Mulk, Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, Mustsafa Husain, VM Ubaidullah, SR Rahim, Badaruddin Taiyabji, and Moulvi Abdul Hamid.

Until 1920, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a member of the Indian National Congress and was part of the independence struggle. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, poet and philosopher, was a strong proponent of Hindu–Muslim unity and an undivdided India perhaps until 1930.Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was also active in the Indian National Congress in Bengal during his early political career. Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali struggled for the emancipation of the Muslims in the overall Indian context, and struggled for independence alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Bari of Firangi Mahal. Until the 1930s, the Muslims of India broadly conducted their politics alongside their countrymen, in the overall context of an undivided India.

Partition of India

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan with Gandhi in 1930. Also known as Frontier Gandhi, Khan led the non-violent opposition against the British Raj and strongly opposed the partition of India.

Colonial India

Imperial entities of India
Dutch India	1605–1825
Danish India	1620–1869
French India	1769–1954
Portuguese India (1505–1961)
Casa da Índia	1434–1833
Portuguese East India Company	1628–1633
British India (1612–1947)
East India Company	1612–1757
Company rule in India	1757–1858
British Raj	1858–1947
British rule in Burma	1824–1948
Princely states	1721–1949
Partition of India	1947

The Partition of British India was based on religion. The negotiations failed several times, with differing demands about boundaries, as shown in this map of 1946.

The partition of India (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान का बटवारा, Urdu: تقسیم ہند‎) was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics. This led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan (that later split into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh) and the Union of India (later Republic of India). The Indian Independence Act 1947 had decided 15 August 1947, as the appointed date for the partition. However, Pakistan celebrates its day of creation on 14 August.

The partition of India was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the newly constituted states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million (most estimates of the numbers of people who crossed the boundaries between India and Pakistan in 1947 range between 10 and 12 million).^[36] The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to this day.

The partition included the geographical division of the Bengal province into East Bengal, which became part of the Dominion of Pakistan (from 1956, East Pakistan). West Bengal became part of India, and a similar partition of the Punjab province became West Punjab (later the Pakistani Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory) and East Punjab (later the Indian Punjab, as well as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh). The partition agreement also included the division of Indian government assets, including the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian railways and the central treasury, and other administrative services.

The two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 14–15 August 1947. The ceremonies for the transfer of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at the time the capital of the new state of Pakistan, so that the last British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, could attend both the ceremony in Karachi and the ceremony in Delhi. Thus, Pakistan's Independence Day is celebrated on 14 August and India's on 15 August.

After Partition of India in 1947, two-thirds of the Muslims resided in Pakistan (both east and West Pakistan) but a third resided in India.^[37] Some critics allege that British haste in the partition process increased the violence that followed.^[38] Because independence was declared prior to the actual Partition, it was up to the new governments of India and Pakistan to keep public order. No large population movements were contemplated; the plan called for safeguards for minorities on both sides of the new border. It was a task at which both states failed. There was a complete breakdown of law and order; many died in riots, massacre, or just from the hardships of their flight to safety. What ensued was one of the largest population movements in recorded history. According to Richard Symonds: At the lowest estimate, half a million people perished and twelve million became homeless.^[39]

However, many argue that the British were forced to expedite the Partition by events on the ground.^[40] Once in office, Mountbatten quickly became aware if Britain were to avoid involvement in a civil war, which seemed increasingly likely, there was no alternative to partition and a hasty exit from India.^[40] Law and order had broken down many times before Partition, with much bloodshed on both sides. A massive civil war was looming by the time Mountbatten became Viceroy. After the Second World War, Britain had limited resources,^[41] perhaps insufficient to the task of keeping order. Another viewpoint is that while Mountbatten may have been too hasty he had no real options left and achieved the best he could under difficult circumstances.^[42] The historian Lawrence James concurs that in 1947 Mountbatten was left with no option but to cut and run. The alternative seemed to be involvement in a potentially bloody civil war from which it would be difficult to get out.^[43]

Conservative elements in England consider the partition of India to be the moment that the British Empire ceased to be a world power, following Curzon's dictum: "the loss of India would mean that Britain drop straight away to a third rate power."^[44]

Population

India's Muslim population is the world's third largest^[45] and the world's largest Muslim-minority population.^[46] Officially, India has the third largest Muslim population next to Indonesia and Pakistan.^[47][48] India is home to 10% of the world's Muslim population. India has around 172 million Muslims (2011 census).^[9][49] Estimates show India may have more Muslims than Pakistan, though 2016 census in Pakistan will give the exact figure,^[50][51] as overall population of Pakistan is estimated at around 191.71 million .^[10][52][53]

Muslim populations (top 5 countries) by PEW

Country	Population	Percentage
Indonesia	204,847,000	12.65%
Pakistan	175,097,000	11.00%
India	172,245,158	10.97%
Bangladesh	148,607,000	9.18%
Egypt	80,024,000	4.94%
World	1,619,300,000	100%

• Data compiled as of 2011

Muslims represent a majority of the local population in Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir. The largest concentration –about 47% of all Muslims in India, live in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar. High concentrations of Muslims are found in states of Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Telangana.

Muslim population by states

Muslims as percentage of total population in different states of India (Census 2011).^[54]

As of 2015, Muslims comprise the majority of the population in the only Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and in a Union territory Lakshadweep.^[55] In 110 minority-concentrated districts, at least a fifth of the population are Muslim.^[56]

Muslim populations by Indian state: 2011 census^[1][6][57]

State	Population	Muslims	% Muslims
India	1,210,854,977	172,245,158	14.2%
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	379,944	31,915	8.4%
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana	49,386,799	8,128,661	9.6%
Arunachal Pradesh	1,382,611	27,652	2.0%
Assam	31,169,272	10,659,891	34.2%
Bihar	103,804,637	17,542,984	16.9%
Chandigarh	1,054,686	50,625	4.8%
Chhattisgarh	25,540,196	510,804	2.0%
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	342,853	13,028	3.8%
Daman and Diu	242,911	18,947	7.8%
Delhi	16,753,235	2,161,167	12.9%
Goa	1,457,723	122,449	8.4%
Gujarat	60,383,628	5,857,212	9.7%
Haryana	25,353,081	1,774,716	7.0%
Himachal Pradesh	6,856,509	150,843	2.2%
Jammu and Kashmir	12,548,926	8,570,916	68.3%
Jharkhand	32,966,238	4,780,104	14.5%
Karnataka	61,130,704	7,885,861	12.9%
Kerala	33,387,677	8,881,122	26.6%
Lakshadweep	64,429	61,981	96.2%
Madhya Pradesh	72,597,565	4,791,439	6.6%
Maharashtra	112,372,972	12,922,892	11.5%
Manipur*	2,721,756	228,627	8.4%
Meghalaya	2,964,007	130,416	4.4%
Mizoram	1,091,014	15,274	1.4%
Nagaland	1,980,602	49,515	2.5%
Odisha	41,947,358	922,842	2.2%
Pondicherry	1,244,464	75,912	6.1%
Punjab	27,704,236	526,380	1.9%
Rajasthan	68,621,012	6,244,512	9.1%
Sikkim	607,688	9,723	1.6%
Tamil Nadu	72,138,958	4,256,199	5.9%
Tripura	3,671,032	315,709	8.6%
Uttar Pradesh	199,581,477	38,519,225	19.3%
Uttaranchal	10,116,752	1,406,229	13.9%
West Bengal	91,347,736	24,663,889	27.0%

• The Census 2011 results of Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul Sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur were withheld due to administrative reasons. The figurs have now been finalized .

Population growth rate

Muslim population growth per Census

Year	Total population	Muslim population	Percentage
1951	361,088,090	35,856,047	9.93%
1961	439,234,771	46,998,120	10.70%
1971	548,159,652	61,448,696	11.21%
1981*	683,329,097	77,557,852	11.35%
1991**	846,427,039	102,586,957	12.12%
2001	1,028,737,436	138,159,437	13.43%
2011***	1,210,726,932	180,008,000*	14.88%

1981 Census: * Parts of Assam were not included in the 1981 Census Data due to violence in some districts.

1991 Census: ** Jammu and Kashmir was not included in the 1991 Census Data due to militant activity in the state.

2011 Census: *** Estimated populations of Muslims in India as religious demographics has still not been released by government of India.

Table : Census information for 2001: Hindu and Muslim compared^[α][β]

Composition	Hindus[58]	Muslims[59]
% total of population 2001	80.5	13.4
10-yr. Growth % (est. 1991–01)[60]^[β]	20.3	36.0
Sex ratio* (avg. 933)	931	936
Literacy rate (avg. 64.8)	65.1	59.1
Work Participation Rate	40.4	31.3
Rural sex ratio[60]	944	953
Urban sex ratio[60]	894	907
Child sex ratio (0–6 yrs.)	925	950

Muslims in India have a much higher total fertility rate (TFR) compared to that of other religious communities in the country.^[61] Because of higher birthrates the percentage of Muslims in India has risen from about 10% in 1951 to 14.4% by 2013. The Muslim population growth rate is higher by more than 10% of the total growth compared to that of Hindus.^[60] However, since 1991, the largest decline in fertility rates among all religious groups in India has occurred among Muslims.^[62] The Population Growth rate is also attributable to the fact that majority of Muslim populations are concentrated in the states that are lagging behind in social reforms and services which have shown higher birth rates than other states. However, the Sachar Committee Report shows that the Muslim Population Growth has slowed down and will be on par with national averages.^[63]

Social and economic reasons behind population growth

Demographers have put forward several factors behind high birthrates among Muslims in India. According to sociologists Roger and Patricia Jeffery, socio-economic conditions rather than religious determinism is the main reason for higher Muslim birthrates. Indian Muslims are poorer and less educated compared to their Hindu counterparts.^[64] Noted Indian sociologist, B.K. Prasad, argues that since India's Muslim population is more urban compared to their Hindu counterparts, infant mortality rates among Muslims is about 12% lower than those among Hindus.^[65]

However, other sociologists point out that religious factors can explain high Muslim birthrates. Surveys indicate that Muslims in India have been relatively less willing to adopt family planning measures and that Muslim women have a larger fertility period since they get married at a much younger age compared to Hindu women.^[66] A study conducted by K.C. Zacharia in Kerala in 1983 revealed that on average, the number of children born to a Muslim woman was 4.1 while a Hindu woman gave birth to only 2.9 children. Religious customs and marriage practices were cited as some of the reasons behind the high Muslim birth rate.^[67] According to Paul Kurtz, Muslims in India are much more resistant to modern contraception than are Hindus and, as a consequence, the decline in fertility rate among Hindu women is much higher compared to that of Muslim women.^[61][68] The National Family and Health survey conducted in 1998–99 highlighted that Indian Muslim couples consider a substantially higher number of children to be ideal for a family as compared to Hindu couples in India.^[69] The same survey also pointed out that percentage of couples actively using family planning measures was more than 49% among Hindus against 37% among Muslims.

Denominations

There are many denominations amongst Indian Muslims, the majority belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, while a substantial minority belong to the Shia branch. There are also small minorities of Ahmadiyya and Quranists. Many Indian Muslim communities, both Sunni and Shia, are also considered to be Sufis.

Sunni

Indian Sunnis largely follow the Hanafi school of Islamic law.

The majority of Indian Sunnis however follow the moderate Barelvi movement which was founded in 1904 by Ahmed Razi Khan of Bareilly in defense of traditional Islam as understood and practised in South Asia and in reaction to the reformist attempts of the Deobandi movement.^[70][71] In the 19th century the Deobandi, a revivalist movement in Sunni Islam was established in India. It is named after Deoband a small town northeast of Delhi, where the original madrasa or seminary of the movement was founded. From its early days this movement has been influenced by Wahhabism.^[72][73][74]

Shia

Shia Muslims are a large minority among India's Muslims. However, there has been no particular census conducted in India with regards to sects, but Indian sources like Times of India and Daily News and Analysis reported Indian Shia population in mid 2005–2006 between 25% and 31% of entire Muslim population of India which accounts them in numbers between 40,000,000^[75][76] to 50,000,000^[77] of 157,000,000 Indian Muslim population.^[78] However, as per an estimation of one reputed Shia NGO Alimaan Trust, India's Shia population in early 2000 was around 30 million with Sayyids comprising just a tenth of the Shia population.^[79] According to some national and international sources Indian Shia population is the world's second-largest after Iran.^{[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88]}

Dawoodi Bohra

Mausoleum of 1 st Wali–ul–Hind:Moulai Abadullah, Khambat, Gujrat, era 1050–1100 AD

Dawoodi Bohra 52 nd Dai Sayyedna Mohd. Burhanuddin, with Dawat office at Mumbai

Dawoodi Bohra' Ismailli Shia whose belief system originates in Yemen, evolved from the Fatimid were persecuted due to their adherence to Fatimid Shia Islam – leading the shift of Dawoodi Bohra to India. After occultation of their 21st Imam Tayyib, they follow Dai as representative of Imam which are continued till date.

This community was established in Gujarat in the second half of the 11th century. According to legend, two travellers (Moulai Abadullah (formerly known as Baalam Nath) and Maulai Nuruddin (Rupnath)) from India went to the court of Imam Mustansir. They were so impressed that they converted and went back to preach in India. Abadullah was first Wali-ul-Hind (saint of India). He came across a married couple named Kaka Akela and Kaki Akela who became his first converts.

One Dai succeeded another until the 23rd Dai in Yemen. In India also Wali-ul-Hind were appointed by them one after another until Wali-ul-Hind Moulai Qasim Khan bin Hasan (11th and last Wali-ul-Hind, d.950AH, Ahmedabad).

Due to persecution by the local Zaydi Shi'a ruler in Yemen, the 24th Dai, Yusuf Najmuddin ibn Sulaiman (d.1567 AD), moved the whole administration of the Dawat (mission) to India. The 25th Dai Jalal Shamshuddin (d.1567 AD) was first dai to die in India. His mausoleum is in Ahmedabad, India. The Dawat subsequently moved from Ahmedabad to Jamnagar^[89] Mandvi, Burhanpur, Surat and finally to Mumbai and continues there to the present day, currently headed by 52nd Dai Mohammad Burhanuddin.

Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee was a Bohra and 20th century Islamic scholar from India who promoted modernization and liberalization of Islam through his writings. He argued that with changing time modern reforms in Islam are necessary without compromising on basic "spirit of Islam".^[90][91][92]

Khojas

The Khojas are a group of diverse people who converted to Islam in South Asia. In India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and the city of Hyderabad. Many Khojas have also migrated and settled over the centuries in East Africa, Europe and North America. The Khoja were by then adherents of Nizari Ismailism branch of Shi'ism. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the aftermath of the Aga Khan Case a significant minority separated and adopted Twelver Shi'ism or Sunni Islam, while the majority remained Nizārī Ismā'īlī.^[93]

Sufis

Template:Sain

Tomb of Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chisti in Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh

Sufis (Islamic mystics) played an important role in the spread of Islam in India. They were very successful in spreading Islam, as many aspects of Sufi belief systems and practices had their parallels in Indian philosophical literature, in particular nonviolence and monism. The Sufis' orthodox approach towards Islam made it easier for Hindus to practice. Hazrat Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chishti, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Nizam-ud-din Auliya, Shah Jalal, Amir Khusro, Sarkar Sabir Pak, Shekh Alla-ul-Haq Pandwi, Ashraf Jahangir Semnani, Sarkar Waris Pak, Ata Hussain Fani Chishti trained Sufis for the propagation of Islam in different parts of India. Once the Islamic empire was established in India, Sufis invariably provided a touch of colour and beauty to what might have otherwise been rather cold and stark reigns. The Sufi movement also attracted followers from the artisan and untouchable communities; they played a crucial role in bridging the distance between Islam and the indigenous traditions. Ahmad Sirhindi, a prominent member of the Naqshbandi Sufi advocated the peaceful conversion of Hindus to Islam. Maulana Ahmed Rida Khan contributed much in defending traditional and orthodox Islam in India through his work Fatawa Razvia.^[94]

Ahmadiyya

Mirza Ghuam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement

The Ahmadiyya movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. He claimed to be the promised messiah and mahdi awaited by the Muslims and obtained a considerable number of followers initially within the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh.^[95] Ahmadis claim the Ahmadiyya movement to embody the latter day revival of Islam and the movement has also been seen to have emerged as an Islamic religious response to the Christian and Arya Samaj missionary activity that was widespread in 19th century India. After the death of Ghulam Ahmad, his successors directed the Ahmadiyya Community from Qadian which remained the headquarters of the community until 1947 with the creation of Pakistan. The movement has grown in organisational strength and in its own missionary programme and has expanded to over 200 countries as of 2014 but has received a largely negative response from mainstream Muslims who see it as heretical, due mainly to Ghulam Ahmad's claim to be a prophet within Islam.^[96]

India has a significant Ahmadiyya population.^[97] Most of them live in Rajasthan, Odisha, Haryana, Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and a few in Punjab in the area of Qadian. In India, Ahmadis are considered to be Muslims by the Government of India (unlike in neighbouring Pakistan). This recognition is supported by a court verdict (Shihabuddin Koya vs. Ahammed Koya, A.I.R. 1971 Ker 206).^[98][99] There is no legislation that declares Ahmadis non-Muslims or limits their activities,^[99] but they are not allowed to sit on the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a body of religious leaders India's government recognises as representative of Indian Muslims.^[100] Ahmadiyya are estimated to be from 60,000 to 1 million in India.^[101]

Quranists

Non-sectarian Muslims who reject the authority of hadith, known as Quranists, Quraniyoon, or Ahle Quran, are also present in India. In South Asia during the 19th century, the Ahle Quran movement formed partially in reaction to the Ahle Hadith movement whom they considered to be placing too much emphasis on hadith. Many Ahle Quran adherents were formerly adherents of Ahle Hadith but found themselves incapable of accepting certain hadiths.^[102] Notable Indian Quranists include Chiragh Ali, Aslam Jairajpuri, Khwaja Ahmad-ud-Din Amritsari, and Abdullah Chakralawi.^[103]

Origins

The vast majority of the Muslims in India belong to Indian ethnic groups. However, some Indian Muslims were found with detectable, traceable, minor to some levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from the Middle East and Central Asia.^{[104][105][106]} However, they are found in very low levels.^[106] Sources indicate that the castes among Muslims developed as the result of the concept of Kafa'a.^{[107][108][109]} Those who are referred to as Ashrafs (see also Sharif) are presumed to have a superior status derived from their foreign Arab ancestry,^[110][111] while the Ajlafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and have a lower status. Actual Muslim social practice, including in India, points to the existence of sharp social hierarchies that numerous Muslim scholars have sought to provide appropriate Islamic sanction through elaborate rules of fiqh associated with the notion of kafa'a.

Most prominent Muslim scholars such as Maulana Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi and Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi have championed the notion of caste superiority based on birth. It is argued that Muslims of Arab origin (Sayyeds and Shaikhs) are superior to non-Arab or Ajami Muslims, and so while a man who claims Arab origin can marry an Ajami woman, the reverse is not possible. Likewise, they argue, a Pathan Muslim man can marry a Julaha (Ansari) Mansuri (Dhunia,) Rayin (Kunjra) or Quraishi (Qasai or butchers) woman, but an Ansari, Rayin, Mansuri and Quraishi man cannot marry a Pathan woman since they consider these castes to be inferior to Pathans.

Many of these ulema also believed that it is best to marry within one own caste. The practice of endogamous marriage in one's caste is strictly observed in India.^[112][113] In two of the three genetic studies referenced here, in which is described that samples were taken from several regions of India's Muslim communities, it was again found that the Muslim population was overwhelmingly similar to the local non-Muslims associated, with some having minor but still detectable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from Iran and Central Asia, rather than directly from the Arabian peninsula.^[105]

A research regarding the comparison of Y chromosomes of Indian Muslims with other Indian groups was published in 2005.^[105][106] In this study 124 Sunnis and 154 Shias of Uttar Pradesh were randomly selected for their genetic evaluation. Other than Muslims, Hindu higher and middle caste group members were also selected for the genetic analysis. Out of 1021 samples in this study, only 17 samples showed E haplogroup and all of them were Shias. The very minor increased frequency however, does place these Shias, solely with regards to their haplogroups, closer to Iraqis, Turks and Palestinians.^[105][106]

Caste system among South Asian Muslims

Caste system among South Asian Muslims refers to units of social stratification that have developed among Muslims in South Asia.^[114]

Stratification

In some parts of South Asia, the Muslims are divided as Ashrafs and Ajlafs.^[115][116] Ashrafs claim a superior status derived from their foreign ancestry.^[110][117] The non-Ashrafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and are therefore drawn from the indigenous population. They, in turn, are divided into a number of occupational castes.^[117]

Sections of the ulema (scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) provide religious legitimacy to caste with the help of the concept of kafa'a. A classical example of scholarly declaration of the Muslim caste system is the Fatawa-i Jahandari, written by the fourteenth century Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a member of the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Barani was known for his intensely casteist views, and regarded the Ashraf Muslims as racially superior to the Ajlaf Muslims. He divided the Muslims into grades and sub-grades. In his scheme, all high positions and privileges were to be a monopoly of the high-born Turks, not the Indian Muslims. Even in his interpretation of the Quranic verse "Indeed, the pious among you are most honored by Allah", he considered piety to be associated with noble birth. Barrani was specific in his recommendation that the "sons of Mohamed" [i.e. Ashrafs] "be given a higher social status than the low-born [i.e. Ajlaf].^[118] His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam.^[118] His assertion was that castes would be mandated through state laws or "Zawabi" and would carry precedence over Sharia law whenever they were in conflict.^[118] In the Fatwa-i-Jahandari (advice XXI), he wrote about the "qualities of the high-born" as being "virtuous" and the "low-born" being the "custodian of vices". Every act which is "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominity, comes elegantly [from the Ajlaf]".^[118] Barani had a clear disdain for the Ajlaf and strongly recommended that they be denied education, lest they usurp the Ashraf masters. He sought appropriate religious sanction to that effect.^[109] Barrani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of imperial officers ("Wazirs") that was primarily on the basis of their caste.^[118]

In addition to the ashraf/ajlaf divide, there is also the arzal caste among Muslims, who were regarded by anti-caste activists like Babasaheb Ambedkar as the equivalent of untouchables.^[119][120] The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc.^{[119][120][121]} The Arzal group was recorded in the 1901 census of India and are also called Dalit Muslims "with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground".They are relegated to "menial" professions such as scavenging and carrying night soil.^[122]

Some South Asian Muslims have been known to stratify their society according to qaums.^[123] These Muslims practise a ritual-based system of social stratification. The qaums that deal with human emissions are ranked the lowest. Studies of Bengali Muslims in India indicate that the concepts of purity and impurity exist among them and are applicable in inter-group relationships, as the notions of hygiene and cleanliness in a person are related to the person's social position and not to his/her economic status.^[117] Muslim Rajput is another caste distinction among Indian Muslims.

Some of the backward or lower-caste Muslim communities include Ansari, Kunjra, Churihara, Dhobi and Halalkhor. The upper and middle caste Muslim communities include Syed, Shaikh, Shaikhzada, Khanzada, Pathan, Mughal, and Malik.^[124] Genetic data has also supported this stratification.^[125] It should be noted that most of the claims for Arabic ancestry in India is flawed and points to Arabic preferences in local Sharia. Interestingly, in three genetic studies representing the whole of South Asian Muslims, it was found that the Muslim population was overwhelmingly similar to the local non-Muslims associated with minor but still detectable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from Iran and Central Asia, rather than directly from the Arabian Peninsula.^[105]

The Sachar Committee's report commissioned by the government of India and released in 2006, documents the continued stratification in Muslim society.

Interaction and mobility

Interactions between the oonchi zat (upper caste) and neechi zat (lower caste) are regulated by established patron-client relationships of the jajmani system, the upper castes being referred to as the 'Jajmans', and the lower caste as 'Kamin'. Upon contact with a low-caste Muslim, a Muslim of a higher zat can "purify" by taking a short bath, since there are no elaborate rituals for purification.^[117] In Bihar state of India, cases have been reported in which the higher caste Muslims have opposed the burials of lower caste Muslims in the same graveyard.^[124]

Some data indicates that the castes among Muslims have never been as rigid as that among Hindus.^[126][126] An old saying also goes in Bangladesh "Last year I was a Julaha (weaver); this year a Shaikh; and next year if the harvest be good, I shall be a Sayyid.".^[127] However, other scholars, such as Ambedkar, disagreed with this thesis.(see criticism below). The well-known Sufi, Sayyed Jalaluddin Bukhari, also known as Makhdum Jahaniyan-e-Jahangasht, is said to have declared that providing knowledge beyond that of the Quran and the rules of prayers and fasting to the so-called razil (ajlafs) castes is like scattering pearls before swine and dogs! He reportedly insisted that other Muslims should not eat with barbers, washers of corpses, dyers, tanners, cobblers, bow-makers and washermen, besides consumers of alcohol and usurers. Mohammad Ashraf writes in his "Hindustani Maashra Ahd-e-Usta Main" that many medieval Islamic rulers did not allow to low-class people to enter their courts, or if some did they forbade them from opening their mouths because they considered them to be 'impure'.^[112] The scholar Shabbir Ahmad Hakeem quotes from another book by Thanvi called "Masawat-e Bahar-e Shariat", in which Thanvi argues that Muslims should not allow 'Julahas' (weavers) and 'Nais' (barbers) to enter Muslims' homes. In his "Bahishti Zewar" Thanvi claimed that the son of a Sayyed father and a non-Sayyed mother is socially inferior to the child of a Sayyed couple.

In his "Imdad ul-Fatawa", Thanvi announced that Sayyeds, Shaikhs, Mughals and Pathans are all 'respectable' (sharif) communities, and that the oil-presser (Teli) and weaver (Julaha) communities are 'low' castes (razil aqwam). He claimed that 'nau-Muslims', non-Arab converts to Islam, cannot be considered the kafaa, for purposes of marriage, of 'established Muslims' (khandani musalman). Accordingly, he argued, Pathans, being non-Arabs and, therefore, 'nau-Muslims', are not the kafaa of Sayyeds and Shaikhs, who claim Arab descent, and, so, cannot inter-marry with them. The first president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Vice Chancellor of the Deoband madrasa, Maulvi Qari Mohammad Tayyeb Siddiqui, was also supporter of casteism and wrote two books in support in Mufti Usmani's book on caste: “Ansab wa Qabail Ka Tafazul” and “Nasb Aur Islam”. True to this tradition of legitimising caste, even today the admission form of the Deoband madrasa has a column that asks for applicants to mention their caste. For many years after it was established, non-ashraf students were not generally admitted to the Deoband madrasa and the practice still continues.

Criticism

Some Muslim scholars have termed the caste-like features in Indian Muslim society as a "flagrant violation of the Quranic worldview." However, most Muslim scholars tried to reconcile and resolve the "disjunction between Quranic egalitarianism and Indian Muslim social practice" through theorizing it in different ways and interpreting the Quran and Sharia to justify casteism.^[128]

While some scholars theorize that the Muslim castes are not as acute in their discrimination as that among Hindus,^[109][126] Dr. B.R.Ambedkar argued otherwise, writing that the social evils in Muslim society were "worse than those seen in Hindu society".^[119][120]

Babasaheb Ambedkar was an illustrious figure in Indian politics and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. He was extremely critical of the Muslim caste system and their practices, quoting "Within these groups there are castes with social precedence of exactly the same nature as one finds among the Hindus but worse in numerous ways". He was critical of how the Ashrafs regarded the Ajlaf and Arzal as "worthless" and the fact that Muslims tried to sugarcoat the sectarian divisions by using euphemisms like "brotherhood" to describe them. He was also critical of the precept of literalism of scripture among Indian Muslims that led them to keep the Muslim caste system rigid and discriminatory. He decried against the approval of Sharia to Muslim casteism. It was based on superiority of foreign elements in society which would ultimately lead to downfall of local Dalits. This tragedy would be much more harsher than Hindus who are ethnically related to and supportive of Dalits. This Arabian supremacy in Indian Muslims accounted for its equal disapproval by high and low caste Hindus during 1300 years of Islamic presence in India. He condemned the Indian Muslim community of being unable to reform like Muslims in other countries such as Turkey did during the early decades of the twentieth century.^[119][120]

Prominent Muslims in India

India is home to many eminent Muslims who have made their mark in numerous fields and have played a constructive role in India's economic rise and cultural influence across the world.

Out of the 12 Presidents of the Republic of India, three were Muslims – Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Additionally, Mohammad Hidayatullah, A. M. Ahmadi, Mirza Hameedullah Beg and Altamas Kabir held the office of the Chief Justice of India on various occasions since independence. Mohammad Hidayatullah also served as the acting President of India on two separate occasions; and holds the distinct honour of being the only person to have served in all three offices of the President of India, the Vice President of India and the Chief Justice of India.^[129][130]

The current Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and Director (Head) of the Intelligence Bureau, Syed Asif Ibrahim are Muslims. Mr. Ibrahim is the fist Muslim to hold this office. From 30 July 2010 to 10 June 2012, Dr. S. Y. Quraishi served as the Chief Election Commissioner of India.^[131] He was the first Muslim to serve in this position. Prominent Indian bureaucrats and diplomats include Abid Hussain, Ali Yavar Jung and Asaf Ali. Zafar Saifullah was Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India from 1993 to 1994.^[132] Salman Haidar was Indian Foreign Secretary from 1995 to 1997 and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.^[133][134] Influential Muslim politicians in India include Sheikh Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah (the current Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir), Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Sikander Bakht, A R Antulay, Ahmed Patel, C. H. Mohammed Koya, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Salman Khurshid, Saifuddin Soz, E. Ahamed, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Asaduddin Owaisi. Numerous Muslims have achieved high rank in the Indian Police Service, with several attaining the rank of Director General of Police and serving as commanders of both state and Central Armed Police Forces. In 2013, IPS officer Syed Asif Ibrahim became the first Muslim Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the seniormost appointment in the service.

Some of the most popular and influential actors and actresses of the Mumbai-based Bollywood film industry are Muslims. These include Yusuf Khan (stage name Dilip Kumar),^[135] Shahrukh Khan,^[136] Aamir Khan,^[137] Salman Khan,^[138] Saif Ali Khan,^{[139][139][140]} Madhubala,^[141] and Emraan Hashmi.^[142] India is also home to several critically acclaimed Muslim actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Johnny Walker, Shabana Azmi,^[143] Waheeda Rehman,^[144] Amjad Khan, Parveen Babi, Feroz Khan, Meena Kumari, Prem Nazir, Mammootty, Nargis Dutt, Irrfan Khan, Farida Jalal, Arshad Warsi, Mehmood, Zeenat Aman, Farooq Sheikh and Tabu.

Some of the best known film directors of Indian cinema include Mehboob Khan, K. A. Abbas, Kamal Amrohi, K. Asif and the Abbas-Mustan duo. Indian Muslims also play pivotal roles in other forms of performing arts in India, particularly in music, modern art and theatre. M. F. Husain is one of India's best known contemporary artists. Academy Awards winners Resul Pookutty and A. R. Rahman, Naushad Ali, Salim-Sulaiman and Nadeem Akhtar of the Nadeem-Shravan duo are some of India's celebrated musicians. Abrar Alvi penned many of the greatest classics of Indian cinema. Prominent poets and lyricists include Shakeel Badayuni, Sahir Ludhianvi and Majrooh Sultanpuri. Popular Indian singers of Muslim faith include Mohammed Rafi, Anu Malik, Lucky Ali, Talat Mahmood and Shamshad Begum. Another famous personality is the tabla maestro Zakir Hussian.

Sania Mirza, from Hyderabad, is the highest-ranked Indian woman tennis player. In cricket (the most popular sport of India), there are many Muslim players who have made strong and significant impacts. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Mohammad Azharuddin captained the Indian cricket team on various occasions. Other prominent Muslim cricketers in India are Mushtaq Ali, Syed Kirmani, Arshad Ayub, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Wasim Jaffer.

Azim Premji, CEO of India's 3rd largest IT company Wipro Technologies and the 5th richest man in India with an estimated fortune of US$17.1 billion^[145]

India is home to several influential Muslim businessmen. Some of India's most prominent firms, such as Wipro, Wockhardt, Himalaya Health Care, Hamdard Laboratories, Cipla and Mirza Tanners were founded by Muslims. The only two South Asian Muslim billionaires named by Forbes magazine, Yusuf Hamied and Azim Premji, are from India.

Though Muslims are under-represented in the Indian Armed Forces, as compared to Hindus and Sikhs,^[146] several Indian military Muslim personnel have earned gallantry awards and high ranks for exceptional service to the nation. Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif was Deputy Chief of the Air staff during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and later served as Chief of the Air staff of the Indian Air Force from 1973 to 1976.^[147][148] Indian Army's Abdul Hamid was posthumously awarded India's highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, for knocking-out seven Pakistani tanks with a recoilless gun during the Battle of Asal Uttar in 1965.^[149][150] Two other Muslims – Brigadier Mohammed Usman and Mohammed Ismail – were awarded Mahavir Chakra for their actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.^[151] High ranking Muslims in the Indian Armed Forces include Lieutenant General Jameel Mahmood (former GOC-in-C Eastern Command of the Indian Army),^[152] Lieutenant General Sami Khan (former GoC-in-C, Central Army Command), Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, Major General Afsir Karim, Major General SM Hasnain, and Major General Mohammed Amin Naik.^[153]

Abdul Kalam, one of India's most respected scientists and the father of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) of India, was honoured through his appointment as the 11th President of India.^[154] His extensive contribution to India's defence industry lead him to being nicknamed as the Missile Man of India^[155] and during his tenure as the President of India, he was affectionately known as People's President. Zahoor Qasim, former Director of the National Institute of Oceanography, led India's first scientific expedition to Antarctica and played a crucial role in the establishment of Dakshin Gangotri. He was also the former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Secretary of the Department of Ocean Development and the founder of Polar Research in India.^[156] Other prominent Muslim scientists and engineers include C. M. Habibullah, a stem cell scientist and director of Deccan College of Medical Sciences and Allied Hospitals and Center for Liver Research and Diagnostics, Hyderabad.^[157] In the field of Unani medicine, one can name Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hakim Abdul Hameed and Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman. Salim Ali, was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist, also known as the "birdman of India".

Ahle Sunnat Sufi leader Hazrat Syed Muhammad Ameen Mian Qaudri and Aboobacker Ahmad Musliyar have been included in the list of most influential Muslims list by Georgetown University. Mahmood Madani, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and MP was ranked at 36 for initiating a movement against terrorism in South Asia.^[158] Syed Ameen Mian has been ranked 44th in the list.

Islamic culture in India

Indo-Islamic art and architecture

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  The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of India's most iconic monuments.

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  Asafi Imambargah also known as Bara Imambara at Lucknow

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  The Humayun's Tomb in Delhi

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  Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, Karnataka, has the second largest pre-modern dome in the world after the Byzantine Hagia Sophia.

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  Bahauddin Makbara, mausoleum of the Wazir of Junagadh, Gujarat

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  400-year-old Makkah Masjid, مسجد مكة Hyderabad, Telangana. Photo: 1885.

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  The Asafi Mosque within the Asafi Imambargah Complex at Lucknow

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  The Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow

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  Gole-Gumma, Mousoleum of Nawab Wahab Khan, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

Indian architecture took new shape with the advent of Islamic rule in India towards the end of the 12th century AD. New elements were introduced into the Indian architecture that include: use of shapes (instead of natural forms); inscriptional art using decorative lettering or calligraphy; inlay decoration and use of coloured marble, painted plaster and brightly coloured glazed tiles. Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque built in 1193 CE was the first mosque to be built in the Indian subcontinent; its adjoining "Tower of Victory", the Qutb Minar also started around 1192 CE, which marked the victory of Muhammad Ghori and his general Qutbuddin Aibak, from Ghazni, Afghanistan, over local Rajput kings, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi.

In contrast to the indigenous Indian architecture which was of the trabeate order, i.e. all spaces were spanned by means of horizontal beams, the Islamic architecture was arcuate, i.e. an arch or dome was adopted as a method of bridging a space. The concept of arch or dome was not invented by the Muslims but was, in fact, borrowed and further perfected by them from the architectural styles of the post-Roman period. Muslims used a cementing agent in the form of mortar for the first time in the construction of buildings in India. They further put to use certain scientific and mechanical formulae, which were derived by experience of other civilisations, in their constructions in India. Such use of scientific principles helped not only in obtaining greater strength and stability of the construction materials but also provided greater flexibility to the architects and builders. One fact that must be stressed here is that, the Islamic elements of architecture had already passed through different experimental phases in other countries like Egypt, Iran and Iraq before these were introduced in India. Unlike most Islamic monuments in these countries, which were largely constructed in brick, plaster and rubble, the Indo-Islamic monuments were typical mortar-masonry works formed of dressed stones. It must be emphasized that the development of the Indo-Islamic architecture was greatly facilitated by the knowledge and skill possessed by the Indian craftsmen, who had mastered the art of stonework for centuries and used their experience while constructing Islamic monuments in India.

Islamic architecture in India can be divided into two parts: religious and secular. Mosques and Tombs represent the religious architecture, while palaces and forts are examples of secular Islamic architecture. Forts were essentially functional, complete with a little township within and various fortifications to engage and repel the enemy.

Mosques

Jama Masjid, Delhi

There are more than 300,000 active mosques in India, which is higher than any other country, including Muslim world.^[159] The mosque or masjid is a representation of Muslim art in its simplest form. The mosque is basically an open courtyard surrounded by a pillared verandah, crowned off with a dome. A mihrab indicates the direction of the qibla for prayer. Towards the right of the mihrab stands the minbar or pulpit from where the Imam presides over the proceedings. An elevated platform, usually a minaret from where the Faithful are summoned to attend prayers is an invariable part of a mosque. Large mosques where the faithful assemble for the Friday prayers are called the Jama Masjids.

Tombs and Mausoleum

The tomb or maqbara could range from being a simple affair (Aurangazeb's grave) to an awesome structure enveloped in grandeur (Taj Mahal). The tomb usually consists of a solitary compartment or tomb chamber known as the huzrah in whose centre is the cenotaph or zarih. This entire structure is covered with an elaborate dome. In the underground chamber lies the mortuary or the maqbara, in which the corpse is buried in a grave or qabr. Smaller tombs may have a mihrab, although larger mausoleums have a separate mosque located at a distance from the main tomb. Normally the whole tomb complex or rauza is surrounded by an enclosure. The tomb of a Muslim saint is called a dargah. Almost all Islamic monuments were subjected to free use of verses from the Quran and a great amount of time was spent in carving out minute details on walls, ceilings, pillars and domes.

Styles of Islamic architecture in India

Islamic architecture in India can be classified into three sections: Delhi or the imperial style (1191 to 1557AD); the provincial style, encompassing the surrounding areas like Ahmedabad, Jaunpur and the Deccan; and the Mughal architecture style (1526 to 1707AD).^[160]

Music

There is none but Amir Khusrow of the Mughal era who is the greatest hero of Indian music since the music has come to light. It was his specialty that he was the hierophant of the music circles of the Indo-Persian cultural era. He is regarded as the father of Qawwali genre, and he is the one who invented the two major musical instruments‒ Sitar and Tabla. He is also credited with introducing Persian, Arabic and Turkish elements into Indian classical music and was the originator of the Khayal and Tarana genres of music.

Fine arts

The best example of Islamic Fine arts is the school of Miniature Painting known as Mughal painting. The Mughal emperor Humayun brought painters practicing miniatures from Persia when he returned from his exile in the mid 1500s. The style subsequently developed over the following decades and centuries and also spawned many regional varieties of miniatures.

Law and politics

Certain civil matters of jurisdiction for Muslims such as marriage, inheritance and waqf properties are governed by the Muslim Personal Law,^[161] which was developed during British rule and subsequently became part of independent India with some amendments.^[162][163] Lack of knowledge especially by some western writers tend to conflate Indian Muslim Personal Law with Sharia Law. Indian Muslims have rejected for any calls of sharia law in India. Indian Muslim personal law is not developed as a Sharia Law but as an interpretation of existing Muslim laws as part of Common Law. The Supreme Court of India has ruled that Sharia or Muslim law holds precedence for Muslims over Indian civil law in such matters.^[164]

Muslims in India are governed by "The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937."^[165] It directs the application of Muslim Personal Law to Muslims in marriage, mahr (dower), divorce, maintenance, gifts, waqf, wills and inheritance.^[166] The courts generally apply the Hanafi Sunni law for Sunnis; Shia Muslims are independent of Sunni law for those areas where Shia law differs substantially from Sunni practice.

The Indian constitution provides equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their religion. Article 44 of the constitution recommends a uniform civil code. However, attempts by successive political leadership in the country to integrate Indian society under common civil code is strongly resisted and is viewed by Indian Muslims as an attempt to dilute the cultural identity of the minority groups of the country. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board was established for the protection and continued applicability of "Muslim Personal Law", i.e. Shariat Application Act in India. The Sachar Committee was asked to report about the condition of Muslims in India in 2005. Almost all the recommendations of the Sachar Committee have been implemented.^[167][168]

The following laws/acts of Indian legislation are applicable to Muslims in India (except in the state of Goa) regarding matters of marriage, succession, inheritance, child adoption etc.

1. Muslim Personal Law Sharia Application Act, 1937
2. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
3. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986

Note: Above laws are not applicable in the state of Goa. The Goa Civil Code, also called the Goa Family Law, is the set of civil laws that governs the residents of the Indian state of Goa. In India, as a whole, there are religion-specific civil codes that separately govern adherents of different religions. Goa is an exception to that rule, in that a single secular code/law governs all Goans, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or linguistic affiliation. Above laws are also not applicable to Muslims throughout India who had civil marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

Bhartiya Mahila Muslim Andolan is an Indian Muslim women's organisation in India. It released a draft on June 23, 2014, 'Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act' recommending that polygamy be made illegal in Muslim Personal Law of India.^[169]

Active Muslim political parties

• All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Asaduddin Owaisi active in states of Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka.^[170]
• Indian Union Muslim League (IUMN), led by E. Ahamed active in Kerala.^[171]
• All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by Badruddin Ajmal active in Assam state.^[172]

Active Muslim-majority political parties

• National Conference (NC) main party of Jammu and Kashmir state.
• Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) main party of Jammu and Kashmir state.

Conversion controversy

Considerable controversy exists both in scholarly and public opinion about the conversions to Islam typically represented by the following schools of thought:^[173]

1. The bulk of Muslims are descendants of migrants from the Iranian plateau or Arabs.^[174]
2. Conversions occurred for non-religious reasons of pragmatism and patronage such as social mobility among the Muslim ruling elite or for relief from taxes^[173][174]
3. Conversion was a result of the actions of Sunni Sufi saints and involved a genuine change of heart.^[173]
4. Conversion came from Buddhists and the en masse conversions of lower castes for social liberation and as a rejection of the oppressive Hindu caste strictures.^[174]
5. A combination, initially made under duress followed by a genuine change of heart.^[173]
6. As a socio-cultural process of diffusion and integration over an extended period of time into the sphere of the dominant Muslim civilisation and global polity at large.^[174]

Embedded within this lies the concept of Islam as a foreign imposition and Hinduism being a natural condition of the natives who resisted, resulting in the failure of the project to Islamicize the Indian subcontinent and is highly embroiled within the politics of the partition and communalism in India.^[173] An estimate of the number of people killed, based on the Muslim chronicles and demographic calculations, was done by K.S. Lal in his book Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, who claimed that between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. His work has come under criticism by historians such as Simon Digby (School of Oriental and African Studies) and Irfan Habib for its agenda and lack of accurate data in pre-census times. Lal has responded to these criticisms in later works. Historians such as Will Durant contend that Islam was spread through violence.^[175] Sir Jadunath Sarkar contends that several Muslim invaders were waging a systematic jihad against Hindus in India to the effect that "Every device short of massacre in cold blood was resorted to in order to convert heathen subjects".^[176] Hindus who converted to Islam were not immune to persecution due to the Muslim Caste System in India established by Ziauddin al-Barani in the Fatawa-i Jahandari,^[177] where they were regarded as an "Ajlaf" caste and subjected to discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes.^[178]

Disputers of the "conversion by the sword theory" point to the presence of the large Muslim communities found in Southern India, Sri Lanka, Western Burma, Bangladesh, Southern Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia coupled with the distinctive lack of equivalent Muslim communities around the heartland of historical Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent as refutation to the "conversion by the sword theory". The legacy of the Muslim conquest of South Asia is a hotly debated issue and argued even today. Different population estimates by economics historian Angus Maddison and by Jean-Noël Biraben also indicate that India's population did not decrease between 1000 and 1500, but increased by about 35 million during that time.^[179][180]

Not all Muslim invaders were simply raiders. Later rulers fought on to win kingdoms and stayed to create new ruling dynasties. The practices of these new rulers and their subsequent heirs (some of whom were born of Hindu wives) varied considerably. While some were uniformly hated, others developed a popular following. According to the memoirs of Ibn Batuta who travelled through Delhi in the 14th century, one of the previous sultans had been especially brutal and was deeply hated by Delhi's population, Batuta's memoirs also indicate that Muslims from the Arab world, Persia and Anatolia were often favoured with important posts at the royal courts suggesting that locals may have played a somewhat subordinate role in the Delhi administration. The term "Turk" was commonly used to refer to their higher social status. S.A.A. Rizvi (The Wonder That Was India – II), however points to Muhammad bin Tughlaq as not only encouraging locals but promoting artisan groups such as cooks, barbers and gardeners to high administrative posts. In his reign, it is likely that conversions to Islam took place as a means of seeking greater social mobility and improved social standing.^[181]

Intra-Muslim relations

Shia-Sunni relations

The Sunnis and Shia are the biggest Muslim groups by denomination. Although the two groups remain cordial, there have been instances of conflict between the two groups especially in the city of Lucknow^[182]

Relationship of Muslims with non-Muslim communities

Muslim–Hindu conflict

Before 1947

The conflict between Hindus and Muslims in the Indian subcontinent has a complex history which can be said to have begun with the Umayyad Caliphate's invasion of Sindh in 711. The persecution of Hindus during the Islamic expansion in India during the medieval period was characterised by destruction of temples, often illustrated by historians by the repeated destruction of the Hindu Temple at Somnath^[183][184] and the anti-Hindu practices of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.^[185] Although there were instances of conflict between the two groups, a number of Hindus worshipped and continue to worship at the tombs of Muslim Sufi Saints.^[186]

From 1947 to 1991

The aftermath of the Partition of India in 1947 saw large scale sectarian strife and bloodshed throughout the nation. Since then, India has witnessed sporadic large-scale violence sparked by underlying tensions between sections of the Hindu and Muslim communities. These include 1969 Gujarat riots, 1970 Bhiwandi Riots, 1983 Nellie massacre, and the 1989 Bhagalpur violence. These conflicts stem in part from the ideologies of Hindu Nationalism and Islamic Extremism. Since independence, India has always maintained a constitutional commitment to secularism.

Since 1992

The sense of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the post-partition period was compromised greatly by the razing of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. The demolition took place in 1992 and was perpetrated by the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shiv Sena. This was followed by tit for tat violence by Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists throughout the country, giving rise to the Bombay Riots and the 1993 Bombay Bombings.

Kashmir (1990s)

During the eruption of militancy in the 1990s, following persecution and threats by radical Islamists and militants, the native Kashmiri Hindus were forced into an exodus from Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region in Northern India.^[187][188] Mosques issued warnings, telling them to leave Kashmir, convert to Islam or be killed.^[189] Approximately 300,000 350,000 pandits left the valley during the mid-80s and the 90s,^[190] many of them have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu.^[191]

Gujarat (2002)

One of the most violent events in recent times took place during the Gujarat riots in 2002, where it is estimated one thousand people were killed, most allegedly Muslim. Some sources claim there were approximately 2,000 Muslim deaths.^[192] There were also allegations made of state involvement.^[193][194] The riots were in retaliation to the Godhra Train Burning in which 50 Hindus pilgrims returning from the disputed site of the Babri Mosque, were burnt alive in a train fire at the Godhra railway station. Gujarat police claimed that the incident was a planned act carried out by extremist Muslims in the region against the Hindu pilgrims. The Bannerjee commission appointed to investigate this finding declared that the fire was an accident.^[195] In 2006 the High Court decided the constitution of such a committee was illegal as another inquiry headed by Justice Nanavati Shah was still investigating the matter.^[196]

The skyline of Moradabad filled with smoke as buildings and shops are set on fire.^[197]

In 2004, several Indian school textbooks were scrapped by the National Council of Educational Research and Training after they were found to be loaded with anti-Muslim prejudice. The NCERT argued that the books were "written by scholars hand-picked by the previous Hindu nationalist administration". According to The Guardian, the textbooks depicted India's past Muslim rulers "as barbarous invaders and the medieval period as a dark age of Islamic colonial rule which snuffed out the glories of the Hindu empire that preceded it".^[198] In one textbook, it was purported that the Taj Mahal, the Qutb Minar and the Red Fort – all examples of Islamic architecture – "were designed and commissioned by Hindus".^[198]

West Bengal (2010)

In the 2010 Deganga riots, rioting began on 6 September 2010, when an Islamist mob resorted to arson and violence on the Hindu neighborhoods of Deganga, Kartikpur and Beliaghata under the Deganga police station area. The violence began late in the evening and continued throughout the night into the next morning. The district police, Rapid Action Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force all failed to stop the mob violence and the army was finally deployed.^{[199][200][201][202]} The army staged a flag march on the Taki Road, while Islamist violence continued unabated in the interior villages off the Taki Road, till Wednesday in spite of army presence and promulgation of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC.

Assam (2012)

At least 77 people died^[203] and 400,000 people was displaced in the 2012 Assam violence between indigenous Bodos and East Bengal rooted Muslims.^[204]

Muslim-Sikh conflict

Sikhism emerged in the Punjab during the Mughal period. Conflict between early Sikhs and the Muslim power center at Delhi reached an early high point in 1606 when Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru of the Sikhs, was tortured and killed by Jahangir, the Mughal emperor. After the death of the fifth beloved Guru his son had taken his spot Guru Har Gobind who basically made the Sikhs a warrior religion. Guru ji was the first to defeat the Mughal empire in a battle which had taken place in present Sri Hargobindpur in Gurdaspur^[205] After this point the Sikhs were forced to organise themselves militarily for their protection. Later in the 16th century, Tegh Bahadur became guru in 1665 and led the Sikhs until 1675. Teg Bahadur was executed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb for helping to protect Hindus, after a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits came to him for help when the Emperor condemned them to death for failing to convert to Islam.^[206] At this point Aurangzeb had instituted forceful conversions for which they would charge citizens with various accusations granting them to have charges and execution waved off if they converted this led to a high increase of violence between the Sikhs and Hindus as well as rebellions of Aurangzeb's empire. This is an early example which illustrates how the Hindu-Muslim conflict and the Muslim-Sikh conflicts are connected. After which Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikhs helped the next successor of the throne of India to rise who was Bahadur Shah Zafar for certain period of time good relations were maintained some what like they were in Akbar's time until disputes arose again. The Mughal period saw various invaders coming into India through Punjab with which they would loot and severely plunder. Better relations have been seen by Dulla Bhatti, Mian Mir, Pir Budhu Shah, Pir Bhikham Shah, Bulleh Shah.

In 1699, the Khalsa was founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the last guru. A former ascetic was charged by Gobind Singh with the duty of punishing those who had persecuted the Sikhs. After the guru's death, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur became the leader of the Sikh army and was responsible for several attacks on the Mughal empire. He was executed by the emperor Jahandar Shah after refusing the offer of a pardon if he converted to Islam.^[207] The decline of Mughal power during the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the growing strength of the Sikh Confederacy and later, the Sikh Empire, resulted in a balance of power which protected the Sikhs from more violence. The Sikh empire was absorbed into the British Indian empire after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1849.

Massive population exchanges took place during the Partition of India in 1947, and the British Indian province of Punjab was divided into two parts, and the western parts were given to the Dominion of Pakistan, while the eastern parts were given to the Union of India. 5.3 million Muslims moved from India to West Punjab in Pakistan, 3.4 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan to East Punjab in India. The newly formed governments were completely unequipped to deal with migrations of such staggering magnitude, and massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border. Estimates of the number of deaths range around roughly 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 1,000,000.^[208]

Tens of thousands of Muslims are living with a disguised identity as Sikhs since the ethnic cleansing during the Partition of India.^[209]

Muslim–Christian conflict

The Jamalabad fort route. Mangalorean Catholics had travelled through this route on their way to Seringapatam.

In spite of the fact that there have been relatively fewer conflicts between Muslims and Christians in India in comparison to those between Muslims and Hindus, or Muslims and Sikhs, the relationship between Muslims and Christians have also been occasionally turbulent. With the advent of European colonialism in India with the demise of Mughal empire beginning from 18th century, Christians were persecuted in some Muslim ruled princely states in India.

Anti-Christian persecution by Tippu Sultan in the 17th century

Perhaps the most infamous acts of anti-Christian persecution by Muslims was committed by Tippu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore against the Mangalorean Catholic community from Mangalore and the erstwhile South Canara district on the southwestern coast of India. Tippu was widely reputed to be anti-Christian. The captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.^[210]

Muslim–Buddhist conflict

In 1989 there was a social boycott by the Buddhists of the Muslims of Leh district. The boycott remained in force till 1992. Relations between the Buddhists and Muslims in Leh improved after the lifting of the boycott, although suspicions remained.^[211]

Muslim institutes

Aligarh Muslim University

There are several well established Muslim institutions in India. Here is a list of reputed institutions established by Muslims in India.

Modern universities and institutes

1. Aligarh Muslim University
2. Anjuman-I-Islam, Mumbai
3. Al Ameen Medical College, Bijapur
4. Era's Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow
5. Jamal Mohamed College, Trichirapally]
6. Dar-us Salam Education Trust, Hyderabad
7. Jamia Millia Islamia
8. Hamdard University, Delhi
9. Al-Barkaat Educational Institutions, Aligarh]
10. The Maulana Azad Education Society, Aurangabad
11. Dr. Rafiq Zakariya Campus, Aurangabad
12. Al Ameen Educational Society
13. Crescent Engineering College
14. Al-Kabir educational society
15. Darul Uloom Deoband Saharanpur
16. Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama
17. Integral University
18. Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences
19. National College of Engineering, Tirunelveli
20. Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology, Faridabad
21. Darul Huda Islamic University
22. Osmania University, Hyderabad
23. Shadan Medical College, Hyderabad
24. Deccan Medical College, Hyderabad
25. Muslim Educational Association of Southern India
26. Aliah University
27. M.S.S.Wakf Board College, Madurai (The only college in India run by a State Wakf Board)

Traditional Islamic universities

1. Al Jamiatul Ashrafia largest institution of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat Barelvi
2. Al-Jame-atul-Islamia Uttar Pradesh
3. Manzar-e-Islam, Bareilly
4. Jamia Nizamia, Hyderabad
5. Markazu Saqafathi Sunniya, Kerala
6. Darul Huda Islamic University, Kerala
7. Raza Academy
8. Al Jamea tus Saifiyah, Bohra

Islamic traditions in South Asia

An outside view of the Maqbara

Sufism is a mystical dimension of Islam, often complimentary with the legalistic path of the sharia had a profound impact on the growth of Islam in India. A Sufi attains a direct vision of oneness with God, often on the edges of orthodox behaviour, and can thus become a Pir (living saint) who may take on disciples (murids) and set up a spiritual lineage that can last for generations. Orders of Sufis became important in India during the thirteenth century following the ministry of Moinuddin Chishti (1142–1236), who settled in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and attracted large numbers of converts to Islam because of his holiness. His Chishtiyya order went on to become the most influential Sufi lineage in India, although other orders from Central Asia and Southwest Asia also reached India and played a major role in the spread of Islam. In this way, they created a large literature in regional languages that embedded Islamic culture deeply into older South Asian traditions.

Leadership and organisations

AIUMB Protest against caricature of Prophet of Islam in the city of Sambhal Uttar Pradesh, India

• An estimated 2/3 of the 176,000,000 Indian Muslims are believed to be adherents of the Sunni Barelwi school of thought and follow Sufi traditions like Mawlid, Dargah visit, Dhikr and mysticism.^[212] Manzar-e-Islam Bareilly Shareef, Markazu Saqafathi Sunniya, Kerala Jamia Nizamia, Hyderabad and Al Jamiatul Ashrafia Azamgarh are most famous seminary of Ahle Sunnat Muslims. The Ahle Sunnat movement or Barelvi movement "believe themselves to be the true representatives and heirs in South Asia of the earliest Muslim community, the companions and followers of the prophet Muhammad".^[213]
• The Ajmer Sharif and Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat at Bareilly Shareef are prime center of Sufi oriented Sunni Muslims of India.^[214]
• The All India Ulema & Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) is an apex body of Indian Ahle Sunnah Muslims. The body consisting of sajjada nashins (custodians) of all the prominent Sufi dargahs and khanqahs, Sunni scholars, imams of masajids, the mufti and the teachers of the madarasas being the office bearer and the members of this board.The AIUMB has declared that “We are telling India’s non-Muslims that the people the media and the government treat as spokespersons of our community, are not our leaders. Those who issue fatwas from seminaries like Deoband are inspired by extremists.^[214]
• All India Ulema & Mashaikh Board and Raza Academy have taken a stand against Wahabism in India and have urged Indian Muslims to reject hardline Wahabi ideology as propagated by Darul Uloom Deoband and its allies.^[215] Recently Ahle Sunnat rejected Deobands fatwa against Milad celebration of birth of Muhammad.^[216]
• Indian Shiite Muslims form a substantial minority within the Muslim community of India comprising between 25–31% of total Muslim population in an estimation done during mid-2005 to 2006 of the then Indian Muslim population of 157 million. Sources like Times of India and DNA reported Indian Shiite population during that period between 40,000,000^[217][218] to 50,000,000^[219] of 157,000,000 Indian Muslim population^[220][221]
• The Deobandis, another section of the Muslim population following the Hanafi school of thought of India originate from the Darul Uloom Deoband (house/abode of knowledge), an influential religious seminary in the district of Saharanpur of Uttar Pradesh. The seminary is known for its nationalist orientation and played an important role in the Indian freedom struggle. The Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, founded by Deobandi scholars in 1919, supported the Indian National Congress in the national freedom movement and became a political mouthpiece for the Daru'l Uloom.^[222] The Tablighi Jamaat (Outreach Society) became active after the 1940s as a movement, primarily among the ulema (religious leaders), stressing personal renewal, prayer, a missionary spirit and attention to orthodoxy. It has been highly critical of the kind of activities that occur in and around Sufi shrines and remains a minor if respected force in the training of the ulema. Conversely, other ulema have upheld the legitimacy of mass religion, including exaltation of Sufi pirs and the memory of the Prophet. A powerful rationalizing drive led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan resulted in the founding of Aligarh Muslim University (1875 as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College) – with a broader, more modern curriculum.
• The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (Islamic Party), founded in 1941, advocates the establishment of an Islamic government and has been active in promoting education, social service and ecumenical outreach to the community.^[223]

Notable Islamic scholars and activists

• Prof. Syed Muhammad Ameen Mian Qaudri, Sufi spiritual leader of Qadri order
• Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi of World Islamic Mission
• Muhammad Saeed Noori of Raza Academy
• Allama Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi Qadri, author and leader of Darul Qalam Institute Delhi
• Maulana Syed Hasnain Baqai Sufi Spiritual Leader and Young Sunni Leader
• Maulana Subhan Raza Khan Qadri former head of Ahle Sunnat Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat Bareilly Shareef
• Mufti Mukarram Ahmad, Imam of Fatehpuri Mosque Delhi
• Obaidullah Khan Azmi former Member of Parliament and Sunni scholar
• Syed Babar Ashraf young Sufi Sunni leader
• Ale Ahmad Suroor, poet and critic, honoured by Presidents of both India and Pakistan

Haj subsidy

The government of India subsidises the cost of the airfare for Hajj pilgrims. All pilgrims travel on Air India. In compliance with Supreme Court of India and Allahabad High Court directions, the Government of India has proposed that, starting from 2011, the amount of government subsidy per person will be decreased and by 2017 will be ended completely.^[224][225] Maulana Mahmood A. Madani, a member of the Rajya Sabha and general secretary of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, declared that the Hajj subsidy is a technical violation of Islamic Sharia, since the Koran declares that Hajj should be performed by Muslims using their own resources.^[226] Influential Muslim lobbies in India have regularly insisted that the Hajj subsidy should be phased out as it is un-Islamic.^[227]

Muslims in government

India has seen three Muslim presidents and many chief ministers of State Governments have been Muslims. Apart from that, there are and have been many Muslim ministers, both at the centre and at the state level.

Out of the 12 Presidents of the Republic of India, three were Muslims – Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Additionally, Mohammad Hidayatullah, A. M. Ahmadi, Mirza Hameedullah Beg and Altamas Kabir held the office of the Chief Justice of India on various occasions since independence. Mohammad Hidayatullah also served as the acting President of India on two separate occasions; and holds the distinct honour of being the only person to have served in all three offices of the President of India, the Vice President of India and the Chief Justice of India.^[129][130]

The current Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and former Director (Head) of the Intelligence Bureau, Syed Asif Ibrahim are Muslims. Ibrahim is the first Muslim to hold this office. From 30 July 2010 to 10 June 2012, Dr. S. Y. Quraishi served as the Chief Election Commissioner of India.^[131] He was the first Muslim to serve in this position. Prominent Indian bureaucrats and diplomats include Abid Hussain, Ali Yavar Jung and Asaf Ali. Zafar Saifullah was Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India from 1993 to 1994.^[132] Salman Haidar was Indian Foreign Secretary from 1995 to 1997 and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.^[133][134] Influential Muslim politicians in India include Sheikh Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah (the current Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir), Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Sikander Bakht, A R Antulay, Ahmed Patel, C. H. Mohammed Koya, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Salman Khurshid, Saifuddin Soz, E. Ahamed, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Asaduddin Owaisi.

Ghettoisation of Indian Muslims

Ghettoisation among Indian Muslims began in the mid-1970s when first communal riots occurred. It got heightened after the Bhagalpur riots 1989, and became a trend after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. Soon several major cities developed ghettos, or segregated areas, where the Muslim population moved in.^[228] This trend however, did not help for the anticipated security the anonymity of ghetto was thought to have provided. During the 2002 Gujarat riots, several such ghettos became easy targets, as they enabled the profiling of residential colonies.^{[229][230][231][232]} This kind of ghettoisation can be seen in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata where a clear socio-cultural demarcation exists among Hindu-dominated and Muslim-dominated neighbourhoods.

In places like Gujarat, riots and alienation of Muslims have led to large scale ghettoisation of the community. For example, the Juhapura area of Ahmadabad has swelled from 250,000 to 650,000 residents since 2002 riots. Muslims in Gujarat have no option but to head to a ghetto, irrespective of their economic and professional status.^[233]

Increase in ghetto living has also shown a strengthening of social stereotyping due to lack of cross-cultural interaction, and reduction in economic and educational opportunities at large. On the other hand, the larger community which for centuries had benefited from its interactions with Islamic traditions, to create a rich cultural and social fabric, formed through amalgamation of the two diverse traditions faces a danger of fast becoming insular.^[234] Secularism in India is being seen by some as a favour to the Muslims, and not an imperative for democracy.^[235][236]

See also

• Islam in Africa
• Islam in Europe
• Islam in Russia
• Islam in Central Asia
• Islam in China
• Islam in Southeast Asia
• Islam in Afghanistan
• Bihari Muslim
• Gujarati Muslim
• Hyderabadi Muslim
• Tamil Muslim
• Mappila
• Hinduism and Islam
• Hinduism in Pakistan
• Hinduism in Bangladesh
• Indian Muslim nationalism
• List of Indian Muslims
• NCERT controversy
• Shah Bano case
• History of Islam

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Studies

• Asghar Ali Engineer, Islam in India: The Impact of Civilizations. Shipra Publications, 2002. ISBN 81-7541-115-5.
• Mohamed Taher. Muslims in India: Recent Contributions to Literature on Religion, Philosophy, History, & Social Aspects. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1993. ISBN 81-7041-620-5. Excerpts
• Mohammad Mujeeb. The Indian Muslims. McGill University Press, 1967. ISBN 0-7735-0021-9.
• Murray Thurston Titus, Indian Islam: A Religious History of Islam in India. Milford, Oxford university press, 1930. ISBN 81-7069-096-X
• Yogindar Sikand. Muslims in India Since 1947: Islamic Perspectives on Inter-faith Relations. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-31486-0.
•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

Literature

• Elliot and Dowson: The History of India as told by its own Historians, New Delhi reprint, 1990.
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External links

• Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 – This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List