Islam in India

Common<br />
Traditional<br />

|rels= Majority Sunni Islam with minor Shia

|flag=

Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. Most of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up about 15% of the Muslim population.

Islam first spread in southern Indian communities along the Arab coastal trade routes in Gujarat and on Malabar Coast shortly after the religion emerged in the Arabian Peninsula. Later, Islam arrived in the northern inland of the Indian subcontinent in the 7th century when the Arabs invaded and conquered Sindh. It arrived in Punjab and North India in the 12th century via the Ghaznavids and Ghurids conquest and has since become a part of India's religious and cultural heritage. The Barwada Mosque in Ghogha, Gujarat built before 623 CE, Cheraman Juma Mosque (629 CE) in Methala, Kerala and Palaiya Jumma Palli (or The Old Jumma Masjid, 628–630 CE) in Kilakarai, Tamil Nadu are three of the first mosques in India which were built by seafaring Arab merchants. According to the legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur in present-day Kerala with the mandate of the last ruler (the Tajudeen Cheraman Perumal) of the Chera dynasty, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632). Similarly, Tamil Muslims on the eastern coasts also claim that they converted to Islam in Muhammad's lifetime. The local mosques date to the early 700s.

History

Origins

The vast majority of the Muslims in India belong to South Asian ethnic groups. However, some Indian Muslims were found with detectable, traceable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from the Middle East and Central Asia. However, they are found in very low levels. Those who are referred to as Ashrafs are presumed to have a superior status derived from their foreign Arab ancestry, while the Ajlafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and have a lower status.

This social stratification, however, stands in direct contrast to the core Islamic theological principle of the equality of all believers. Orthodox Islamic doctrine holds that all Muslims constitute a single community (Ummah), and the Quran and Hadith strongly emphasize unity and brotherhood, rejecting divisions based on ethnicity or lineage. This principle is exemplified in the Farewell Sermon of Muhammad, which states: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; except by piety and good action." In light of these teachings, many Islamic scholars (ulema) argue that the existence of a caste-like hierarchy is a cultural practice that contradicts the foundational tenets of the religion. However, other scholars and community leaders maintain that marrying within one's own caste or social group is preferable, a practice that remains widely observed in India.

In two of the three genetic studies referenced here, in which is described that samples were taken from several regions of India's Muslim communities, it was again found that the Muslim population was overwhelmingly similar to the local non-Muslims associated, with some having minor but still detectable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from Iran and Central Asia, rather than directly from the Arabian peninsula.

Research on the comparison of Y chromosomes of Indian Muslims with other Indian groups was published in 2005. claims that the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century CE. This fact is corroborated by J. Sturrock in his Madras District Manuals and by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV. With the rise of Islam, Arabs emerged as a significant cultural force on the global stage. Through their extensive trade and commerce networks, Arab merchants and traders became key ambassadors of the faith, shared its teachings wherever they traveled.

According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep islands, situated just to the west of Malabar Coast, by Ubaidullah in 661 CE. His grave is believed to be located on the island of Andrott. A few Umayyad (661–750 CE) coins were discovered from Kothamangalam in the eastern part of Ernakulam district, Kerala. According to Kerala Muslim tradition, the Masjid Zeenath Baksh at Mangalore is one of the oldest mosques in the Indian subcontinent. According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur in present-day Kerala with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of Chera dynasty, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 570–632). According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad, the Masjids at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town.

The first Indian mosque, Cheraman Juma Mosque, is thought to have been built in 629 CE by Malik Deenar although some historians say the first mosque was in Gujarat in between 610 and 623 CE. In Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and many other natives embraced Islam. According to legend, two travellers from India, Moulai Abdullah (formerly known as Baalam Nath) and Maulai Nuruddin (Rupnath), went to the court of Imam Mustansir (427–487 AH)/(1036–1094 CE) and were so impressed that they converted to Islam and came back to preach in India in 467 AH/1073 CE. Moulai Ahmed was their companion. Abadullah was the first Wali-ul-Hind (saint of India). He came across a married couple named Kaka Akela and Kaki Akela who became his first converts in the Taiyabi (Bohra) community.

Arab–Indian interactions

Historical evidence shows that Arabs and Muslims interacted with Indians from the early days of Islam and possibly before the arrival of Islam in Arab regions. Arab traders transmitted the numeral system developed by Indians to the Middle East and Europe.

Many Sanskrit books were translated into Arabic as early as the 8th century. George Saliba in his book "Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance", writes that "some major Sanskrit texts began to be translated during the reign of the second Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775), if not before; some texts on logic even before that, and it has been generally accepted that the Persian and Sanskrit texts, few as they were, were indeed the first to be translated."

Commercial intercourse between Arabia and India had gone on from time immemorial, with for example the sale of dates and aromatic herbs by Arabs traders who came to Indian shores every spring with the advent of the monsoon breeze. People living on the western coast of India were as familiar with the annual coming of Arab traders as they were with the flocks of monsoon birds. However, whereas monsoon birds flew back to Africa after a sojourn of few months, not all traders returned to their homes in the desert; many married Indian women and settled in India.

The advent of Muhammad (569–632 CE) transformed the previously idolatrous and fragmented Arabs into a nation unified by faith and driven by a shared commitment to spreading the message of Islam. Arab merchant seamen, who had long brought goods like dates to South India, now introduced the new religion, which found a warm reception in the region. South Indian communities welcomed the construction of mosques and facilitated cultural integration, including intermarriage between Arabs and local women. This led to the formation of a distinct Indian-Arabian Muslim community. By the early 9th century, Muslim missionaries in Malabar achieved a significant milestone when they inspired the conversion of the local king to Islam. He was also a poet and few couplets of his poem in praise of Ali ibn Abu Talib have survived, as reported in Chachnama.

During Ali's leadership, numerous Jats in Sind embraced Islam, influenced by the efforts of figures like Harith ibn Murrah al-Abdi and Sayfi ibn Fil' al-Shaybani, officers in Ali’s army. In 658 CE, they led campaigns against Sindhi bandits, pursuing them as far as Al-Qiqan (modern-day Quetta). Sayfi was later killed in 660 CE near Damascus as one of seven loyal companions of Ali who were beheaded alongside Hujr ibn Adi al-Kindi. in 660 CE, near Damascus.

Political history of Islam in India

thumb|The [[Taj Mahal in Agra, India. It was built under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century, and represents Indo-Islamic architecture.]]

thumb|A Sindhi Muslim

Muhammad bin Qasim (672 CE), at the age of 17, was the first Muslim general to invade the Indian subcontinent, managing to reach Sindh. In the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place between the Umayyad Caliphate and the Indian kingdoms; resulted in Umayyad campaigns in India checked and contained to Sindh. Around the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic empire, the Ghaznavids, under Mahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE), was the second, much more ferocious invader, using swift-horse cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia's north-western plains. Eventually, under the Ghurids, the Muslim army broke into the North Indian Plains, which lead to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in 1206 by the slaves of the Ghurid dynasty. The sultanate was to control much of North India and to make many forays into South India. However, internal squabbling resulted in the decline of the sultanate, and new Muslim sultanates such as the Bengal Sultanate in the east breaking off, while in the Deccan the Urdu-speaking colonists from Delhi, who carried the Urdu language to the Deccan, founded the Bahmanid Empire. In 1339, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Shah Mir dynasty.

Under the Delhi Sultanate, there was a synthesis of Indian civilization with that of Islamic civilization, and the integration of the Indian subcontinent with a growing world system and wider international networks spanning large parts of Afro-Eurasia, which had a significant impact on Indian culture and society. The time period of their rule included the earliest forms of Indo-Islamic architecture, increased growth rates in India's population and economy, and the emergence of the Hindustani language. The Delhi Sultanate was also responsible for repelling the Mongol Empire's potentially devastating invasions of India in the 13th and 14th centuries. The period coincided with a greater use of mechanical technology in the Indian subcontinent. From the 13th century onwards, India began widely adopting mechanical technologies from the Islamic world, including water-raising wheels with gears and pulleys, machines with cams and cranks, papermaking technology, and the spinning wheel.

thumb|Muslim family from [[Malabar Coast|Malabar, 1540]]

In the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers, fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors. The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices and diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status. The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency, caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets. The Mughal Empire was the world's largest economy in the 17th century, larger than Qing China and Western Europe, with Mughal India producing about a quarter of the world's economic and industrial output.

In the 18th century, Mughal power had become severely limited. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies and invaded several Mughal provinces from the Punjab to Bengal. By this time, the dominant economic powers in the Indian subcontinent were Bengal Subah under the Nawabs of Bengal and the South Indian Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, before the former was devastated by the Maratha invasions of Bengal, leading to the economy of the Kingdom of Mysore overtaking Bengal. The British East India Company conquered Bengal in 1757 and then Mysore in the late 18th century. The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad), before he was exiled to Burma by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

File:Last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II with sons Mirza Jawan Bakht & Mirza Shah Abbas.jpg|Last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II with sons Mirza Jawan Bakht & Mirza Shah Abbas

File:Akbar Shah II procession guards.png|Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II in British India

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Role in the Indian independence movement

The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is documented in the history of India's struggle for independence. Titumir raised a revolt against the British Raj. Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai are other Muslims who engaged in this endeavour. Ashfaqulla Khan of Shahjahanpur conspired to loot the British treasury at Kakori(Lucknow) (See Kakori conspiracy). Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (popularly known as "Frontier Gandhi") was a noted 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 organisations; 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 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 Khader was a member of Azad Hind Fauj and was hanged in 1943; Umar Subhani, an industrialist and millionaire from Bombay, provided Mahatma Gandhi with Congress expenses and ultimately died for the cause of independence. Among Muslim women, Hazrat Mahal, Asghari Begum, and Bi Amma contributed in the struggle for independence from the British.

thumb|upright|[[Abul Kalam Azad|Maulana Azad was a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and a strong advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. Shown here is Azad (left) with Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi in 1940.]]

Other famous Muslims who fought for independence against British rule were Abul Kalam Azad, Mahmud al-Hasan of Darul Uloom Deoband, who was implicated in the famous Silk Letter Movement to overthrow the British through an armed struggle, Hussain Ahmad Madani, former Shaikhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, Ubaidullah Sindhi, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Syed Mahmud, Ahmadullah Shah, Professor Maulavi Barkatullah, Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi, Zakir Husain, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vakkom Abdul Khader, Manzoor Abdul Wahab, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Hakeem Nusrat Husain, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Colonel Shahnawaz, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Ansar Harwani, Tak Sherwani, Nawab Viqarul Mulk, Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, Mustsafa Husain, V. M. Obaidullah, S.R. Rahim, Badruddin Tyabji, Abid Hasan and Moulvi Abdul Hamid.

Until 1920, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, later the founder of Pakistan, was a member of the Indian National Congress and was part of the independence struggle. Muhammad Iqbal, poet and philosopher, was a strong proponent of Hindu–Muslim unity and an undivided India, perhaps until 1930. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was also active in the Indian National Congress in Bengal, during his early political career. Mohammad Ali Jouhar and Shaukat Ali struggled for the emancipation of the Muslims in the overall Indian context, and struggled for independence alongside Mahatma Gandhi and 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.

Partition of India

thumb|260px|The Partition of British India was based on religion. The negotiations failed several times, with differing demands about boundaries, as shown in this map of 1946.

The partition of British India led to the creation of the dominions of Pakistan (that later split into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh) and India (later Republic of India). The Indian Independence Act 1947 had decided 15 August 1947, as the appointed date for the partition. However, Pakistan celebrates its day of creation on 14 August.

The partition of India was set forth in the Act and resulted in the dissolution of the British Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the newly constituted states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million (most estimates of the numbers of people who crossed the boundaries between India and Pakistan in 1947 range between 10 and 12 million). The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to this day.

thumb|upright|[[Abdul Ghaffar Khan with Gandhi in 1930. Also known as Frontier Gandhi, Khan led the non-violent opposition against the British Raj and strongly opposed the partition of India.]]

The partition included the geographical division of the Bengal province into East Bengal, which became part of Pakistan (from 1956, East Pakistan). West Bengal became part of India, and a similar partition of the Punjab province became West Punjab (later the Pakistani Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory) and East Punjab (later the Indian Punjab, as well as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh). The partition agreement also included the division of Indian government assets, including the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian railways and the central treasury, and other administrative services.

The two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at the stroke of midnight on 14–15 August 1947. The ceremonies for the transfer of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at the time the capital of the new state of Pakistan, so that the last British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, could attend both the ceremony in Karachi and the ceremony in Delhi. Thus, Pakistan's Independence Day is celebrated on 14 August and India's on 15 August.

After the partition of India in 1947, two-thirds of the Muslims resided in Pakistan (both East and West Pakistan) but a third resided in India. Based on 1951 census of displaced persons, 7,226,000 Muslims went to Pakistan (both West and East) from India while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan (both West and East). Some critics allege that British haste in the partition process increased the violence that followed. Because independence was declared prior to the actual Partition, it was up to the new governments of India and Pakistan to keep public order. No large population movements were contemplated; the plan called for safeguards for minorities on both sides of the new border. It was a task at which both states failed. There was a complete breakdown of law and order; many died in riots, massacre, or just from the hardships of their flight to safety. What ensued was one of the largest population movements in recorded history. According to Richard Symonds: At the lowest estimate, half a million people perished and twelve million became homeless.

However, many argue that the British were forced to expedite the Partition by events on the ground. Once in office, Mountbatten quickly became aware if Britain were to avoid involvement in a civil war, which seemed increasingly likely, there was no alternative to partition and a hasty exit from India. The historian Lawrence James concurs that in 1947 Mountbatten was left with no option but to cut and run. The alternative seemed to be involvement in a potentially bloody civil war from which it would be difficult to get out.

21st century

In March 2025, the Indian Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which sparked widespread protests from Muslim organizations and opposition parties. The bill, which seeks to reform the governance of waqf properties; Muslim charitable endowments regulated under the Waqf Act, 1995; was introduced by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in August 2024. The government claimed it aimed to improve transparency and accountability, including provisions for centralized registration, revised rules for property disputes, and the inclusion of non-Muslims on waqf boards. Critics, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, argued that the bill was unconstitutional and infringed on minority rights. It was passed despite significant opposition in both houses and has since been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Demographics

With about 204 million Muslims (2019 estimate), India's Muslim population is the world's third-largest and the world's largest Muslim-minority population. India is home to 10.9% of the world's Muslim population. Indian Muslims have a fertility rate of 2.36, the highest in the nation as per as according to year 2019-21 estimation. In 2023, the Government of India estimated the Muslim population at 19.75 to 20 crore, out of 138.8 to 140.0 crore total population, thus constituting about (14.22%–14.28%) of the nation's population.

Muslim populations (top 5 countries) Est. 2020

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Country !! Muslim Population !! Percentage of Total Muslim Population

||| 249,070,000 || 12.2%

||| 233,046,950 || 11.2%

|||207,000,000||10.9%

||| 153,700,000 || 9.20%

||| 110,263,500 || 5.8%

Muslims represent a majority of the local population in Lakshadweep (96.2%) and Jammu and Kashmir (68.3%). The largest concentration – about 47% of all Muslims in India, live in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar. High concentrations of Muslims are also found in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.

Percentage by states

{| class="wikitable"

||alt=|thumb|480x480px|Muslims as percentage of total population in different states of India (2011 Census).

||alt=|thumb|435x480px|Muslims as percentage of total population in different districts of India as per census 2011

, Muslims comprise the majority of the population in the only Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and in a Union territory Lakshadweep. In 110 minority-concentrated districts, at least a fifth of the population are Muslim.

Muslim majority/significant states of India

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Muslim majority/significant populated states/territory of India as per 2011 census

! States/territory

! Population (18px)

! (%)

| Lakshadweep

| 62,268

| 96.58

| Jammu and Kashmir

| 8,567,485

| 68.31

| Assam

| 10,679,345

| 34.22

| West Bengal

| 24,654,825

| 27.01

| Kerala

| 8,873,472

| 26.56

| Uttar Pradesh

| 38,483,967

| 19.26

| Bihar

| 17,557,809

| 16.87