By Yoginder Sikand,
The Mapillas of Malabar in Kerala are one of the oldest Muslim groups in
South Asia. They also happen to be among the most well educated and
economically prosperous Muslim communities in India today. The history of
the Mapillas and the role of numerous various individuals and movements that
shaped Mapilla identity and fortunes are neatly encapsulated in this
well-researched book.
The book begins with a discussion about the history of Islam in Kerala. The
author admits that the veracity of the traditional legend about a local
Hindu king converting to Islam and then traveling to Arabia to meet the
Prophet Muhammad is open to question, but, quoting from numerous early
Sanskrit and Arabic texts, he shows that Islam arrived on the Malabar coast
well before it reached other parts of India. He describes the evolution of
the Mapilla community as resulting from conversions among Arabs who had
settled in Malabar in pre-Islamic times, intermarriage of Arab traders with
local women, and conversions, especially from the 'low' castes, as a result
of the missionary efforts of a number of Arab traders, scholars and Sufis,
whose egalitarian message served as a clarion call for liberation for those
enslaved by the caste system and the Brahminical religion.
The author raises the interesting question of the rapid spread of Islam in
Kerala (where Muslims account for over a fourth of the population today)
despite the virtual absence of Muslim political rule in the region. One of
the key factors for this, he says, were the cordial relations that the Arab
traders settled in Malabar enjoyed with many local Hindu Rajas, especially
the Zamorins of Calicut. The Rajas treated the Arabs with respect, for they
played a crucial role in the local economy.
http://www.twocircl es.net/2008jul15 /book_review_ mapilla_muslims_
study_society_ and_anti_ colonial_ struggles. html
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