Thangals

{{short description|Social group among the Muslims of Kerala}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}

The Thangals (also spelled Tangals) are a social group{{ref|a}} among the Muslims of Kerala, south India.Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf] The Thangals are often regarded as roughly equivalent to the more general Sayyids or Sharifs, or descendants of Muhammad, of the wider Islamic culture.Miller, Roland E., Mappila Muslim Culture. New York, State University of New York Press, 2015. pp. 268-271.{{Cite web|last=Meethal|first=Amiya|date=2016-04-25|title=Thangals All Set to Test Popularity in Malappuram|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/politics/250416/thangals-all-set-to-test-popularity-in-malappuram.html|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en}} Most members of the community practices endogamy and rarely marry spouses from outside their community.{{Cite journal|last=Lang|first=Claudia|date=2014-12-01|title=Muslim Thangals, Psychologisation and Pragmatic Realism in Northern Kerala, India|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461514525221|journal=Transcultural Psychiatry|volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=904–923|language=en|doi=10.1177/1363461514525221|pmid=24637733 |s2cid=30638105 }}Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf]

The Thangal families are numerous in Kerala, all receive recognition, but some are considered as saints. The Thangal identification brings much 'reverence and attention' in the Kerala Muslim community (which predominantly identifies with Shafi'i madhab).{{Cite web |title=Caste system exists among Muslims though not overtly |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/sep/01/caste-system-exists-among-muslims-though-not-overtly-2027243.html |access-date=2020-10-12 |website=The New Indian Express|date=31 August 2019 }} Some individuals take advice from the Thangals on crucial matters. A number of thangals in Kerala 'treat' people for illness and to 'ward off evils'.

Shihab, Mashoor, Hirdh, Bafaqi, Jifri, Jamalullayli are some of major Thangal families have many gradations of status on social and economic scale. Influential of the Thangals generally come from prominent business families. They usually exercise their influence through commerce and politics.{{Verification needed|date=March 2024}}