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Islam in South Asia

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Islam is the second-largest religion in South Asia, with more than 650 million Muslims living there, forming about one-third of the region's population. Islam first spread along the coastal regions of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, almost as soon as it started in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Arab traders brought it to South Asia. South Asia has the largest population of Muslims in the world, with about one-third of all Muslims living here.[17][18] Islam is the dominant religion in half of the South Asian countries (Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). It is the second largest religion in India and third largest in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Muslims in South Asia
United Nations cartographic map of South Asia
Total population
c. 652.8 million (2019)
(32% of the population) Increase[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan243,530,000[4] (2024)
India200,000,000[5] (2021)
Bangladesh150,400,000[6] (2022)
Afghanistan41,128,771[7][8] (2022)
Sri Lanka2,131,240[9] (2023)
Nepal1,483,060[10] (2021)
Maldives560,000[11][12] (2021)
Bhutan727[13][14] (2020)
Religions
Predominantly Sunni Islam
Languages
Liturgical (Universal)
Common (Regional)
Traditional (Community)

On the Indian subcontinent, Islam first appeared in the southwestern tip of the peninsula, in today's Kerala state. Arabs traded with Malabar even before the birth of Muhammad. Native legends say that a group of Sahaba, under Malik Ibn Deenar, arrived on the Malabar Coast and preached Islam. According to that legend, the first mosque of India was built by the mandate of the last King of Chera Perumals of Makotai, who accepted Islam and received the name Tajudheen during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632).[19][20][21] On a similar note, Malabar Muslims on the western coast also claim that they converted to Islam in Muhammad's lifetime. According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the Masjids at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids (mosques) in the Indian Subcontinent.[22][23] [24] Historicaly, the Barwada Mosque in Ghogha, Gujarat built before 623 CE, Cheraman Juma Mosque (629 CE) in Methala, Kerala and Palaiya Jumma Palli (630 CE) in Kilakarai, Tamil Nadu are three of the first mosques in South Asia.[25][26][27][28][23]

The first incursion occurred through sea by Caliph Umar's governor of Bahrain, Usman ibn Abu al-Aas, who sent his brother Hakam ibn Abu al-Aas to raid and reconnoitre the Makran region[29] around 636 CE or 643 AD long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land. Al-Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi, who attacked Makran in the year 649 AD, was an early partisan of Ali ibn Abu Talib.[30] During the caliphate of Ali, many Hindu Jats of Sindh had come under the influence of Shi'ism[31] and some even participated in the Battle of Camel and died fighting for Ali.[30] According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep islands, situated just to the west of Malabar Coast, by Ubaidullah in 661 CE. After the Rashidun Caliphate, Muslim dynasties came to power.[32][33] Since the 1947 partition of India, South Asia has been largely governed by modern states,[34][35] with Pakistan, which later split into Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1971, emerging as the primary Islamic country in the region.

Origins

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Main articles: Muhammad in Islam, Rashidun Caliphate, and Spread of Islam

Islamic influence first came to be felt in the Indian subcontinent during the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region to trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia. Unlike the coasts of Malabar, the northwestern coasts were not as receptive to the Middle Eastern arrivals. Hindu merchants in Sindh and Gujarat perceived the Arab merchants to be competitors.

According to Historians Henry Miers Elliot and John Dowson in their book The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 CE. The first Indian mosque is thought to have been built in 629 CE, purportedly at the behest of an unknown Chera dynasty ruler, during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 571–632) in Kodungallur, in district of Thrissur, Kerala by Malik Bin Deenar. In Malabar, Muslims are called Mappila.

Henry Rawlinson, in his book Ancient and Medieval History of India (ISBN 81-86050-79-5), claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century. This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in his South Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals,[36] and also by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV.[37]

The Arab merchants and traders became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went.[38] It was, however, the subsequent expansion of the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent over the next millennia that established Islam in the region.

According to Derryl N. Maclean, a link between Sindh and early partisans of Ali or proto-Shi'ites can be traced to Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi, who traveled across Sind to Makran in the year 649AD and presented a report on the area to the Caliph. He supported Ali, and died fighting on his behalf alongside Sindhi Jats.[39]

During the reign of Ali, many Jats came under the influence of Islam.[40] Jats fought against the Muslims in the battle of Chains in 634[41] and later also fought on the side of Ali in the Battle of the Camel in 656 under their chief, Ali B. Danur.[42] After the Islamic conquest of Persia was completed, the Muslim Arabs then began to move towards the lands east of Persia and in 652 captured Herat.[43]

Conversions

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Main article: Islamic missionary activity § In South Asia

The Islamic ambitions of the sultans and Mughals had concentrated in expanding Muslim power and looting, not in seeking converts. Evidence of the absence of systematic programs for conversion is the reason for the concentration of South Asia's Muslim populations outside the main core of the Muslim polities[44] in the northeast and northwest regions of the subcontinent, which were on the peripheries of Muslim states.[45]

The Sufis did not preach egalitarianism, but played an important role in integrating agricultural settlements with the larger contemporary cultures. In areas where Sufis received grants and supervised clearing of forestry, they had the role of mediating with worldly and divine authority. Richard M. Eaton has described the significance of this in the context of West Punjab and East Bengal, the two main areas to develop Muslim majorities.[46] The 1947 partition was eventually made possible because of the concentration of Muslim majorities in northwest and northeast India.[47] The overwhelming majority of the subcontinent's Muslims live in regions which became Pakistan in 1947.[48]

These nominal conversions to Islam, brought about by regional Muslim polities, were followed by reforms, especially after the 17th century, in which Muslims integrated with the larger Muslim world. Improved transport services in the nineteenth century brought Muslim masses into contact with Mecca, which facilitated reformist movements stressing Quranic literalism and making people aware of the differences between Islamic commands and their actual practices.[49]

Islamic reformist movements, such as the Faraizi movement, in the nineteenth century rural Bengal aimed to remove indigenous folk practices from Bengali Islam and commit the population exclusively to Allah and Muhammad.[50] Politically the reform aspect of conversion, emphasizing exclusiveness, continued with the Pakistan movement for a separate Muslim state[49] and a cultural aspect was the assumption of Arab culture.[51]

Demographics

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Main article: Islam by country
Muslim Percentage by Country
Country Percent
  Maldives[52][53]
 
 100%
  Afghanistan[54]
 
 99.7%
  Pakistan[55]
 
 96.47%
  Bangladesh[56]
 
 91.04%
  India[57]
 
 14.12%
  Sri Lanka[58]
 
 9.8%
    Nepal[59]
 
 5.09%
  Bhutan
 
 0.1%

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Maldives are Muslim-majority countries. The Muslim population in India is 14.12%, which still makes it the largest Muslim population outside the Muslim-majority countries.[60]

See also

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Notes

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Burke, Daniel Burke, ed. (29 July 2016). "The moment American Muslims were waiting for". CNN Religion. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. ^ Pechilis, Karen; Raj, Selva J. (2013). South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today. Routledge. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-415-44851-2. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Overall total population" (xlsx). United Nations. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Population". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2021. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021. 238,181,034 (July 2021 est.)
  5. ^ Diamant, Jeff. "The countries with the 10 largest Christian populations and the 10 largest Muslim populations". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Census 2022: Bangladesh population now 165 million". www.dhakatribune.com. 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  7. ^ "World Bank Open Data". World Bank Open Data. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Afghanistan". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 8 October 2022. (Archived 2022 edition.)
  9. ^ Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011 Archived 7 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "The Kathmandu Post | Read online latest news and articles from Nepal". kathmandupost.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  11. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  12. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  13. ^ Pew Research Center - Global Religious Landscape 2010 - religious composition by country Archived 5 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ "Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project - Research and data from Pew Research Center". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  15. ^ Al-Jallad, Ahmad (30 May 2011). "Polygenesis in the Arabic Dialects". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. BRILL. doi:10.1163/1570-6699_eall_EALL_SIM_000030. ISBN 9789004177024. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  16. ^ Talbot & Singh 2009, p. 27, footnote 3.
  17. ^ Pechilis, Karen; Raj, Selva J. (1 January 2013). South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today. Routledge. ISBN 9780415448512.
  18. ^ "10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  19. ^ "World's second oldest mosque is in India". Bahrain tribune. Archived from the original on 6 July 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2006.
  20. ^ Ibn Nadim, "Fihrist", 1037
  21. ^ "History". Malik Deenar Grand Juma Masjid. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  22. ^ Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98.
  23. ^ a b Kumar(Gujarati Magazine), Ahmadabad,July 2012,P 444
  24. ^ Metcalf 2009, p. 1.
  25. ^ "Oldest Indian mosque: Trail leads to Gujarat". The Times of India. 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Oldest Indian mosque: Trail leads to Gujarat". The Times of India. 6 November 2016. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  27. ^ Sharma, Indu (22 March 2018). "Top 11 Famous Muslim Religious Places in Gujarat". Gujarat Travel Blog. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  28. ^ Prof.Mehboob Desai,Masjit during the time of Prophet Nabi Muhammed Sale Allahu Alayhi Wasalam,Divy Bhasakar,Gujarati News Paper, Thursday, column 'Rahe Roshan',24 May,page 4
  29. ^ Al Baldiah wal nahaiyah vol: 7 page 141
  30. ^ a b MacLean, Derryl N. (1989), Religion and Society in Arab Sind, pp. 126, BRILL, ISBN 90-04-08551-3
  31. ^ S. A. A. Rizvi, "A socio-intellectual History of Isna Ashari Shi'is in India", Volo. 1, pp. 138, Mar'ifat Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
  32. ^ Levy-Rubin, Milka (2011). Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 102–103. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511977435. ISBN 978-1108449618.
  33. ^ Jo Van Steenbergen (2020). "2.1". A History of the Islamic World, 600–1800: Empire, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Pre-Modern Islamic West-Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1000093070.
  34. ^ Jalal, Ayesha; Bose, Sugata (1998), Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy (1st ed.), Sang-e-Meel Publications
  35. ^ Talbot, Ian (2016), A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-21659-2
  36. ^ Sturrock, J., South Canara and Madras District Manual (2 vols., Madras, 1894-1895)
  37. ^ ISBN 81-85843-05-8 Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV
  38. ^ "Mujeeb Jaihoon". JAIHOON.COM. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006.
  39. ^ Derryl N. Maclean (1989). Religion and Society in Arab Sind. E. J. BRILL. p. 126. ISBN 90-04-08551-3.
  40. ^ Ibn Athir, Vol. 3, pp. 45–46, 381, as cited in: S. A. N. Rezavi, "The Shia Muslims", in History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. 2, Part. 2: "Religious Movements and Institutions in Medieval India", Chapter 13, Oxford University Press (2006).
  41. ^ Abdulla, Ahmed (1987). An Observation: Perspective of Pakistan. Tanzeem Publishers. p. 137. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  42. ^ Zakeri, Mohsen (1995). Sasanid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society: The Origins of 'Ayyārān and Futuwwa. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 127. ISBN 978-3-447-03652-8.
  43. ^ "Afghanistan | history – geography". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  44. ^ Metcalf & Metcalf 2002, p. 6.
  45. ^ Eaton 1993, p. 115.
  46. ^ Metcalf & Metcalf 2002, p. 7.
  47. ^ Talbot & Singh 2009, p. 27.
  48. ^ Eaton 1993, p. 119.
  49. ^ a b Eaton 1985, p. 121.
  50. ^ Eaton 1993, p. 282.
  51. ^ Eaton 1985, p. 122.
  52. ^ "Maldives". Law.emory.edu. 21 February 1920. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  53. ^ Maldives – Religion Archived 14 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, countrystudies.us
  54. ^ "CIA – The World Factbook – Afghanistan". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  55. ^ Population by religions Archived 17 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Statistics Division of the Government of Pakistan
  56. ^ "The Future of the Global Muslim Population". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 15 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  57. ^ "Indian Census". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  58. ^ "Table 1". 13 May 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  59. ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  60. ^ Metcalf 2009, p. xvii–xviii.

Sources

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