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'== Historical development == While [[Islam]] requires [[egalitarian]]ism and does not recognize any [[castes]], only [[socio-economic]] [[Social class|classes]],{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=27}} when it came to [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Persia]] and India, the existing divisions in these regions were adopted among the local Muslim societies. Evidence of social stratification can be found in several later Persian works, such as {{transl|fa|[[Siyasatnama]]}} of [[Nizam al-Mulk]] (11th century), {{transl|fa|[[Akhlaq-i Nasiri]]}} of [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] (13th century), and {{transl|fa|Jam-i-Mufidi}} (17th century).{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=29}} After [[Muhammad]] died in the 7th century, there was the war of succession which had tribes and families fighting each other.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} After this, a determinant for social stratification in Arab society included being part of the close family of Muhammad ({{transl|ar|[[Ahl al-bayt|ahl al-bayt]]|}}).{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} This alleged {{transl|ar|ahl al-bayt}} determinant had its presence in ancient [[South Asia]] among Muslims since the 8th century. Then this allegedly led to a further hierarchical determinant, which was Arabs versus non-Arabs.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} Later on, among non-Arabs, further divisions took place between Muslims who were converted in early Islamization campaigns ({{transl|ar|khadim-al islam}}) and Muslims who converted more recently ({{transl|ar|jadid-al islam}}).{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} Today, [[South Asian]] Muslims are divided by the classifications above that have resulted in Arab-origin higher castes ({{transl|ur|unch zat}}) and those that are descendants of lower castes converts ({{transl|ur|nich zat}}).{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} The Sultans during the [[Mughal Empire]] were all high caste.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} The Muslims who came to the subcontinent during the 12th century [[Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent]] were allegedly already divided into vocation-based social "classes", including priests, nobles, and others. Further, racial segregation demarcated the local Muslim converts from foreign-origin Muslims. The foreigners claimed a superior status as they were associated with the conquerors and categorized themselves as [[Ashraf]] ("noble").{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=30}} Over time, the Indian Muslim society also allegedly split based on the existing [[Hindu caste system]].{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=30}} According to [[M. N. Srinivas]] (1986) and R.K. Bhattacharya, Indian Hindu converts to Islam, brought their original caste system to the Muslim society in the region.{{sfn|Azra Khanam|2013|pp=116}} On the other hand, [[Louis Dumont]] (1957) believes that the Islamic conquerors consciously adopted the Hindu caste system "as a compromise which they had to make in a predominantly Hindu environment."{{sfn|Azra Khanam|2013|pp=115-116}} [[Ziauddin Barani]], an ethnic Indian 14th-century political thinker of the [[Delhi Sultanate]], recommended that the "sons of Mohamed" (i.e., Ashrafs) be given a higher social status than the low-born (i.e., Ajlaf). His most significant contribution to the [[fatwa]] was his analysis of the castes concerning Islam. He asserted that castes would be mandated through state laws or "Zawabi" and would carry precedence over [[Sharia]] law whenever they were in conflict. According to Barani, every act "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominy, comes elegantly [from the Ajlaf]". Barani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of Imperial officers ("[[Vizier|Wazirs]]") that was primarily based on their caste.<ref>{{cite book |quote= Barani never called himself Turk for one intention that he wanted to be an Indian than anything else |title=Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatawa-i-Jahandari of Ziauddin Barani|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXmCAAAAMAAJ&q=Barani+never+called+himself+Turk+for+one+intention+that+he+wanted+to+be+an+Indian+than+anything+else |page=144 |author= Arbind Das · |date=1996 |publisher=Pratibha Prakashan |isbn=9788185268453 }}</ref><ref name="Das">Das, Arbind, Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatwa-i-Jahandari of Ziauddin Barrani: an analysis, Pratibha Publications, Delhi 1996, {{ISBN|81-85268-45-2}} pp. 124-143</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Sikand |first=Yoginder |title=Sacred Spaces: Exploring Traditions of Shared Faith in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBkwnoDPKgUC&pg=PA7 |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-302931-1 |pages=7–}}</ref> His opinions were not followed by his own Sultanate, as he accuses the Tughlaq Sultans of appointing "low-born" people to high offices, including [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq|Sultan Muhammad Shah]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One |author= Satish Chandra |date=2004 |page=99 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=9788124110645 }}</ref> and Barani's own patron [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq|Sultan Firuz Shah]] in [[Delhi]], who appointed a former slave captured and converted from [[Telangana]] as his [[Grand Vizier]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&dq=firuz+shah+khan+jahan+convert&pg=RA1-PA4 |title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture|id=Three-volume set |editor1=Jonathan Bloom|editor2=Sheila Blair|editor3=Sheila S. Blair |date=2009 |page=4 |publisher=Oup USA |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 }}</ref> Historically, many Muslims from the julaha or weaver caste began to identify as "Ansaris", the butchers as "Quereshis", and the sanitation and ''bhishti'' caste Muslims as "Sheikh".<ref name="Sanober"/> The Muslim concept of ''kafa'a/kufu/kafa'ah'', which ulama use to support endogamy, justifies South Asian Muslim caste practices.{{sfn|Julien Levesque|2020|p=14}} [[Kafa'ah]] is hereditary.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} === Ashrafization and Syedization === Ashrafization includes adopting upper-caste Muslim practices to achieve social climbing.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Collective and Elective Ethnicity: Caste among Urban Muslims in India |first=Syed |last= Ali |date=December 2002 |journal=Sociological Forum |volume=17 |number=4 |publisher=Springer |page=602 |jstor=3070361 |doi=10.1023/A:1021077323866|s2cid=146701489 }}</ref> The [[Sayyid Dynasty]] of [[Khizr Khan]] of the Delhi Sultanate was founded by a [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi Muslim]], who claimed Sayyid descent based on unsubstantiated evidence.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHbiAAAAMAAJ&q=and+rested+chiefly+on+its+causal+recognition+by+the+famous+saint+Sayyid+Jal%C3%A1l|title=The Cambridge History of India|date=1958|publisher=S. Chand|location=The claim of Khizr Khān , who founded the dynasty known as the Sayyids , to descent from the prophet of Arabia was dubious, and rested chiefly on its causal recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalāl - ud - dīn of Bukhārā .|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765 |author= Richard M. Eaton |year= 2019 | isbn=978-0520325128 |page=117|publisher= University of California Press |language=en|quote=The career of Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokar clan...}}</ref> The [[Sayyid Brothers|Barha Syeds]] who rose as [[Kingmaker|king-makers]] of the [[Mughal Empire]], originated from a marginal Indian peasant community of [[Muzaffarnagar]] who claimed Sayyid ancestry, although their claim to be true Syeds was generally not admitted. The Mughal Emperor [[Jahangir]] wrote that "some people make remarks about their lineage, but their bravery is a convincing proof of their being Sayyids". This showed that they had assimilated into Sayyid identity merely due to military service rather than through true descent.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC&dq=barha+peasant+syeds&pg=PA18 |title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850 |page=18 |author= Dirk H. A. Kolff |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521523059 }}</ref> ==== Caste Associations ==== Another type of Ashrafization is the establishment of caste associations to promote a community's interests and, especially, social support.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} These {{transliteration|fa|anjuman}} ('forum', 'society') is commonly termed {{transliteration|fa|jama'at}} ({{lang|fa|جماعت}}{{hairspace}}; 'congregation', 'group', 'community'), replacing in the associations' names the use of {{transliteration|ur|zat}}, which signifies 'birth or origin group'.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} The Khoja caste, who are Ismaili Shias found particularly in Karachi and Sindh, are prominent in this regard.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} Other significant Muslim caste associations are those of the Memons and the Bohras in Sindh and Gujarat.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} === History of research === There are various definitions of the term ''caste'', and therefore, diverse, contested opinions on whether this term can be used to denote [[social stratification]] among non-Hindu communities (e.g. [[Hindu]] [[Varna (Hinduism)|Varna]] or [[classification]]s of the [[British Raj]]). Ghaus Ansari (1960) uses the term "caste" to describe the Muslim social groups with the following characteristics: [[endogamy]] within a given social group, hierarchical gradation of social groups, determination of the group membership by birth, and in some cases, an association of occupation with the social group.{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=22}} Beginning in the [[19th century]], Western [[Indologist]]s first catalogued the various Muslim castes:{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=22}} * [[Henry Miers Elliot]]'s ''Supplement to the glossary of Indian terms'' (1844), later amplified into ''Memoirs on the history, folk-lore, and distribution of the Races of the North Western Provinces of India'' * John Charles Williams's ''The Report on the Census of Oudh'' (1869) * [[Denzil Ibbetson]]'s Census Report of Punjab (1883), later adapted into ''[[Panjab Castes]]'' * [[John Nesfield]]'s ''Brief View of the Caste System of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh'' (1885) * [[Herbert Hope Risley]]'s ''Tribes and castes of Bengal'' (1893) * [[William Crooke]]'s ''The tribes and castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh'' (1896) Nelson's book, in particular, included a whole chapter dedicated to the primarily [[British Raj]] [[Indologist]] derived [[neologism]] of Muslim "castes". In 20th-century British India, several works included Muslim social groups in their descriptions of the Indian castes. These included [[H. A. Rose]]'s ''[[A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province]]'' (1911).{{sfn|Ghaus Ansari|1960|p=2}} In independent India, Ghaus Ansari (1960) initiated an academic discussion over the [[neologism]] of the Muslim "caste" system. Subsequently, Imtiaz Ahmed elaborated on the topic in his ''Caste and Social Stratification among the Muslims'' (1973).{{sfn|Azra Khanam|2013|p=115}} About 1915, Mirza Muhammad Hassan Qatil wrote about the four {{lang|und|firqa}} (classes) of the Ashraf.{{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} He describes how people are considered to be {{lang|und|paji}} (contemptible) in the following occupations: elephant caretaking, bread business, perfume business, and businesses in bazaars.{{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} == Syedism, Ashrafism, Biradarism, Zatism, Sharifism, Arab Supremacy, and Divisions == Zat is sometimes considered a broader category than Biradari. In Pakistani Punjab, being relatives is the main criterion to comprise a Biradari. The highest to lowest ranking of Ashraf castes is the following: Syed, [[Garha|Gaur Muslims]], and Mughals. {{see also|List of Muslim Other Backward Classes communities in India}} Ghaus Ansari (1960) named the following four broad categories of Muslim social divisions in India: *''Ashrafs'', who claim foreign-origin descent. **e.g. [[Sayyid]], [[Idrishi]], [[Mughal tribe|Mughal]] *Converts from [[Forward caste|upper castes]] or [[Varna (Hinduism)|Swarna]] **e.g. [[Garha|Gaur Muslims]], [[Muslim Rajputs|Rajput Muslims]] [[Muslim Jats]], [[Idrishi]], [[Cheema (surname)|Chimba]] *Converts from other Indian [[Tribes]] **e.g. [[Muslim Dhobi|Dhobi]], Mansoori, [[Muslim Gaddi|Gaddi]], [[Faqir (clan)|Faqir]], [[Hajjam]] (Nai), [[Julaha]], [[Kabaria]], [[Kumhar]], [[Kunjra]], [[Mirasi]], and [[Muslim Teli|Teli]] *Converts from [[untouchability|untouchable]] castes **e.g. [[Mochi (Muslim)|Muslim Mochi]], [[Bhangi]] There is a hierarchy among Ashrafs that is determined by the degree of nearness to Muhammad and which country they originate from; accordingly, the Syeds (who trace descent from Fatima, Muhammad's daughter) have the highest status.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=887}} The non-Ashrafs are categorized as ''Ajlaf''. The untouchable Hindu converts are also categorized as ''Arzal'' ("degraded").<ref name="Ambedkar">{{cite book |last=Ambedkar |first=Bhimrao |author-link=B.R. Ambedkar |title=Pakistan or the Partition of India |publisher= Thackers Publishers }}</ref><ref name="Ambedkaronline">[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_partition/410.html Web resource for ''Pakistan or the Partition of India'']</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023|reason=Need peer-reviewed content}} They are relegated to menial professions such as scavenging and carrying [[night soil]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dereserve-these-myths/12109/ |title=Dereserve these myths - Indian Express |website=archive.indianexpress.com |language=en-gb |access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Falahi |first1=Masood |title=Caste and caste-based discrimination s Among Indian Muslims' |url=http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/5664/1/AHRC_16,_Caste_and_Caste_Based_Discriminations_Among_Indian_Muslims.pdf |website=SAS |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> [[B.R. Ambedkar]], citing the Superintendent of the Census for 1901 for the Province of Bengal, mentions that the Ajlaf primarily include: * Cultivating Sheikhs and others who were originally Hindus but who do not belong to any functional group and have not gained admittance to the Ashraf Community, e.g. Pirali and Thakrai. * Darzi, Jolaha, Fakir, and Rangrez. * Barhi, Bhalhiara, Chik, Churihar, Dai, Dhawa, Dhunia, Gaddi, Kalal, Kasai, Kula Kunjara, Laheri, Mahifarosh, Mallah, Naliya, Nikari. * Abdal, Bako, Bediya, Bhal, Chamba, Dafali, Dhobi, Hajjam, Mucho, Nagarchi, Nal, Panwaria, Madaria, Tunlia. For the Arzal, the following cases are mentioned by the Superintendent of the Census: Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_partition/410.html#part_2 |title=410}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023|reason=Need peer-reviewed content}} In [[Pakistan]], various social groups (called {{transliteration|ur|quoms}}) display a social stratification comparable to the Indian caste system. The various {{transliteration|ur|quoms}} differ widely in power, privilege, and wealth. Both ethnic affiliation (e.g. [[Pashtuns|Pathan]], [[Sindhis|Sindhi]], [[Baloch people|Baloch]], [[Punjabis|Punjabi]], etc.) and membership of specific [[biraderi]]s or {{transliteration|ur|zaat/quoms}} are additional integral components of social identity.<ref name="barth">{{cite book |last=Barth |first=Fredrik |editor=E. R. Leach |title=The System Of Social Stratification In Swat, North Pakistan (Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon, and North-West Pakistan) |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=2995517 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=113 |year=1962 |access-date=2017-08-25 |archive-date=2012-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406091830/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=2995517 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Within the bounds of endogamy defined by the above parameters, close [[cousin marriage|consanguineous unions]] are preferred due to a unity of key features of group- and individual-level background factors as well as affinities. McKim Marriott adds that a social stratification that is hierarchical, closed, endogamous, and hereditary is widely prevalent, particularly in western parts of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan |author=Fredrick Barth |journal=American Anthropologist |doi=10.1525/aa.1956.58.6.02a00080 |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=1079–1089 |date=December 1956 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{sfn|Zeyauddin Ahmad|2011}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Caste ranking and community structure in five regions of India and Pakistan |author=McKim Marriott |year=1960 |publisher=Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute |oclc=186146571}}</ref> The numerically and socially influential tribes in Pakistani Punjab includes the agricultural tribes of [[Awan (tribe)|Awan]], [[Jat Muslim]] and [[Muslim Gujjars|Gujjar]] as well as Rajput.<ref name="nihcr.edu.pk">{{citation |author=Mughees Ahmed |title=Local-bodies or local "biradari" system: An analysis of the role of burglaries in the local bodies system of Punjab |journal=Pakistan Journal of History and Culture |volume=30 |number=1 |pages=81–92 |year=2009 |url=http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/Local-Bodies.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Punjab Province, Pakistan |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |id=483579 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Punjab-province-Pakistan |access-date=22 March 2022}}h</ref> In [[Nepal]], the castes of Muslims rank differs according to the criteria applied.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the World Muslims: Tribes, Castes and Communities, Volume 1 |author=Nagendra Kr Singh, Abdul Mabud Khan |page=1124 |publisher=Global Vision Pub House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zzfs_G7QHoAC&pg=PA1124 |isbn=9788187746072 |year=2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic Culture - Volume 52 |page=207 |author=Marmaduke William Pickthall, Muhammad Asad |year=1978}}</ref> In India, the Ajlaf comprise Qureshis, Ansaris, Saifis, and other groups of lower occupation. Most ulemas (theologians/doctors of the law) are part of the Syed, and many Ashrafs are businessmen, landowners, and traders.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} A "marriage circle" can be formed over an area, where a zat panchayat (caste council) can have the authority and where marriage alliances occur. {{citation needed|date=July 2022}}{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} A Syed's status is sometimes based more on male descendants and hypergamous marriage than bloodline purity.{{sfn|Remy Delage|2014}} The early Turks had subdivisions.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} In the ''Rasum-i Hind'', a textbook that was compiled by Master Pyare Lal in 1862, the four ''firqa'' (or subdivisions of the Ashraf) are explained, and ''nasl'' (lineage/pedigree) is elaborated:{{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} * The ancestors of the Mughal caste are said to be descended from the Biblical Noah.{{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} * The ancestors of the Pathans are said to be Israelites from when Solomon was alive. {{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} In the ruling class of the Mughal Empire, Muslims were classified as native [[Hindustan]]i, Afghan, Turani, and Irani.{{sfn|David Lelyveld|2005}} === Pakistani Punjab === ==== Zamindars, Kammis, and the Seyp System ==== Zamindars, a landowning class, and Kammis, service-providing castes, are caste-based status groups and are found in a hierarchical system in Pakistani Punjabi villages.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=ii}} Kammi Quoms and Zamindar Quoms are rigid birth-based groups based on parentage occupations.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=ii}} In the Seyp System, contractual labour, the Kammis provide work and services and receive favours, food, money, crops, and grains.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=5}} Zamindars are considered a dominant caste, and leaders in the village and people who dominate the town's affairs tend to be Zamindars.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=5}} Social, political, and economic affairs of the city are dominated by Zamindar Quoms in Pakistan, and land is controlled by Zamindar Quoms,{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=5}} while Kammi Quoms are socially marginalized and discriminated.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=8}} Inter-Quom endogamy is found between Kammi Quoms and Zamindar Quoms.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=4}} Ancestral land ownership and a parentage job being cultivation are what Punjabi Pakistanis ascribe to the Zamindar status.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=10}} "Zamindars", in modern-day Pakistani Punjabi villages, typically refers to a Quom that owns the land and has an occupation of agriculture - Zamindari.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=6}} Some castes are higher than the service-providing castes and below the landowning castes.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=74}} Caste endogamy is found in Pakistan, with members of a Quom tending to marry within the Quom.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=17}} In the rural parts of Pakistani Punjab, the lack of marriages between Kammi and Zamindar Quoms is vital to the caste system.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=17}} Kammis include artisan, labourer, and service providing Quoms (such as barbers, cobblers, and carpenters).{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=18}} A Kammi woman remarked how:{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=136}} {{blockquote|Even if a Kammi acquires 100 acres of land, he remains Kammi, and Zamindars will always consider him lower. A Zamindar who owns one acre of land would think, "If a Kammi has bought 2 acres, so what? After all, he remains a Kammi". They do not accept us as equals.}} Quoms are highly influential in marriage practices.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=18}} However, different Zamindar Quoms sometimes intermarry, which may constitute a Biradari.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=139}} A large majority of Kammis perform daily wage labour or low-ranking tasks.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=140}} A study in a Pakistani Punjabi village found that in the ''Seyp'' (contractual relationships) between a ''Zamindar'' (landholding) family and ''Kammi'' (artisan castes) families, Kammi families give goods and perform services to the Zamindars, which provide the Kammis with grain; the Kammi families also serve some customary and ritual tasks: for example, the barber cooks in the Zamindar's house on special events and performs circumcisions.{{sfn|Julien Levesque|2020|p=10}} ===== Elections ===== People also exhibit loyalty to their Quoms in elections.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=18}} In Pakistani Punjab, Biradaris are the sole criteria in local bodies' elections.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=160}} There are more Zamindars than Kammis in Pakistani Punjab.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=139}} Including because of the high financial costs of running in an election, Kammis do not generally run in elections.{{sfn|Ahmed Usman|2011|p=161}} === Bengal === Although class distinctions based on wealth and occupation exist, hereditary castes don't exist in mainstream Bangladeshis/Bengali Muslims, unlike Bangladeshi Hindus.<ref>[https://factsanddetails.com/south-asia/Bangladesh/Life_Bangladesh/entry-8182.html BANGLADESH SOCIETY: CLASSES, CASTES, NEIGHBORHOODS, MIDDLE CLASS AND BEGGARS]</ref> {{circular reference|date=May 2023|reason=the site uses Wikipedia as a source for its articles}}{{bsn|date=May 2023|reason=The site is maintained by someone who in their own words is "not a professor or an expert on the subjects I write about"}} There might be around 35 Muslim castes in West Bengal.{{sfn|Chowdhury|2009|p=8}} Muslim society might have been historically divided into three large groupings in Bengal, with the Sharif/Ashraf at the top, followed by the ''Atraf'' (low-born), and with the Arzal or Ajlaf at the bottom.{{sfn|Chowdhury|2009|p=8}} Other Muslim castes historically did not associate with Arzal castes.{{sfn|Chowdhury|2009|p=10}} Lower castes historically are not allowed to enter mosques or be buried in the public burial ground.{{sfn|Chowdhury|2009|p=10}} === Sharifism === Sharifism refers to the special status given to claimants of prophetic ''nasab'' (also ''qarabah''), which means "closeness", or being descended from Muhammad, Muhammad's Quraysh tribe, or Muhammad's family.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies: Selected Writings |publisher=Ashgate Publisher, Ltd. |year=2010 |page=30}}</ref> == Discrimination == === Representation === In 20th century India, the upper-class (''Ashraf'') Muslims dominated the government jobs and parliamentary representation. As a result, there have been campaigns to include lower social classes among the groups eligible for [[reservation in India|affirmative action in India]] under ''SC and STs provision act''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/01-15Sep04-Print-Edition/011509200449.htm |title=On reservation for Muslims |author=Asghar Ali Engineer |work=The Milli Gazette |publisher=Pharos |access-date=2004-09-01 }}</ref> === Burial === In India's [[Bihar]] state, [[Forward caste]] Muslims have opposed [[backward caste]] Muslims being buried in the same graveyard.<ref name="rediff_burial">{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/06bihar.htm |title=Backward Muslims protest denial of burial |author=Anand Mohan Sahay |work=[[Rediff.com]] |access-date=2003-03-06 }}</ref><ref>Ahmad, I., 2010. "Can There Be a Category Called Dalit Muslims?". ''Studies in Inequality and Social Justice'', p.79</ref> === Cooking === A study in a Pakistani village found that a caste-like hierarchy exists in the Muslim community of the village. The sweeper group is ranked the lowest. The other Muslim communities do not allow the sweepers to touch the cooking vessels of the upper ranking groups of Muslims.<ref name="Donnan1988">{{cite book |author=Hastings Donnan |title=Marriage Among Muslims: Preference and Choice in Northern Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PL_ACoFwJ2gC&pg=PR9 |year=1988 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-08416-2 |pages=51–56}}</ref> === Racial and historical === Barani also explained at one point how Turkish sultans discriminated against Muslims of local descent.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} He explains how Iltutmish discriminated against low-birth Muslims by letting go of 33 of them from the government.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} Additionally, Iltutmish appointed Jamal Marzuq to the post of Mutassarif of Kanauj; Aziz Bahruz disagreed due to low birth status, which resulted in Marzuq no longer being the Mutassarif.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} Low-born people were not allowed to be in the mudabbiri or khwajgi post and could not be eligible for an iqta recommendation.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} Balban prevented low-birth people from being in important offices, and he also criticized how Kamal Mohiyar was selected for mutassarif of Amroaha.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} A letter by Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri explains how Balban thoroughly researched the ancestry of every single one of his government servants and officers; he had genealogists met in Delhi to ascertain these ancestries.{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} Tughlaq had a policy of giving "preference to foreign-born Muslims in administration and government" and "systematically ignored the claims of Indian Muslims".{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri explains how:{{sfn|Imtiaz Ahmed|1967|p=889}} {{blockquote|The Sultan went to the extent of offering the most responsible and distinguished offices of the kingdom — for instance, those of a Wazir, a Dabir, a military commander, a judge, a professor of theology, or a Shaikhul-Islam — to almost any foreigner of some learning. Foreigners coming to India were collectively known as 'the Honourables' (A'izza)}} Historians and Urdu writers (including Masood Alam Falahi) have explained how discrimination of Ashraf Muslims towards lower caste Muslims and Dalit Muslims was often disguised under claims of class and "{{transl|ur|khandaani}}" (family line) values among Uttar Pradesh Muslims.<ref name="Sanober">{{cite journal |title= The Identity of Language and the Language of Erasure: Urdu and the Racialized-Decastification of the "Backward Musalmaan" in India |first=Sanober |last=Umar |publisher=[[Brandeis University]] |journal=Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion |date=14 February 2020 |volume=1 |issue=1 |doi=10.26812/caste.v1i1.29 |page=187|doi-access=free }}</ref> ==See also== {{Portal|Islam}} *[[Caste system among South Asian Christians]] *[[Caste system in India]] *[[Islam in India]] *[[Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz]] *[[Social class in the United Kingdom]] *[[Social class in the United States]] == References == === Citations === {{reflist|30em}} === Bibliography === {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal |author=Imtiaz Ahmed |title=Ashraf and Ajlaf Categories in Indo-Muslim Society |date=May 13, 1967 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=2 |issue=19 |pages=887–891 |jstor=4357934}} * {{cite book |last=Anis Ansari |first=Khalid |chapter=Pluralism and the Post-Minority Condition |editor1=Boaventura De Sousa Santos |editor2=Bruno Sena Martins |date=2021 |title=The Pluriverse of Human Rights: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity |publisher=Routledge |pages=|isbn=978-1-00-039570-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8cqEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT86}} * {{cite book |author=Ghaus Ansari |title=Muslim Caste in Uttar Pradesh: A Study of Culture Contact |publisher=Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society |year=1960 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0HRAAAAMAAJ |oclc=1104993 }} * {{cite book |author=Fredrik Barth |author-link=Fredrik Barth |editor=Edmund Leach |title=Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan |publisher=CUP Archive |year=1960 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OlU7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA113 |isbn=9780521096645 }} * {{cite journal |last=Berreman |first=Gerald D. |date=June 1972 |title=Social Categories and Social Interaction in Urban India |journal=American Anthropologist |volume =74 |issue=3 |pages=567–586 |issn=0002-7294 |doi =10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00220 |doi-access=free }} * {{cite journal |first=Iftekhar Uddin |last=Chowdhury |title=Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia: A Study of Bangladesh |publisher=Indian Institute of Dalit Studies |journal=Working Paper Series |url=https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Bangladesh/Caste-based_Discrimination_in_Bangladesh__IIDS_working_paper_.pdf |volume=III |number=7 |date=November 7, 2009}} * {{cite journal |author=Remy Delage |title=Muslim Castes in India |journal=Books & Ideas |date=29 September 2014 |publisher=College De France |url=https://booksandideas.net/Muslim-Castes-in-India.html}} * {{cite book |author=Azra Khanam |title=Muslim Backward Classes: A Sociological Perspective |publisher=SAGE |year=2013 |isbn=9788132116509 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sdz9AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 }} * {{cite web |author=Julien Levesque |title=Debates on Muslim Caste in North India and Pakistan |year=2020 |publisher=HAL |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02697381}} * {{cite web |author=David Lelyveld |title=Article on "Ashraf" in "Keywords in South Asian Studies" |editor=Rachel Dwyer |publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies |year=2005 |url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/south-asia-institute/keywords/file24799.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227045820/https://www.soas.ac.uk/south-asia-institute/keywords/file24799.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2020}} * {{cite book |author=Robert W. Stern |title=Changing India: Bourgeois Revolution on the Subcontinent |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-00912-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kb_z1KghC1oC&pg=PA76}} * {{cite thesis |author=Ahmed Usman |title=Social Stratification in a Punjabi Village of Pakistan: The Dynamics between Caste, Gender, and Violence |type=PhD |url=https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/21130/1/582096.pdf |publisher=The University of Leeds |year=2011}} * {{cite book |title=Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies: Selected Writings |publisher=Ashgate Publisher, Ltd. |year=2010}} {{refend}} ==Notes== :A.{{Note|NoteA||This source gets the quotation from the following source: E A Gait, 'Census of India' 1901: Bengal Report 6 (1), Bengal Secretariat Press. 1902, p 439; the description in 'Imperial Gazetteer of India', v. 2, pp 329}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book |author=Imtiaz Ahmad |title=Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India |year=1978 |publisher=Manohar |location=New Delhi |oclc=5147249 }} * {{cite book |author=Zeyauddin Ahmad |chapter=Caste Elements Among the Muslims of Bihar |editor=Kenneth David |date=2011 |title=The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |pages=337–356 |isbn=978-3-11-080775-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp_la9QMGIQC&pg=PA337}} * {{cite book |last=Imam Ali |first=A.F. |title=Changing Social Stratification in Rural Bangladesh |date=September 1993 |publisher=South Asia Books |isbn=978-81-7169-267-5 }} * {{cite journal |author=Syed Ali |date=December 2002 |title=Collective and Elective Ethnicity: Caste Among Urban Muslims in India |journal=Sociological Forum |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=593–620 |issn=0884-8971 |doi=10.1023/A:1021077323866 |s2cid=146701489 }} * {{cite book |last=Sikand |first=Yoginder |title= Islam, Caste and Muslim Relations in India |year=2004 |publisher= Global Media Publications |isbn=978-81-88869-06-0 }} * {{cite journal |last=Ahmad |first=S. Shamim |author2=A. K. Chakravarti |date=January 1981 |title=Some regional characteristics of Muslim caste systems in India |journal=GeoJournal |volume =5 |issue=1 |pages=55–60 |issn=0343-2521 |doi=10.1007/BF00185243 |s2cid=153606947 }} * {{cite journal |last=Berreman |first=Gerald D. |date=June 1972 |title=Social Categories and Social Interaction in Urban India |journal=American Anthropologist |volume =74 |issue=3 |pages=567–586 |issn=0002-7294 |doi =10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00220 |doi-access=free }} {{Segregation by type|state=collapsed}} {{Discrimination}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Caste System Among South Asian Muslims}} [[Category:Caste system in India|Muslims]] [[Category:Islam in India]] [[Category:Islam in Pakistan]] [[Category:Islam in South Asia]] [[Category:Islam in Nepal]] [[Category:Social class in India]] [[Category:Discrimination in India]] [[Category:Discrimination in Pakistan]] [[Category:Discrimination in Bangladesh]] [[Category:Discrimination in Nepal]] [[Category:Discrimination in Sri Lanka]] [[Category:Caste-related violence in India]] [[Category:Caste system in Nepal]] [[Category:Caste]]'