ISLAM and MUSLIMS IN INDIA

General Information

Republic of India

National name: Bharat

Land area: 1,147,949 sq mi (2,973,190 sq km); total area: 1,269,338 sq mi (3,287,590 sq km)

Population (2008 est.): 1,147,995,898

Capital (2003 est.): New Delhi, 15,334,000 (metro. area), 9,817,439 (city proper)

Largest cities: Bombay (Mumbai), 18,336,000 (metro. area), 11,914,398 (city proper); Calcutta (Kolkata), 14,299,000 (metro. area), 4,760,800 (city proper); Bangalore, 4,461,100; Madras (Chennai), 4,382,100; Ahmedabad, 3,653,700; Hyderabad, 3,585,600; Kanpur, 2,631,800

Monetary unit: Rupee

Principal languages: Hindi 30%, English, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi (all official); Hindi/Urdu; 1,600+ dialects

Ethnicity/race: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Religions: Hindu 81%, Islam 13%, Christian 2%, Sikh 2% (2001)

National Holiday: Republic Day, January 26

Literacy rate: 61% (2005 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $2.989 trillion; per capita $2,700. Real growth rate: 9.2%. Inflation: 6.4%.

One-third the area of the United States, the Republic of India occupies most of the subcontinent of India in southern Asia. It borders on China in the northeast. Other neighbors are Pakistan on the west, Nepal and Bhutan on the north, and Burma and Bangladesh on the east.

The country can be divided into three distinct geographic regions: the Himalayan region in the north, which contains some of the highest mountains in the world, the Gangetic Plain, and the plateau region in the south and central part. Its three great river systems—the Ganges, the Indus, and the Brahmaputra—have extensive deltas and all rise in the Himalayas.

One of the earliest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization flourished on the Indian subcontinent from c. 2600 B.C. to c. 2000 B.C. It is generally accepted that the Aryans entered India c. 1500 B.C. from the northwest, finding a land that was already home to an advanced civilization. They introduced Sanskrit and the Vedic religion, a forerunner of Hinduism. Buddhism was founded in the 6th century B.C. and was spread throughout northern India, most notably by one of the great ancient kings of the Mauryan dynasty, Asoka (c. 269–232 B.C.), who also unified most of the Indian subcontinent for the first time.

In 1526, Muslim invaders founded the great Mogul Empire, centered on Delhi, which lasted, at least in name, until 1857. Akbar the Great (1542–1605) strengthened and consolidated this empire. The long reign of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb (1618–1707), represents both the greatest extent of the Mogul Empire and the beginning of its decay.

Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, landed in India in 1498, and for the next 100 years the Portuguese had a virtual monopoly on trade with the subcontinent. Meanwhile, the English founded the East India Company, which set up its first factory at Surat in 1612 and began expanding its influence, fighting the Indian rulers and the French, Dutch, and Portuguese traders simultaneously.

Bombay, taken from the Portuguese, became the seat of English rule in 1687. The defeat of French and Mogul armies by Lord Clive in 1757 laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. The East India Company continued to suppress native uprisings and extend British rule until 1858, when the administration of India was formally transferred to the British Crown following the Sepoy Mutiny of native troops in 1857–1858.

After World War I, in which the Indian states sent more than 6 million troops to fight beside the Allies, Indian nationalist unrest rose to new heights under the leadership of a Hindu lawyer, Mohandas K. Gandhi, called Mahatma Gandhi. His philosophy of civil disobedience called for nonviolent noncooperation against British authority. He soon became the leading spirit of the Indian National Congress Party, which was the spearhead of revolt. In 1919, the British gave added responsibility to Indian officials, and in 1935, India was given a federal form of government and a measure of self-rule.

In 1942, with the Japanese pressing hard on the eastern borders of India, the British War Cabinet tried and failed to reach a political settlement with nationalist leaders. The Congress Party took the position that the British must quit India.

Islamic History and Muslims

Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. There are approximately 154 million Muslims in India's population as of 2008 (according to government census 2001), i.e., 13.4% of the population. Currently, India has the second or third largest population of Muslims in the world.

History

Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent

The emergence of Islam in the region is concurrent with the Turko-Muslim invasion of medieval India (which includes large parts of present day Pakistan and the Republic of India), where these rulers took over the administration of large parts of India. Since its introduction into India, Islam has made significant religious, artistic, philosophical, cultural, social and political influences to Indian history.

In modern times the Muslims of South Asia have had a turbulent history within the region. After the Lahore Resolution of 1946, Muslim League politicians achieved a Muslim-majority state known as Pakistan after independence from British rule. In modern times, the Muslim populations of India and Pakistan are roughly even. The previous President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, two more before him, and numerous other politicians are Muslims, as are numerous sports and film celebrities within India. Isolated incidences of violence nonetheless have occurred between the Muslim populations and the Hindu, Sikh and Christian populations.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam came to South Asia long before Muslim invasions of India. Islamic influence first came to be felt in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Trade relations between Arabia and the subcontinent are very ancient. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region, which was a link between them and ports of South East Asia, to trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia.

According to Historians Elliot and 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 AD. H.G. Rawlinson, in his book: Ancient and Medieval History of India 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” also is a reliable work.This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in his South Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals, and also by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV. 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.

The first Indian mosque was built in 612 A.D, at the behest of Cheraman Perumal, during the life time of Muhammad (c. 571–632) in Kodungallur by Malik Bin Deenar.

In Malabar the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam because they were more closely connected with the Arabs than others. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and a number of natives also embraced Islam. These new converts were now added to the Mappila community. Thus among the Mapilas, 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 (Pakistan) was conquered by Syrian Arabs 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 several raids deeper into modern day India. 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.

Islam in states

Assam

Muslims constitute nearly one-third of the state population (30.9%), the second highest after Jammu & Kashmir. They account 8,240,611 of the state total population of 26,655,528. Goapara, Dhubri, Barpeta, Nagaon, Karimganj and Hailakandi are some of the Muslim concentration districts of Assam.

The indigenous Muslim community of the Brahmputra Valley, locally known as Garias, accounts 35 lakh. The term Gariya is believed to have been derived from the word gaur, the then Muslim capital of Bengal, from where the Muslims trace their origin. They have a history of 800 years in Assam. A series of campaigns by Muslim rulers from Bengal and Delhi took place from the 13th to the 17th centuries. The indigenous Muslims or the Garias are mainly the descendants of the Muslims who stayed back after these campaigns. They settled down by marrying local girls.

The history of the Muslims of South Assam or Barak Valley goes back to 13th century.There the first evidence of the large scale Muslim settlement is found in modern Karimganj District. It was in 1303 A.D. when Hazrat Shahjalal the famous Sufi Saint of Bengal and Assam conquered Sylhet and he asked at least six of his followers to spread Islam in the Karimganj region. It is noteworthy that Karimganj was a part of Sylhet till 1947. Shah Badar from whom the name of Badarpur originated;Adam Khaki, Shah Ziayuddin, Shah Sikandar, etc. According to the tradition there are some others sufis like Asim Shah, Shaban Shah were the companions of Shahjalal. Since then large number of Muslims belong to the Turko-Afghan tribes attracted to this far land. Malik Mohammad Turani is one such person who migrated from Turan in central Asia to Badarpur locality, and after defeating ruler of a small tribal principality established his rule at Deorail, his grandson Malik Pratb curved out a new principality Pratabgarh that covered almost all the areas of Karimganj. The most important settlement of Muslims taken place during the Mughal-Afghan conflict. Large numbers of Afghans belong to Karrani tribe mainly settled down to avoid the direct control of Mughals. However, it is not that Islam spread in Kaimganj only the neighbouring areas of Cachar and Hailakandi came intouch of Muslim societal expansion. At least two of the companions of Shahjalal choose those areas.Still their graveyards veneratd by the thousnads of Hindu-Muslim followers. The works of those Sufis brought a large numbers of local into the fold of Islam since the early 13th century. These Muslims along with their fellows of undivided Sylhet gradually came to known as the Sylheti Muslims dring the time British rule. Presntly the population of the Sylheti Muslims of Assam is around 15 Lakhs.

The earliest record of Muslim settlement in the Brahmputra valley region dates back to the campaign of Nawab of Bengal Alauddin Hussain Shah (1493-1519), who after overpowering the ruler of Kamrup in 1498 annexed it. Sultan Ghiyasuddin, who was appointed governor of the occupied territory established a Muslim colony in Hajo. When Turbak, a Muslim general from Bengal invaded Assam in 1532 Muslims troops, numbering around 900 were taken as prisoners. They were later settled in Assam. Morias, a class of the indigenous Assamese Muslims found mainly in Kamrup, Sivasagar and Lakhimpur regarded themselves as the descendants of these captive Muslims. They still today regard Turbak as traditional chief. They manufacture household utensils from brass and bell-metal and are associated with it still today.

Muslims in large scale emigrated in western part of Assam when Koch Hajo, comprising the present districts of Kamrup and Goalpara region from 1613 to 1667 by the Mughals. Hajo became a stronghold and headquarters of the Mughals. It was during this period of Mughal occupation that Muslim military generals and nobles were conferred fiefs or military jagirs in this region.

The Assamese kings also introduced and patronised learned and skilled Muslims. Scholarly Muslims were attached to the Ahom court as scribes, known as Parsi-parhias; and the royal mint was also by and large under the supervision of Muslim officials. Many of the Assamese kings and queens struck coins with Persian legends engraved on them. Muslim artisans and craftsmen were incorporated into khanikar khel, a guild or a functional class of artisans. Some of the Muslim functional classes incorporated in the khel were Khargharia or manufacturers of gun-powder, Senchowa or hawk-trainers, Mistri or carpenters and ivory workers, Rahankara or dyers and painters, Rajmistry or architect and craftsman, Darji or tailors, Jola or cotton cloth weavers, Hil garha ustad or maker of steel and copper cannon, Karsipar bankara or cloth-embroiders, etc.

Many from the local population were also believed to have converted to Islam through the preaching of the several Pirs who visited and settled down in Assam. Many of these preachers accompanied the invading Muslim troops. They were patronised by the Assamese kings, by granting pir-pal lands (revenue free lands) and stipends and even bearing the cost of the maintenance of the shrines of popular Pirs. The names of some of the prominent Pirs who took to preaching and proselytising activities in Assam are Ghiyasuddin Auliya, Hasrat Osman Gani; Shah Akbar, Shah Sufi, Shah Kamal, Shah Pagmar and Shah Sharan, popularly known as Panch Pir; Baba Langar Shah; Sawal Pir, popularly known as Bandar Pir; Komaldya Khunkar Muhammad Gain, Azan Pir, among others. Their dargahs are visited by people of all faiths to fulfil their prayers even today. Even urs (anniversaries) of many Pirs are held every year.

The immigrant Muslims are, by and large, the descendants of those Muslim farmer-migrants who emigrated mainly from Mymensingh, Rangpur, Pabna and Bogna districts of Eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh ) in the 19th and 20th centuries. They took to cultivation by reclaiming the fertile wastelands of Assam. Sharp social divisions between indigenous Muslims and the migrant Muslims developed from the late 19th century. These two broad groups hardly enter into matrimonial relations. The indigenous Assamese Muslims are mainly concentrated in upper part of Assam whereas the migrant Muslims mainly in lower part of Assam.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Malik Ibn Dinar and 20 others who were the followers of Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, first landed in Kodungallur in Kerala when they came to India. Islam received royal patronage in some states here, and later spread to other parts of India. He was gifted a defunct Jain temple by the local ruler, where he established the first mosque in the Indian subcontinent. The exact date of its establishment is not known but is believed to be in 629 CE. Though, generally it is considered to be the second mosque of the world to make Jumma Prayer after the mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. His missionary team then went on to build 10 other mosques along the Malabar coast including the ones at Kollam, Chaliyam,Pantalayini Kollam/Quilandi, Madayi/Pazhayangadi, Srikandhapuram,Dharmadom, Kasaragode,Mangalore and Barkur. Some reports suggest that the ancient mosques at Chombal, Kottayam,Poovar and Thengapattanam were also built during this time.

After the fall of Chola Dynasty, the newly formed Vijayanagara Empire invited the Seljuk Turks from Ottoman Empire from the Fractions of Hanafi (Known as Rowther in South India) for trade link in 1279 AD, then biggest armada of Turks traders and missionaries settled in Tharangambadi (Nagapattinam), Karaikal, Muthupet, Koothanallur and Podakkudi. Turks (Rowthers) were unable to convert Hindus in Tanjore regions. The Turks settled in this area's with their armada and expanded to a moderate size of Islam community with population of almost 1 million Rowthers. These new settlements were now added to the Rowther community. Hanafi franctions having fair complexions because they were more closely connected with the Turkish than others in South. There are some Turkish Anatolian and Turkish Safavid Inscriptions found in wide area from Tanjore to Thiruvarur and in many villages, inscriptions seized by Madras Museum and available for public viewing. You may contact Archeologic Division at Madras Museum, for viewing and further research.

Later in the 1300 AD Arabs settles in the areas of Nagore, Kilakkarai, Adirampattinam, Kayalpatnam, Erwadi and Sri Lanka this peoples may have been the first Shafi Fractions (Known as Marakkar in Far South and Coastal area of South India) community of Islam. Shafi Fractions also have mixed fair and darker complexion because they were more closely connected with the Arabs than others in South. Arab traders also opened many new villages in these areas and settles. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and a number of natives like Malaya and Indonesia also embraced Islam. Arabs (Marakkar's) missionaries marries local women's and convert them to Islam. This conversion made Marakkars to be a very big Islamic community of almost 2.5 million peoples.

Sufism and spread of Islam

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' 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,Sarkar Sabir Pak,Waris Pak 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. However there is also evidence of fanatical and violent conversions carried out by Sufi Muslims. Ahmed Sirhindi, Naqshbandi Sufi passionately advocated Peaceful conversion of Hindus to Islam.

Role of Muslims in India's independence movement

The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is documented in India's struggle against the British. Maulana 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 great 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 organizations; 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 Khadar 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 gave his life for the cause of independence. Among Muslim women, Hazrat Mahal, Asghari Begum, Bi Amma contributed in the struggle of freedom from the British.

The period starting from 1498 saw the rise of the naval and trading power of the European countries, as they increasingly projected their naval power and expanded their trading interests over the Indian subcontinent. Subsequently with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and in Europe, the European powers gained a significant technological and commercial advantage over the decaying Mughal Empire. They gradually began increasing their influence on the subcontinent.

Hyder Ali, and later his son Sultan Tipu were early to understand the threat of the British East India Company and resisted it. However, Tipu Sultan was finally defeated at Srirangapatnam in 1799. In Bengal, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah faced the expansionist aims of the British East India Company and fought the British. However, he lost at the battle of Plassey in 1757. After the First war of Independence, which is popularly known as Sepoy Mutiny of 1857,the upper class Muslims were targeted by the Britishers the most, 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 massacre 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, District Barabanki, and since 1690s based in Lucknow, educated and guided the Muslims. The Firangi Mahal led and steered the Muslims of India. The moulanas and moulvis (religious teachers) of Darul-uloom, Deoband (UP) also played significant role in freedom struggle of India declaring subjugation of an unjust rule is against Islamic tenets.

Other famous Muslims who fought for freedom under the British Raj: Maulana Azad, Hakeem Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Dr. Syed Mahmud, Professor Maulavi Barkatullah, Dr. Zakir Husain , Saifuddin Kichlu, Allama Shibli Nomani, Vakkom Abdul Khadir, Dr. Manzoor Abdul Wahab, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Hakeem Nusrat Husain, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Samad Achakzai, Colonel Shahnawaz, Dr. 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, Badruddin Tyabjee, and Moulvi Abdul Hamid.

Until the 1930s Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a member of the Indian National Congress and was part of the freedom struggle. Dr. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal, poet and philosopher, was a strong proponent of Hindu - Muslim unity and an undivdided India until the 1920s.

Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali struggled for the emancipation of the Muslims in the overall Indian context, and struggled for freedom alongside Mahatama Gandhi and Maulana 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.

In the late 1920s, recognising the different perspectives of the Indian National Congress and that of the All India Muslim League, Dr. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal presented the concept of a separate Muslim homeland in India in the 1930s. Consequently, the All India Muslim League raised the demand for a separate Muslim homeland. This demand was raised in Lahore in 1940 (Known as the Pakistan Resolution). Dr. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal had passed away by then, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan,Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, and many others led the Pakistan Movement.

Initially, the demand for separate Muslim homeland(s) was within a framework of a large, independent, undivided India with autonomous regions governed by the Muslims. A number of other options to give the Muslim minority in India adequate protection and political representation in a free, undivided India, were also debated. However, when no common formula leading to early independence of India from the British Raj could be agreed between the Indian National Congress, the All India Muslim League, and the British colonial government, the All India Muslim League pressed unequivocally with its demand for a completely independent, sovereign country, Pakistan.

Law and politics

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

Although the Indian constitution provides equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their religion, Article 44 recommends a Uniform civil code. The 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. Thus in India there exists the unique situation where proponents of a secular law are deemed fascist while those who support the separate Sharia law for Indian Muslims are considered secular. 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.

Hindu-Muslim conflict

India has always maintained a constitutional commitment to secularism. Since the colonial period, Hindu-Muslim relations in India have been marred by communal violence. 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 conflicts also stem from the ideologies of Hindu Nationalism versus Islamic Extremism and prevalent in certain sections of the population.

More Muslims have usually been killed than Hindus in inter-community violence in India, while many Hindus have been persecuted in neighboring Muslim states and in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In all the communal riots since 1947, factually contested official police records reveal that three-quarters of lives lost and properties destroyed were Muslim, a figure that climbed to 85% during the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Nevertheless, it is to be noted that most of the Muslims of India remained in their homeland while many Hindus felt forced to migrate from Pakistan to India or Abroad.

Violence against Hindus East Pakistan, seeing the transmigration of over two million Hindus from 1950 to 1969, and also that of many Urdu speaking Muslims from the newly formed Bangladesh to West Pakistan during and after the 1971 crisis. The birth of Bangladesh witnessed unparalleled violence against Hindus as well when nearly three million Bangladeshis were killed and another 10 million sought refuge in India, the majority of them were Hindu. In addition, Islamist attacks on Hindus in Kashmir such as the Wandhama massacre and Kaluchak Massacre contributed to the rising communal tensions in the region. The ethnic cleansing of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits from the region by Islamists worsened the situation. The Indian military stationed in Kashmir has been accused by Pakistan, as well as human rights advocacy groups, of atrocities against the Muslim population in the region.

The sense of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the post-partition period has been compromised in the last decade with the razing of the disputed Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. The demolition took place in 1992 and was allegedly perpetrated by the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and organizations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. This was followed by tit for tat violence by Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists throughout the country including Bombay with the Bombay Riots and also the 1993 Bombay Bombings, amongst those allegedly involved in these atrocities were the Muslim Mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and the predominantly Muslim D-Company criminal gang.

In 2001 a high profile attack on the Indian Parliament by Islamic militants created considerable strain on community relations.

Some of the most violent events in recent times took place during the infamous Gujarat riots in India where it is estimated one thousand people were killed, most of whom allegedly Muslim, some sources claim there were approximately 2000 Muslim deaths and 1558 Hindu deaths, there were also allegations made of state involvement. The riots were in retaliation to the Godhra Train Burning in which 50 Hindus belonging to group called the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, returning from the disputed site of the Babri Mosque, were burnt alive in a train fire at the Godhra railway station. The incident was allegedly a planned act carried out by revengeful and extremist Ghanchi Muslims in the region against the Hindu pilgrims according to Gujarat police.The commission appointed to investigate this finding declared that the fire was an accident. 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. The Nanavati Shah commission is yet to conclude its inquiry and recently declared that it is not going to give an interim report in the meantime.The Gujarat riots that took place in retaliation for the incident swiftly took the state out of control, with the killing of Muslims by angry mobs of Hindus. Several Hindu Nationalist groups and government ministers (including the chief minister of Gujarat state, Narendra Modi) have been accused of direct involvement in the anti-Muslim riots.

Muslim-Hindu conflicts have also been fomented due to the mushrooming of Islamic Extremist organisations like SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) whose goal is to establish Islamic rule in India. Other Pakistan based groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been fomenting bias in the local Muslim populace against Hindus. These groups are believed by many to be responsible for the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, in which nearly 200 people were killed. Such groups also attacked the Indian Parliament in 2001, declared parts of Indian Kashmir to be Pakistani in 1999 and have orchestrated numerous other attacks including constant attacks in Indian Kashmir and bombings in the Indian capital New Delhi. In the meantime, the toll of innocent Muslims and Hindus at the altar of communal strife continues to mount.

As per Professor M.D. Nalapat (Vice-chairman of the Manipal Advanced Research Group, UNESCO Peace Chair, and professor of geopolitics at Manipal University), the reason for "Hindu - Muslim" conflict is "Hindu Backlash" or "partial" secularism, in which only Hindus are expected to be secular while Muslims and other minorities remain free to practice exclusionary practices. India.

Prominent Indian Muslims

* There have been three Muslim presidents of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Dr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

* India has also had some very popular Muslim actors: Dilip Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salmaan Khan and Saif Ali Khan are some of the most popular stars in Bollywood

* Sania Mirza, from Hyderabad is a highest-ranked Indian woman tennis player. In Cricket (which is the most popular game in India), there are many players who have made their mark. Some of them are Mushtaq Ali, Nawab of Pataudi, Mohammad Azharuddin, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

Muslims are also playing pivotal roles in the advertising industry, film industry (Bollywood), modern art, academics, theatre and sports. Some large industries like Wipro Ltd., Wockhardt, Himalaya health care, Hamdard Laboratories and Mirza Tanners are owned by Muslims.
Muslims are represented in Indian politics. For details on parliamentary representation see Muslims in Parliament of India.

Muslim institutes

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

* Modern Universities and institutes: Aligarh Muslim University, , Dar-us salam educattion trust (which has colleges like deccan college of engineering, Deccan school of hospital management, Deccan college of Medical sciences), Jamia Millia Islamia, Hamdard University,Al- Barkaat Educational Institutions, Maulana Azad Education Society Aurangabad, Dr. Rafiq Zakariya Campus Aurangabad]], Al Ameen Educational Society,Crescent Engineering College and Al-Kabir educational society.
* Traditional Islamic Universities: Sunni Markaz Kerala (the largest charitable, non governmental, non-profit Islamic institution in India), Raza Academy, Al jamiatulAshrafia, Azamgarh, Darul Uloom Deoband and Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama.

Aligarh Muslim University

Population statistics

Islam is India's largest minority religion, with Muslims officially constituting 13.4% of the country's population, or 138 million people as of the 2001 census. However, unofficial estimates claim a far higher figure supposedly discounted in censuses. For instance, in an interview with a well circulated newspaper of India The Hindu Justice K.M. Yusuf, a retired Judge from Calcutta High Court and Chairman of West Bengal Minority Commission, has said that the real percentage of Muslims in India is at least 20%.

pro Hindutva people say in their reports that the Muslim population has reached 30%.

The largest concentrations-about 47% of all Muslims in India, according to the 2001 census--live in the 3 states of Uttar Pradesh (30.7 million) (18.5%), West Bengal (20.2 million) (25%), and Bihar (13.7 million) (16.5%). 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 (24.7%) and Karnataka (12.2%). Muslims are generally more educated, urban, integrated and prosperous in the Western and Southern states of India than in the Northern and Eastern ones; this could be due to partition when the more affluent and educated population migrated over the border to Pakistan in the North and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in the East. India has the third largest Muslim population (after Indonesia and Pakistan) and also the second largest Shia Muslim population (after Iran) in the world.

The analysis on religious data, among the six major religious communities, shows that the decadal growth of the Muslims was the highest (36.0%) in the 2001 census. This statistic suggested that while the growth rate for Hindus has fallen between 1991 and 2001 compared with 1981 and 1991, Muslims have actually grown faster in the last decade, this led Indian media and different parties raising an alarm at the growing number of Muslims and expressing concern about the demographic imbalance and overpopulation, which the Indian government is desperately trying to stop democratically.

A grave objection to this theory is the fact that the 1991 census did not include Jammu & Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state and strife-torn Assam, while the 2001 census does include Jammu & Kashmir. Adjusted for this, the Muslim growth rate plunges from 36 per cent to 29.3 per cent.

Muslims praying by the historic Charminar after filling the Makkah Masjid, congregations of more than two hundred thousand pray on special occasions there.

Islamic traditions in South Asia

The Barelvi school to which over two-thirds of India's 15 crore Muslims subscribe to and who follow the Islam enriched by its contact with fertile local cultures, revere the Prophet and revel in Sufi traditions like dargah visit, music and mysticism.

Manzar-e-Islam Bareilly and Al Jamiatul Ashrafia are most famous Seminary of Barelwi Muslims. Darul-Uloom Deoband is the most influential Deobandi seminary in India. 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 (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 to 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.

The leadership of the Muslim community 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. 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 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.

Indo Islamic art and architecture

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.

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 civilizations, 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: 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 mimbar 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: Although not actually religious in nature, the tomb or maqbara introduced an entirely new architectural concept. While the masjid was mainly known for its simplicity, a tomb 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 Holy Quran and a great amount of time was spent in carving out minute details on walls, ceilings, pillars and domes.

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 Jaunpur and the Deccan; and the Mughal style (1526 to 1707AD).

The Taj Mahal

Charminar

The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa

Taj Mahal mosque or masjid

The Khas Mahal.

Jehangiri Mahal.

Muslims in Parliament of India

Muslims in India are 13.4% of total population. Their representation in Lok Sabha is 6.7% (36/534 current members) and in Rajya Sabha is 10.3% (25/242 current members).

Religious demographics

80.5% of the Indians are Hindus, with 13.4% of the population Muslim, making India home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan. India also contains the majority of the world's Zoroastrians, Sikhs and Jains. Other religious groups include Christians (2.3%), Buddhists (0.8%), Jews and Bahá'ís.

Historic Mosques of India

Cheraman Juma Masjid, Kodungalloor, Kerala

Cheraman Perumal Juma Masjid, believed to be the first Masjid in India

Believed to be the first mosque in India, Cheraman Juma Masjid where the Juma prayers were started is situated in Methala Village of Kodungalloor taluk in the state of Kerala. Built around 629 AD, the mosque is unique in its appearance as it is based on a mixture of Arab and traditional Kerala art and architecture.

The Oral tradition is that the Arab world had trade contacts with Kerala coast from very early times. Interaction with the Arabs brought Cheraman Perumal (the last Chera king to rule Cheranad (ancient Kerala)) closer to Islam. Later the king partitioned his kingdom among several chieftains for smooth governance, went to Mecca and converted to Islam and accepted the name Thajuddin. He married the sister of King of Jeddah and settled down there. As the tradition goes, Cheramanperumal, when he was convinced of his imminent death, wrote letters to his relatives in Kerala seeking their help to propagate the tenets of Islam in Kerala. After his death, when Malik Bin Dinar (a disciple of Prophet Mohammed and a contemporary of Cheraman Perumal) came to Kerala, he brought the letters written by Perumal. The rulers of Kerala honoured the letter and permitted Malik Bin Dinar and his fellow Arab Muslim traders to establish mosques at different places in Kerala. This mosque at Kodungallur was the first to be established and Malik Bin Dinar himself became the first Ghazi of the mosque. Later Malik Bin Dinar appointed his son Habib Bin Malik as the next Ghazi, travelled all around Kerala establishing mosques in different parts of the state.

Jama Masjid, Delhi

Jama Masjid situated in the ancient town of Old Delhi, 1 km west of Red Fort is one of the grand architectural examples of the Mughal era. The mosque is India's largest mosque and the last architectural work of the Mughal Emperor Shajahan which is much simpler than his other secular buildings.

Built between 1644 and 1658 AD, the mosque has three gateways, four angle towers and two minarets standing 40 m high. 5,000 laborers were employed for six years to complete its work in 1656. Designed by Ustad Khalil, the great sculptor of his time, it was built at the cost of 10 lakh (1 million) Rupees. Commonly called as Friday Mosque (as 'Jama' means Friday, which is the holy day of the Muslims) the mosque is made of red sandstone and marble.

Macca Masjid, Hyderabad

Makkah Masjid late 19th Century

Mecca Masjid is one of the oldest and the biggest mosques located in Hyderabad, India. The mosque is believed to contain sacred relics, one of which is the hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The bricks were brought from Holy Mecca, which were built into the central arch and hence the name. The courtyard houses a large pond flanked by slab seats.
The Mecca Masjid is a listed heritage building but lack of maintenance and ever growing pollution has withered and cracked the structure. It received a chemical wash in 1995.
It is located close to the historic Charminar, Chowmahalla Palace and Laad Bazaar.Zeenat Baksh Juma Masjid, Mangalore

When the Arab Muslim traders first set roots in the Malabar coast and around this city, they are said to have endeared themselves to the local populace very well. The prominent leader among them was Malik bin Deenar, who settled at Cranganore. Raja Cheruman Perumal of Malabar is believed to have offered them his gracious hospitality. One of the ten mosques allowed to be built by the Raja was the Zeenat Baksh mosque at Mangalore. It was inaugurated on Friday, 22 of Jumail Awwal month in 22 al Hijra, corresponding to year 644 AD, with the first Qadhi, Moosa bin Malik, son of Moosa bin Abdulla. This mosque is popularly known as Beliye Palli (meaning to grand mosque in dialect Beary bashe) among the local Muslim community, the Bearys.

Muslim culture of Hyderabad

The Muslim culture of Hyderabad refers to the culture associated with Muslims of Hyderabad State, India. With its origins in the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate and then Deccan sultanates, the culture became defined in the latter half of the reign of the Asif Jahi dynasty in Hyderabad. The culture exists today in Hyderabad and among the Hyderabadi Muslim diaspora around the world, in particular, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Deccan plateau acted as a bulwark sheltering South India from the invasions and political turmoil that affected North India. This allowed the Muslim-ruled state of Hyderabad to develop a distinctive culture during the Qutb Shahi dynasty and later the Asaf Jahi dynasty of the Nizams.

The Seventh Nizam was the richest man in the world in his period.

The Nizam was the Muslim ruler of the vast princely Hyderabad State. The capital city of Hyderabad was primarily Urdu-speaking Muslim until the Independence of India and subsequent rise to dominance of Telugu-speaking people of Andhra. The state's economy was agrarian, and Hyderabad was primarily a government and administrative hub, run mostly (but far from exclusively) by Muslims. The aristocracy, jagirdars and deshmukhs (wealthy landowners), and even minor government officials could afford to hire servants, usually also Muslims, in a social order similar to the class system of Victorian England. The Nizam allied himself with the British early on, with ensuing political stability. The Muslim upper and middle classes were free to concentrate on a care-free and leisurely lifestyle involving clothes, jewelry, food, music, literary arts, and other indulgences, little of which trickled down to the servant class, known as naukar (a word originally used for the Mughal Emperor Babur's closest feudal retainers).

The relative isolation of Hyderabad until Independence, its distinctive dialect of Urdu and the strong web of interconnecting family relationships that characterizes Hyderabadi Muslims sometimes leads to charges of parochialism from other Indian Muslim communities, but it also ensures a Hyderabadi Muslim identity endures among the Indian diaspora.

Hyderabad has both Sunni and Shi'ah Muslims, the majority of them being Sunni. The Sunni Muslims mostly follow the Hanafi school of Islamic Jurisprudence, although there are a few who follow the Shafi'i school of thought and mainly reside in areas close to Barkas, the former Military Barracks of the Nizam, an area where the residents are mainly of a Yemeni descent (especially from Hadhramawt). The Deobandi Tablighi Jamaat is also active. Salafism is slowly becoming popular with educated youth due to its appeal as a purer form of Islam than the local popular custom. The political Jamaat-e-Islami is also visible in the Mehdipatnam region where its large main mosque, Masjid e Azizia, is located.

Religious knowledge and its propagation flourished under the Nizam with institutions like the world famous Jamia Nizamia (Jami'ah Nizamiyyah) of Hyderabad. The largest Mosque of Hyderabad, the Makkah Masjid gathers congregations of two hundred thousand and more on special occasions of Eid prayers and especially of Jumu'at-al Wida' ( the last Friday of Ramadan )

Islamic Centers and Organizations

A PRAYER TIMING BOARDS MANUFACTURING CO., New Delhi, DELHI
Phone: +91 9811109540

(SIO OF INDIA) Students Islamic Organization of India Unit Latur, latur, Kerala
URL: sio-india.org Phone: 04952723927

Farooqiya Jama Masjid, Bombay, Maharashtra
Phone: 557903448

Jama MASJID Sodagaran jodhpur (raj), Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Islamic Research Foundation, Bombay, Mumbai
URL: http://www.irf.net/irf/main.htm Phone: 22-3736875

Islahul Muslamin Madarsha, Siwan, Bihar

A A Hussain & Co. Book Sellers, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Phone: 040-2-320-2724

Ahle Hadees Jamiya Masjid, Sirsi, Karnataka

SHA ABDUL RHAMAN WAKFUN ALAL AWLATH, POONTHALANGUDI, Tamil Nadu
Phone: +91-4367 245495

AL MISBAH ISLAMIC BOOK SHOP, Bombay, MAHARASTRA
Phone: 00912226780093
OLD RL MASJID, Erode
& madrasha paripalana saba tiruppur, Tiruporur
Aayesha Masjid ( Mumbra ), Bombay
Abdul Wahab's Masjid, Ahmadabad
Abdulrahiman Bavikere, Kasaragod Fort
ABDUS-SALAM MASJID, Bombay
ABOOBAKAR SIDDIQ (Rz) jamiya masjid, Malpe
ABRAR MASJID, Margao
ABU BAKAR MASJID, KONDHWA, Pune
Adukkath Juma Masjid, Adukkath
Ahle Hadees Jamiya Masjid, Sirsi
Ahle Hadith Jamat, Bombay
Ahle-Hadees Jama Masjid, Mominpura, Bombay
Ahlehadith, Ranchi
Ahlu Sunnath Wal Jama'ath, Madurai
Ahlul Hadees Jama Masjid (Marol)., Bombay
AHYA Call and Guidance Center, Mumbai
Al Badriya Juma Masjid, Balehonnur
AL FATHAH ORPANAGE, NAGAI
Al Fazal, Ahmedabad
Al Habeeb Mosque, Visakhapatnam
Al Madina Masjid, Bombay
Al Masjidhul Mahmoodia, Erode
Al Minar Mosque, Ranchi
Al Mubarak Masjid, Bangalore
AL-Bilal Mosque, Ramnad
AL-DARUL QUR'AN WA SUNNAH LIBRARY & EDUCATIONAL CENTER, Bombay
Al-Falah Masjid Periapattanam, Ramanathapuram
Al-Jamiul Azhar Jumma Masjid, KAYALPATNAM
Al-Masjid KaziMohalla, Ratnagiri
Al-Masjidul Ashraf, Nagercoil
AL-Minar Mosque, Gaya
Al-Wasiq Islamic Research & Guidance Centre مـــركـــز الــواثــق, AZAMGARH DISTRICT
Alandur islamic library, Madras
Alencherry Muslim Jama`at, Punalur, Kollam
Alif Masjid, Himatnagar
Aligarh Muslim University Jama Masjid, Aligarh
Amaravila Muslim Jamath, Neyyattinkara
Ambalathinkara Juma Masjid and Badariyya Yatheemkhana, Trivandrum
Ameeruddin mosque, Kurnool
Amina Masjid, Pune
Anjuman Mosque, Thyagaraya Nagar
Anjuman-E-Islamia, Darjeeling
Annanagar Javed Mosque, Madras
ANWARUL ISLAM MADRASSA, Malappuram
Aqsa masjeed, Beed
Arab Masjid Markaz Tabligh, Mahuva
Arambram Juma Masjid, Calicut
Army Masjid, Jhansi
Aroosiya Mosque, Kayalpatnam