Islam in South Asia#Movements

{{main|Muhammad in Islam|Rashidun Caliphate|Spread of Islam}}

Islamic influence first came to be felt in the Indian subcontinent during the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region to trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia. Unlike the coasts of Malabar, the northwestern coasts were not as receptive to the Middle Eastern arrivals. Hindu merchants in Sindh and Gujarat perceived the Arab merchants to be competitors.

File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg (1st century CE)]]

File:Cheraman jumamasjid.JPG on the Malabar Coast, probably the first Mosque in India]]

Trade relations have existed between Arabia and the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Even in the pre-Islamic era, Arab traders used to visit the Konkan-Gujarat coast and Malabar Coast, which linked them with the ports of Southeast Asia. Newly Islamised Arabs were Islam's first contact with India. Historians Elliot and Dowson say in their book The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, that the first ship bearing Muslim travellers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 CE. H. G. Rawlinson in his book Ancient and Medieval History of India{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY3fPAAACAAJ |title=Ancient and Medieval History of India|last=Rawlinson|first=H. G.|date=2001-01-01|publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan|isbn=9788186050798 |language=en}} 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{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkNJnwEACAAJ |title=Madras District Manuals: South Canara|date=1894|publisher=Superintendent, Government Press|language=en}} and by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV.{{ISBN|8187332050}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.jaihoon.com/456.htm|title=Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community {{!}} JAIHOON.COM|date=2009-11-03|work=JAIHOON.COM|access-date=2017-07-28|language=en-US}}

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.{{cite web|title=History|url=http://lakshadweep.nic.in/KL_History.html|publisher=lakshadweep.nic.in|access-date=1 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514235511/http://lakshadweep.nic.in/KL_History.html|archive-date=14 May 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} A few Umayyad (661–750 CE) coins were discovered from Kothamangalam in the eastern part of Ernakulam district, Kerala.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Miller |first=Roland E. |author-link=Roland E. Miller |article=Mappila |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Islam |volume=VI |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=1988 |pages=458–66}} According to Kerala Muslim tradition, the Masjid Zeenath Baksh at Mangalore is one of the oldest mosques in the Indian subcontinent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.karnataka.com/mangalore/zeenath-baksh-masjid/|title=Zeenath Baksh Masjid {{!}} Zeenath Baksh Masjid Mangalore {{!}} Zeenath Baksh Masjid History|date=2017-12-02|work=Karnataka.com|access-date=2018-06-30|language=en-US}} 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 the Islamic prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632).{{cite book |author1=Edward Simpson|author2=Kai Kresse|title=Struggling with History: Islam and Cosmopolitanism in the Western Indian Ocean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0qHKA7zEaEC&pg=PA333|access-date=24 July 2012 |year=2008|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-70024-5|pages=333}}{{cite book|author=Uri M. Kupferschmidt|title=The Supreme Muslim Council: Islam Under the British Mandate for Palestine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChEVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA458|access-date=25 July 2012|year=1987|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-07929-8|pages=458–459}}{{cite book|author=Husain Raṇṭattāṇi|title=Mappila Muslims: A Study on Society and Anti Colonial Struggles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xlb5BrabQd8C&pg=PA179|access-date=25 July 2012|year=2007|publisher=Other Books|isbn=978-81-903887-8-8|pages=179–}} 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.Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town.Pg 58, Cultural heritage of Kerala: an introduction, A. Sreedhara Menon, East-West Publications, 1978

The first Indian mosque, Cheraman Juma Mosque, is thought to have been built in 629 CE by Malik Deenar{{Cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cheraman-Juma-Masjid-A-1000-year-old-lamp-burns-in-this-mosque/articleshow/47486911.cms |title=Cheraman Juma Masjid: A 1,000-year-old lamp burns in this mosque|work=The Times of India |date=31 May 2015 |access-date=28 July 2017}} although some historians say the first mosque was in Gujarat in between 610 and 623 CE.{{Cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Oldest-Indian-mosque-Trail-leads-to-Gujarat/articleshow/55270285.cms |title=Oldest Indian mosque: Trail leads to Gujarat |work=The Times of India |date=6 November 2016 |access-date=28 July 2017}} In Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA506|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |last=West|first=Barbara A.|date=2010-05-19|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438119137|language=en}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hindu-Arabic-numerals|title=Hindu-Arabic numerals | History & Facts | Britannica|date=9 October 2024|website=www.britannica.com}}

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; they were as ancient a phenomenon as the monsoon itself. 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.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-nsGAQAAIAAJ|title=A history of the Sikhs|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|date=1963|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=20|language=en}}

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.

According to historian Derryl N. Maclean, early connections between Sindh (in present-day Pakistan) and the Shia supporters of Ali can be traced to Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi. A companion of Muhammad, Hakim traveled through Sind to Makran in 649 CE, reporting on the region to the Caliph. A devoted supporter of Ali, Hakim died in the Battle of the Camel alongside Sindhi Jats.M. Ishaq, "Hakim Bin Jabala - An Heroic Personality of Early Islam", Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, pp. 145-50, (April 1955). He was also a poet and few couplets of his poem in praise of Ali ibn Abu Talib have survived, as reported in Chachnama.Derryl N. Maclean, "Religion and Society in Arab Sind", p. 126, BRILL, (1989) {{ISBN|90-04-08551-3}}.{{efn|Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi's poem in praise of Ali ibn Abu Talib:
{{Blockquote|text=({{langx|ar|ليس الرزيه بالدينار نفقدة

ان الرزيه فقد العلم والحكم

وأن أشرف من اودي الزمان به

أهل العفاف و أهل الجود والكريم

چچ نامہ، سندھی ادبی بورڈ، صفحہ 102، جامشورو، (2018)

}}

"Oh Ali, owing to your alliance (with the prophet) you are truly of high birth, and your example is great, and you are wise and excellent, and your advent has made your age an age of generosity and kindness and brotherly love".Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg, "The Chachnama", p. 43, The Commissioner's Press, Karachi (1900).}}}}

During Ali's leadership, numerous Jats in Sind embraced Islam,Ibn Athir, Vol. 3, pp. 45–46, 381, as cited in: S. A. N. Rezavi, "The Shia Muslims", in History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. 2, Part. 2: "Religious Movements and Institutions in Medieval India", Chapter 13, Oxford University Press (2006). 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).Ibn Sa'd, 8:346. The raid is noted by Baâdhurî, "fatooh al-Baldan" p. 432, and Ibn Khayyât, Ta'rîkh, 1:173, 183–84, as cited in: Derryl N. Maclean, "Religion and Society in Arab Sind", p. 126, BRILL, (1989) {{ISBN|90-04-08551-3}}.

{{main|Islamic missionary activity#In South Asia}}

The Islamic ambitions of the sultans and Mughals had concentrated in expanding Muslim power and looting, not in seeking converts. Evidence of the absence of systematic programs for conversion is the reason for the concentration of South Asia's Muslim populations outside the main core of the Muslim polities{{Sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2002|p=6}} in the northeast and northwest regions of the subcontinent, which were on the peripheries of Muslim states.{{Sfn|Eaton|1993|p=115}}

The Sufis did not preach egalitarianism, but played an important role in integrating agricultural settlements with the larger contemporary cultures. In areas where Sufis received grants and supervised clearing of forestry, they had the role of mediating with worldly and divine authority. Richard M. Eaton has described the significance of this in the context of West Punjab and East Bengal, the two main areas to develop Muslim majorities.{{Sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2002|p=7}} The 1947 partition was eventually made possible because of the concentration of Muslim majorities in northwest and northeast India.{{Sfn|Talbot|Singh|2009|p=27}} The overwhelming majority of the subcontinent's Muslims live in regions which became Pakistan in 1947.{{Sfn|Eaton|1993|p=119}}

These nominal conversions to Islam, brought about by regional Muslim polities, were followed by reforms, especially after the 17th century, in which Muslims integrated with the larger Muslim world. Improved transport services in the nineteenth century brought Muslim masses into contact with Mecca, which facilitated reformist movements stressing Quranic literalism and making people aware of the differences between Islamic commands and their actual practices.{{Sfn|Eaton|1985|p=121}}

Islamic reformist movements, such as the Faraizi movement, in the nineteenth century rural Bengal aimed to remove indigenous folk practices from Bengali Islam and commit the population exclusively to Allah and Muhammad.{{Sfn|Eaton|1993|p=282}} Politically the reform aspect of conversion, emphasizing exclusiveness, continued with the Pakistan movement for a separate Muslim state{{Sfn|Eaton|1985|p=121}} and a cultural aspect was the assumption of Arab culture.{{Sfn|Eaton|1985|p=122}}

{{main|Islam by country}}{{Expand section|expand on topics

• Ethnic groups of each country
• Minor presence of other sects|date=April 2025}}{{bar box

|title= Muslim Percentage by Country

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Country

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent| {{flag|Maldives}}{{cite web |url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/maldives.htm |title=Maldives |publisher=Law.emory.edu |date=21 February 1920 |access-date=23 August 2010 |archive-date=11 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211221153/http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/maldives.htm |url-status=live }}[http://countrystudies.us/maldives/7.htm Maldives – Religion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114182245/http://countrystudies.us/maldives/7.htm |date=14 November 2020 }}, countrystudies.us |green|100}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Afghanistan}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |title=CIA – The World Factbook – Afghanistan |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=27 March 2012 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104184342/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |url-status=live }} |green|99.7}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Pakistan}}[http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_religion.pdf Population by religions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617205811/http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_religion.pdf |date=17 June 2006}}, Statistics Division of the Government of Pakistan |green|96.47}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Bangladesh}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.pewforum.org/interactives/muslim-population-graphic/#/Bangladesh|title=The Future of the Global Muslim Population|date=15 January 2011|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=24 May 2017|archive-date=24 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524215707/http://www.pewforum.org/interactives/muslim-population-graphic/#/Bangladesh|url-status=live}} |green|91.04}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|India}}{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ |title=Indian Census |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=23 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514045222/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ |archive-date=14 May 2007}} |#0FFF50|14.12}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Sri Lanka}}{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/census2001/population/ds_div/t001b.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513050552/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/census2001/population/ds_div/t001b.htm |archive-date=13 May 2007 |title=Table 1 |date=13 May 2007 |access-date=23 August 2010}} |#0FFF50|9.8}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Nepal}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov|access-date=24 May 2017|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109075733/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|url-status=live}} |#0FFF50|5.09}}

{{bar percent| {{flag|Bhutan}} |#0FFF50|0.1}}

}}

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Maldives are Muslim-majority countries. The Muslim population in India is 14.12%, which still makes it the largest Muslim population outside the Muslim-majority countries.{{Sfn|Metcalf|2009|p=xvii–xviii}}

{{Portal|Islam|Asia}}

{{Islam by country}}

• History of Islam
• Islam by country
• Islam in Southeast Asia
• Islam in Central Asia

By Country

• Islam in India
• Islam in Pakistan
• Islam in Bangladesh
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• Islam in Sri Lanka
• Islam in the Maldives
• Islam in Nepal
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Related to Muslim community

• Bengali Muslims
• Chaand Raat
• Abdullah Shah Ghazi
• Ali al-Hujwiri
• Abu Tawwama
• 'Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi
• ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni
• Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent
• Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
• Caste system among South Asian Muslims
• Muslim nationalism in South Asia

{{-}}

{{notelist}}

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{{refend}}

{{Asia in topic|Islam in}}

{{South Asian topics}}

{{Islam topics}}