Figure 1.--Here we see Muslim boys in Agra (Uttar Pradesh) who like boys everywhere love soccer. Mulim countries, however, generally do not do well in international competitions or produce athletes of world class standards. (An exception here appears to Pakistani criciters. This is not only the case in sports, but also in other areas like art, mathematics, and science. Muslim girls are often discouraged from participating in sports. The situation is a little different in India because it is not a Muslim majority country.

Arabs soon after the Islamic explosion from Arabian desert appeared in India. A Muslim foothold developed in the West (8th century). The Arabs who conquered Mesopotamia and Persia contunued their military advance into the sub-continent. They conquered and Ilamicized Sind, the north-western frontier province as well as portions of Punjab. Muslim invasions from the north continued (1000 AD). At first they were raids, but gradually increased in intensity. Islam entered India, as with other countries, by conquest. The Mongol warriors introduced Islam by the sword (16th century). Islam had reached norther India earlier. And Arab merchants were active in Indian ports further south. But it was the Moghuls who spread Islam throughout India. The Moguhl Emperor Baber conquered India and unified most of northern India (1526). The Muslim dynasty he founded lasted until supresed by the British after the Sepoy Uprising (1857). The famed Taj Mahal was built by the Moghul emperor Shajahan. While Islam was introduced by conquest, it was spread in part because it appealed to many Indians, especially the poor untouchables. Millions of Indians converted. There are large numbers of Muslims in India, even after the partition that createrd Pakistan. While Muslims are a minority, India is in fact the world's most populace Muslim nation. One interesting aspect of Islam in India is political. Some analysts have questiin whether a Muslim nation can be democratic. Indian Muslims have clearly signed on to democracy despite continuing terrorist efforts to insite sectarian violence. Muslims in modern India have clearly accepted democracy as the best way of protecting their rights in a majority Hundu nation. The larger question of course is whether Muslims are willing to extend similar rights in countries where Muslims are the dominant religion.

History

Arabs soon after the Islamic explosion from Arabian desert appeared in India. Te first Muslims were Arab traders who appeared in the western ports of the Arabian Sea. They were followed by Islamic forays from Islajicized Persia. A Muslim foothold developed in the West (8th century). The Arabs who conquered Mesopotamia and Persia continued their military advance into the sub-continent. They conquered and Ilamicized Sind, the north-western frontier province as well as portions of Punjab. Muslim invasions from the north continued (1000 AD). At first they were raids, but gradually increased in intensity. Islam entered India, as with other countries, by conquest. The Mongol/Mogul warriors from Central Asia and OPersia introuced Islam by the sword (16th century). Islam had reached norther India earlier. And Arab merchants were active in Indian ports further south. But it was the Moghuls who spread Islam throughout India except for the far south. The Moguhl Emperor Baber conquered much of India and unified northern India (1526). His descendents, especially Akbar extended the Mogul Empire and thus Islam into central India. Akbar descendents were increasingly fanatical Muslims. Thisengendred increasing Hindu resistance and thecdecline of the Empire. This was thecIndia thatvthe British encountered hen they began buildung the Raj. The Muslim dynasty Brber founded, however, lasted in a much diminished form until supresed by the British after the Sepoy Uprising (1857).

Architecture

The famed Taj Mahal was built by the Moghul emperor Shajahan.

Population

Islam is one of the most important religions in India,. It is the second-most practiced religion after majority Hinduism. The numbers are a little difficult to follow as we see a range of numbers, all claiming to be based on the Census. The Census data, however, is omewhat flawed because there are areas not covered for a variety of reasons, including Jammu and Kashmir as well as Assam, both ares with large Muslim populations. The partition of India at independence and subsequent exodus of Mulims from India nd Hindus from Pakistan, substantially reduced the Muslim population of India. The resulting Muslim popukation was probably les than 10 percent. Census figures suggest that the Muslim population has since increased from 11 percent (1961) to 14 percent (2001). ome observers believe tht the Muslim population may now be approaching 20 percent, although there are lower estimstes, some under 15 percent. What ever precise figures are used, there are a number of interesting observations. India's Muslim population is the world's third largest in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan. Bangladesh ranks fourth. Most of the Indian Muslims population is concentrated in the north. About half of Indian Muslims live in three northern states: Uttar Pradesh (19%), West Bengal (25%), and Bihar (17%). There is no important ethnic associatiom. Indian Muslims are found in all ethnic groups. There is, however, a minor ethnic connection to non-Indian ethnicity resulting from the Central Asian-Persian peoples who brought Islan to India. Most notably the Muslim population of India is increasing. Here the numbers vary as the population numbers vary, but the Muslim population which was well under 15 percent in the era after indeprndence now appears to be approaching 20 percent. The reason is a higher fertility rate among Muslims. Another highly controversial demograpgic issue is that there appears to be a shift in the gender ratio with increasing numbers of males. A similar ohrnomenon is reported in China. This is dismised by mainly Indian sources. We are not yet sure how religion figures into this.

Diversity

Social Class

While Islam was introduced by conquest, it was spread in part because it appealed to many Indians, especially the poor untouchables. Millions of Indians converted.

Adherents

There are large numbers of Muslims in India, even after the partition that createrd Pakistan. While Muslims are a minority, India is in fact the world's most populace Muslim nation.

Politics

One interesting aspect of Islam in India is political. Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of Islam where there is a constitutional separation of religion and state is that Islam is not justva religion. Islam requites a fushion of religion and the state. One reason that many Arab states are unstable is that they are ruled by largely secular rulers who have no permitted democratic rule. Some analysts have question whether a Muslim nation can be democratic. Or the srability if democratic nations with Muslim minorities. Indian Muslims have clearly signed on to democracy despite continuing terrorist efforts to insite sectarian violence. Muslims in modern India have clearly accepted democracy as the best way of protecting their rights in a majority Hundu nation. Muslim majority countries are less willing to grant rights that Indian Muslims enjoy. The larger question of course is the extent to which Muslims will be willing to extend similar rights in countries where Muslims are the dominant religion.

Integration

India is a majority Hindu country, but the largest minority group is Muslim. Precise numbers vary, in part because religious issues can be controversial. Virtually the only facr that is generally agreedcis that since Independence and the exodus of may Muslims to Pakistan, the Muslim population has substantially increased. The question arises as to how well integrated India's Muslims are in the national society. We see notable and apparently wide spread levels of integration among Indian Muslims. Many Muslim women dress just as their Hinfus copatriots. And many Muslims participate or are acepting in Hindu festivals. This is a level of integeatin and tolerance that has developed over time. Indian Muslims are very diverse and notably therec does not seem to be the violence among Muslim sects that we see in the Middke Eat. It is difficult to measure these social patterns. It appears, however, that some of modern India's leaders have inadvertely launched a kind of cultural war that has affected the traditional accomodation and tolerance among Hindus abnd Muslims in modern India. Muslim spokesmen complain that they are not faily treated in democratic India. And the same left-oriented inteligensia that lead India down the failed road of socialist economics through the same lens of perpetual victimhood that the left views blacks and other minorities in America. There certainly are some disturbing indicators. There are dreadful out breaks of communal violence in India. The 2002 rioting un Gujarat is an example. And the body count for Muslims is almost always higher than that for Hindus. We do not, however, tend to see the organized attacks and individual violence that we see in countroes like Iraq and Pakistan. And in indices of social welfare such as education and income, Muslims perform poorly. There is no doubt that Muslims badly lag Hindus in many indicators. One report claims that they not only lag upper-class Hindus which would be expected, but lower-class Dalit (Untouchable) Hindus as well. [Sachar] Ancedotal reports suggests that educated Muslims have trouble buying homes in better neighborhoods in many cities. This is difficult to prove, but may well be the case. But is often the case, Muslims and leftists tend to want to view these indicators in a vacuume rather than compring India with other comparable countries in the Middle East and South Asia. What Many Muslims and leftists ignore that Muslims are growing as a portion of India's diverse ad generally tolerat society. Official statistics suggest that Muslims increased fron 10 percent of the population (1961) to 14 percent (2001). Compare this to the fate of Christians and Jews in Muslim countries, and these are considered 'people of the book' in Koranic terminology. Muslim are becoming not only the dominant religion but increasingly the only important religious group. Jews have been driven out of most Middle Eastern countries and now Christianhs are being driven out of countries like Iraq, Palestine, and Syria and are increasingly endangered in Egypt and Pakistan. And in South Asia, non-Muslims are emigrating from Baladesh and Pakistan in increasiung numbers. How badly treated can Muslims be in India when in contrast to Muslim countries, minority Muslims are increasing notably in numbers. In addition, Muslims in India are free to adopt the sect of choice without fearing repercussuins. In contrast, the communal violence in Muslim countries is not only directed at other religions, but fellow Mislims of different sects, especially minority sects. There are many bright spots in Muslim India. Muslims are very activecand suvccesful in Bollywood. Two of the main superstas are Muslim Shah Rukh Kahn and Salman Khan. And they are heavily represented behind the camera with both writers and composers. Mulims are also very successful in other less vusible areas, including business, journalism, the military, and politics. A recent president was Abduhl Kalam. India's richest man is business leader Wipro Azim Premji. The important question often is not addressed. Why do Muslims perform so poorly is published indices. There are a range of reasons and most seem to relate to societal choices Muslims make themselves, not Hindu descriminatiuon. Here we have collected several reasons, but would be interested in insights readers more familiar with India might have. 1) attitudes toward female education, 2) polygamy (outlawed for Hindus, 3) an unwillingness to integrate with the wider Hindu scociety (a Koranic injunctiin), 4) the choice of madrasahs rather state schools with stronger math and science curriculums, and 5) the migration of most well-to-do Muslims to Pakistan at the time of independence. The perscription being offered by Muslims and thecleft-wing establishment is quota, essentially insisting on equality of outcomes rather cthan equality of opportunity. This leaves the basic problems in Muslim society causing the societal differential unaddressed. [Dhume]

Schools

We are not entirely sure about the role Islam plays in Indian education. Here there ate two primary issues. First is the Muslim children in state schools, Second is the Muslim children attending madrasas or Islamic religios schools. We think that most Muslim children attend secular state schools. We are unsure if there are performance difference between Hundu and Muslim children. There seems to be a reluctance of many Muslim parents to send their girls to school, especially after the first few years of primary school. This reluctance appears to have weakened in recentyears to a degree, but we do not yet have precise statistical data. Because of residentuial patterns, there are many state schools with largely Muslim children. In addition to the state system, there are about 30,000 madrasas in India. In some countries madrasahs are schools that provide religious instruction after regular school or in the weekend. In India, the madrasahs appear to be primarily an alternstive to regular state education. We think that most of the students at Indian madrasas are boys, but we do not yet have statistical data. We do not know if the the madrasahs receive state funds. The Indian Government is planning to establish a Central Madrasa Board to oversee the educational program. The madrasas focus on Koranic education. This of course affects the ability of the students to obtain good paying jobs or pursue higher education, other than in relgious studies. The Government would like the madrasas to expand teaching in mathematics, sciences, computers and other areas. We do not yet have details, but suspect the teaching of history varies substantially in the state schools and madrasas. Hopefully our Indian readers will be able to tell us more.

Clothing

The extreme types of Muslim dress like the burqa is not commonly seen in India. There are several reasons for this. First of all, India is not a Muslim majority country and there are many non-Islamic cultural influences, including Hinduism and secular, that are not supressed by state and strict Muslim religious elements. Second, the more extreme types of Islamic dress are not Koranic based, but rather culturally based. Thus without the conservatove Arab or other culture, Indian Muslims often do not adopt religious dress, but the popular local styles. The basic Koranic injuction is modesty and here Hindu society also promotes modesty so the two principal religious traditions are in agreement. There are variations depending on commitment to Islam as well the same regional variations in Indian fashions. As in majority Muslim countries, age is a factor in dress. Poverty is another factor. We are not exactly sure to what extent Muslim children and adults dress differently that other Indians. Hopefully our Indian readers will be able to provide some insights here.

The Future

Indian Muslims do not attract much attention outside of India. This is largely becayse Indian Islam is a relatively moderte strain of the religion, nothing like the fananaticism that is metastasising throughout neighboring Pakistan. Indian Muslims have accepted a minority status protected by Indian's constitutional protections and strong tradition of secular laws--both part of India's invaluable heritage from the British Raj. We are not sure to what extent this is a result of the minority status of Indian Muslims as opposed to a basic commitment to moderation and toleration as a positive social value. There are in the Koran many verses which promote intolerance, and this often refers to the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). Hindus are seen in even more negative terms. Indian Muslims show no apetite for the fanaticism displayed by Muslims in Palistan and the Middle East. You do not see little girls being shot on their school busses or health workers murdered for trying to save children from disease as you see in Pakistan. And terror attacks like the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India have come from Pakistani infiltrators and not native-born Indians. This is vital for both the future of India as well as the effort to contain Islamic fundamentalism. As can be seen in the Arab Spring, democracy without secular limitations can lead to incrwased power to the Islamicists and their violent goals. While this has not occurred in India, it is also true that the relative modernation of Indian Muslims has had no impact on the Whabists and other fantatical strains of Islam.

Sources

Dhume, Sadannand. "Quotas won't help India's Muslims," Wall Street Journal (July 26, 2012), p. A11.

Sachar, Rajinder. Report (2012). Sachar is a retired judge who issued a report that is widely cited in the debates over this issue in India.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing national pages:
[Return to the Main countries page]
[Australia] [Belgium] [China] [England] [France] [Germany] [India] [Indonesia] [Ireland] [Italy] [Japan] [Korea]
[Malaysia] [Mexico] [The Netherlands] [Portugal] [Scotland] [Spain] [United States]

Created: 3:17 AM 2/5/2007
Last updated: 12:43 AM 1/5/2013