Islam

Islam began in seventh-century Arabia with the revelations received by Prophet Muhammad. Muslim merchants were present on India’s western coast early; later centuries brought scholars, Sufi lineages, migrants and states across the subcontinent. Indian Muslim histories include coastal trading settlements, scholarly journeys and migration as well as conquest and state formation. Kerala’s Mappila communities, Gujarat’s trading networks and the Deccan’s urban centres developed through different relationships with the wider Indian Ocean and inland trade routes. Traditional foundation stories of early mosques should be distinguished from securely dated surviving buildings. The Delhi Sultanate, regional sultanates and Mughal courts patronised architecture, learning and literary production, but the history of Islam in India is not only the history of rulers. Sufi hospices, neighbourhood mosques, artisans, women’s devotional networks and teachers also shaped community life.

Indian Islam has contributed to architecture, music, calligraphy, literature, cuisine, craft, languages and public life. Sunni, Shia, Sufi and many regional communities maintain distinct histories and practices. Urdu, Persian, Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil literary cultures preserve varied Muslim contributions. Arwi, a form of Tamil written in an adapted Arabic script, illustrates how religious learning and local language met. Architecture ranges from timber mosques on the Malabar Coast to monumental stone and brick complexes. Ramadan may bring shared iftar meals, charitable giving and evening prayer; Eid foods differ from household to household. Qawwali is associated with some Sufi traditions, not every Muslim community. Indian Muslims also differ in approaches to shrine visitation, devotional music and commemorating religious anniversaries.