Islam in India

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Template:Totallydisputed Islam is the second-largest religion in India (after Hinduism - 80.5%), where Muslims number around 137 million (13.4%). India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan.

Since its introduction to India, Islam has made valuable religious, artistic, philosophical, culture, social and political contributions to Indian history, heritage and life. It has also been involved in many social, religious and political conflicts.

Arrival of Islam

In contrary to general belief, Islam came to India long before Mughals. Trade relations between Arabia and Indian sub-continent are very ancient. Arabs used to visit the coast of Southern India, which was a link between the ports of South and South East Asia. After the Arab traders became Muslim, they brought Islam to South Asia. A number of local Indians living in the coastal areas (Kerala) embraced Islam. However, it was the Muslim conquests in Persia, which brought the Arabs face to face with the then ruler of Sindh. In the first half of the 10th century a Muslim ruler of Afghanistan invaded the Punjab 11 times, without much political success. A more successful invasion came at the end of the 12th century. This eventually led to the formation of the Delhi Sultanate. They had become Muslims and assimilated the culture of the Middle East, while keeping elements of their Central Asian roots. The Mughals are of Far Eastern stock, however.

See also Rajputs and invasions of India.

Sufism and spread of Islam

Sufis (Islamic saints) 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. Sufis' unorthodox approach towards Islam made it easier for Hindus to practice. Hazrat Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chisti, Nizam-ud-din Auliya, Shah Jalal, Amir Khusro trained Sufi groups 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. Even today Sufi tombs are visited by Hindus and Muslims alike.

Role of Muslims in India's freedom movement

The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is immense in India's struggle against british. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Rafi Ahmed Qidwai are a few of Muslims who devoted their life for this purpose. Muhammad Ashfaq Ullah Khan of Shahjehanpur who conspired and looted the British treasury at Kakori (Lucknow) to cripple the administration and who, when asked for his last will, before execution, desired: No desire is left except one that some one may put a little soil of my motherland in my winding sheet. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (popular as Frontier Gandhi), a great nationalist who had passed 45 years of his 95 years of life in jail for the freedom of India; Barakatullah of Bhopal, one of the founders of the Ghadar party which created a network of anti-British organization and who died penniless in Germany in l927; Syed Rahmat Shah of the Ghadar party who worked as an underground revolutionary in France and was hanged for his part in unsuccessful Ghadar (mutiny)uprising in 1915; Ali Ahmad Siddiqui of Faizabad (UP) who planned the Indian Mutiny in Malaya and Burma along with Syed Mujtaba Hussain of Jaunpur and who was hanged In 1917; Vakkom Abdul Khadar of Kerala who participated in "Quit India" struggle in 1942 was hanged ; Umar Subhani, an industrialist and a millionaire of Bombay who presented a blank check to Gandhiji for congress expenses and who ultimately gave his life for the cause of independence. Among Muslim women, Hazrat Mahal, Asghari Begum, Bi Amma contributed heavily in the struggle of freedom from Britishers.

There was also a major uprising by Kerala Muslims in the form of the Moplah Rebellion.

The following is a list of some famous Muslims who fought for a unified India (as opposed to Pakistan): Maulana Azad, Hakeem Ajmal Khan, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Aruna Asaf Ali, Hasrat Mohani, Professor Barkatullah, Dr. Zakir Husain , Saifuddin Kichlu, Allama Shibli Nomani, Vakkom Abdul Khadir, Dr. Manzoor Abdul Wahab, Mazharul Haque, Abdul Sattar, Hakeem Nusrat Husain, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Colonel Shahnawaz, Dr. M.A.Ansari, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, Ansar Harwani, Tak Sherwani, Viqarul Mulk, Mustsafa Husain, VM Ubaidullah, SR Rahim, Badruddin Tyabjee, and Moulvi Abdul Hamid.

Muslims in Present India

In general majority of Muslims in India are in a somewhat difficult situation. Though once Muslims ruled Hindu majority India but they could not cope with situations during colonial time and after 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. During partition, many educated and rich Muslims either migrated to Pakistan or Britain thereby leaving behind poor and illiterate Muslims. After creation of Pakistan, it was Indian immigrated Muslims (Muhajirs) who contributed most in the development of their new country. The majority of Muslims in India are poor but there are a few, who are shining.

In 1889 Khwaja Abdul Hamid founded first Indian owned industry in colonial era, which is CIPLA (The Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories). In 1939, when Mahatma Gandhi visited CIPLA he wrote "delighted to visit this Indian enterprise". There are various big industries which are owned by Muslims in India: Wipro Ltd., Wochkardt, Himalaya health care, Hamdard Laboratories, Mirza Tanners (Owns Red Tape Shoes).

There have been three Muslim presidents of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Dr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and the current president, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Azim H. Premji, owner of Wipro Ltd. is the richest man in India. In 2005, Yusuf Hameed of Cipla and Azim Premji received highest Indian civil award (Padma Bhushan) for his contributions to the country. In advertising industry Muslims are playing pivotal role; some of the topmost advertising professionals are Alyque Padamsee, Mohammed Khan, Muzaffar Ali and Rafeeq Ellias. In Modern Art M F Husain, S H Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh and Tyeb Mehta are very famous. A significant modern Muslim intelligentsia has crystallised in varying fields, including academics (examples, Irfan Habib, Mushirul Hasan, Shahid Amin, Zoya Hasan), theatre (Habib Tanveer, Ebrahim Alkazi, Jabbar Patel and Zohra Sehgal), literature (Rahi Masoom Raza, Ali Sardar Jafri, Kamala Suraiya and Kaifi Azmi), and journalism (M J Akbar, Zahid Ali Khan). In sports contribution of Mohammad Azharuddin, Sayyed Kirmani, Mushtaq Ali is in records, while Irfan Pathan, Sania Mirza, Zaheer Khan are creating new records.

Indian film industry, Bollywood, has always been dominated by Muslims. There was a time when Muslims would adopt Hindu names- Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari and Madhubala, but now they are comfortable with their Muslim names and in some cases, it's the other way around (M.M. Kreem, Gulzar). Muslims are successful in every aspect of film industry; actors (Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, whose father Taj Khan emigrated from Pakistan to India during partition, Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Fardeen Khan, Naseeruddin Shah), actresses (Tabu, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, Meena Kumari), Lyricists (Javed Akhtar, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhyanvi) and directors (Farhan Akhtar, K. Asif, Akbar Khan), Music (Naushad, Zakir Hussain, Ustad Amjad Ali, Sabri Brothers, A.R. Rahman, Anu Malik, Salim/Sulaiman).

Muslim Institutes

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

Modern College and University: Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Hamdard University, Al Ameen Colleges.
Traditional Islamic University: Darul Uloom Deoband, Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Darul-Ulum Manzar Islam (Bareli)
Other religious institutions: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
Media: Milli Gazette

Population Statistics

Islam is India's largest minority religion, with Muslims officially comprising 13.4 % of the country's population, or 137 million people as of 2001.

The largest concentrations--about 47 % of all Muslims in India--live in the states of Bihar (13.7 million), West Bengal (20.2 million), and Uttar Pradesh (30.7 million), according to the 2001 census. Muslims represent a majority of the local population only in Jammu and Kashmir (67 % in 2001) and Lakshadweep (95 %). High concentrations of Muslims are found in the eastern states of Assam (31 %) and West Bengal (25 %), and in the southern state of Kerala (25 %). Muslims are generally more educated, urban, integrated and prosperous in the Western and Southern states of India than in the Northern and Eastern ones. India has the third largest Muslim population (after Indonesia and Pakistan) and also the second largest Shia Muslim population (after Iran) in the world.

Illegal Immigrants from Bangladesh

Indian officials charge that ever since 1971, there has been a steady and growing number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh entering via the adjoining Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya. Various sources and authorities estimate the number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh living in India around 10-20 million includes both Muslims and Hindus. [1]

This influx has led to general increase in population in many areas of India leading to creation of ghettos/slums. It has created various socio economic issue such as:

Concerns over increase in crime rates
Fear of loss of jobs to illegal immigrants.
A perception that immigration from Bangladesh is increasing the Muslim population

The issue of whether to regularize the immigrants or to evacuate them back to their home country remains a matter of debate. Some percieve that Muslim immigrants are discriminated against by law enforcement officials and state administrations.

Attempts by India's Border Security Forces to block the influx of immigrants has sometimes led to political conflicts with Bangladesh. In some ways, the issue is similar to that of inflow of illegal immigrants to the US via its border with Mexico.

These issues have often been exploited by regional political parties to stir up controversy in an attempt to divert attention from bad governance or to garner votes from specific communities.

The History of Islam in India

The first Islamic presence in India came in the 8th century CE, when Syrian Arabs led by Muhammad Qasim conquered the region of Sindh and made it an eastern province of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Islamic Traditions in South Asia

A significant aspect of Indian Islam is the importance of shrines attached to the memory of great Sufi saints. Sufism is a mystical path (tarika) as distinct from the legalistic path of the sharia. A Sufi attains a direct vision of oneness with God, often on the edges of orthodox behavior, and can thus become a Pir (living saint) who may take on disciples ([murid]s) 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 to India and played a major role in the spread of Islam. Many Sufis were well known for weaving music, dance, intoxicants, and local folktales into their songs and lectures. In this way, they created a large literature in regional languages that embedded Islamic culture deeply into older South Asian traditions.

In the case of many great teachers, the memory of their holiness has been so intense that they are still viewed as active intercessors with God, and their tombs have become the site of rites and prayers by disciples and lay people alike. Tales of miraculous deeds associated with the tombs of great saints have attracted large numbers of pilgrims attempting to gain cures for physical maladies or solutions to personal problems. The tomb of the Pir thus becomes a dargah (gateway) to God and the focus for a wide range of rituals, such as daily washing and decoration by professional attendants, touching or kissing the tomb or contact with the water that has washed it, hanging petitions on the walls of the shrine surrounding the tomb, and giving money.

The descendants of the original pir are sometimes seen as inheritors of his spiritual energy and as pirs in their own right. They may dispense amulets sanctified by contact with them or with the tomb. The annual celebration of the Pir's death is a major event at important shrines, attracting hundreds of thousands of devotees for celebrations that may last for days. Free communal kitchens and distribution of sweets are also big attractions of these festivals, at which Muslim fakirs, or wandering ascetics, sometimes appear and where public demonstrations of self-mortification, such as miraculous piercing of the body and spiritual possession of devotees, sometimes occur. Every region of India can boast of at least one major Sufi shrine that attracts expressive devotion, which remains important, especially for Muslim women.

The leadership of the Muslim community has pursued various directions in the evolution of Indian Islam during the twentieth century. The most conservative wing has typically rested on the education system provided by the hundreds of religious training institutes (madrasa) throughout the country, which have tended to stress the study of the Qur'an and Islamic texts in Arabic and Persian but little else. Several national movements have emerged from this sector of the Muslim community. The Jamaati Islami (Islamic Party), founded in 1941, advocates the establishment of an overtly Islamic government through peaceful, democratic, and non-missionary activities. The Indian branch of the party had about 3,000 active members and 40,000 sympathizers in the mid-1980s. 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 and cooperative 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 pirs and the memory of the Prophet. A powerful secularising drive led by Syed Ahmad Khan resulted in the foundation of Aligarh Muslim University (1875 as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College) -- with a broader, more modern curriculum -- and other major Muslim universities. This educational drive has remained the most dominant force in guiding the Muslim community.

Post - Independence

The Muslims of India have generally been treated well although there has been many anti-Muslim riots and pograms.

See also: Mappila (Muslim community from Kerala)

References

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Literature

Elliot and Dowson: The History of India as told by its own Historians, New Delhi reprint, 1990.
Majumdar, R. C. (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume VI, The Delhi Sultanate, Bombay, 1960; Volume VII, The Mughal Empire, Bombay, 1973.
M K A Siddiqui (ed.), Marginal Muslim Communities In India, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi (2004) (review)