Muslims make up around 12% of India’s population, yet their influence on Indian society and culture has been far-reaching. Historically, Muslims have ruled many different parts of the country, since arriving from the West.
Arabs got to India before Islam was established in Arabia, later transforming their places of worship into Mosques. Most Muslims that arrived in India and converted the locals in the 8th century came from non-Arab countries including Bukhara, Turkey, Iran, Yemen and Afghanistan. India’s most famous Islamic preacher, Khwaja Chishti, was a Sufi from Iran.
Currency: Conversion
During the Muslim invasions, the deal for Indians amounted to conversion to Islam, death, or impossible taxes, such as Jeziya (poll tax) and Kharaj (property tax). But there were exceptions:
One Moghul Emperor, Akbar, was very liberal and established a new religion, Din E Elahi, which included elements from different faiths. You can see the symbols of various religions in Akbar’s monuments. His grandson Aurangazeb had different ideas and ordered many places of worship for other faiths to be destroyed and transformed into Mosques.
Most Indian Muslim converts came from the lower classes, but some came from ruling families of the different Indian kingdoms. Some belonged to the Hindu warrior castes and adopted Islam, while others are descendants of Muslim rulers who invaded India.
India’s Muslim rulers brought mercenaries, businessmen and slaves from different parts of the world like Russia; Afghanistan; Turkey; Arabia and Africa. These people remained in India and married local Indians who in turn converted to Islam.
Islam in all its Elements
Today there Sunni and Shia Muslims in India. There are also other divisions present in the Muslim world: men descended from the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, who add the title Syed before their names and descendants from the first Muslims, who add the title Sheik. There are also branches of Islam within India itself.
In west India, you’ll find the Bohra and Khoja Muslim communities who adopted Islam influenced by different Muslim preachers. The Khojas, whose leader is Aga Khan, also split into different communities. The Nawait are descendants of Arab and Persian immigrants. The Mophilla community in the southern Indian state of Kerala are descended from Arab merchants.
The Pathans are Muslims who arrived from Afghanistan, often have the surname “Khan” and are famed being brave, honest and righteous. The original Pathans believe they originated from the Tribes of Israel.
At the turn of the 20th century a handful of reformist Muslims organizations evolved in India, seeking to adjust Islamic philosophy to the modern world. Their mission included making polygamy illegal and promoting education for women as well as for men.
