Gujarati Muslims
The term "Gujarati Muslim" is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the State of Gujarat who speaks the Gujarati language as a mother-tongue (first language) and follows certain customs different from the rest of Indian Muslims.
Gujarat was one of the first places the Muslims came to India. King Arjun of Gujarat permitted a Muslim trader from Ormuz to build a mosque in Gujarat and even paid for the expenses of a certain Shiite festival. (P. 185 An Advanced History of India By Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Kalikinkar Datta, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri)
The Sufi saints are very popular in Gujarat. Shaykh Makhu was a Sufi saint of the Shattari lineage (P. 185 An Advanced History of India By Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Kalikinkar Datta, Hemchandra Raychaudhuri). Since Gujarat is situated on the western border of India, there was a direct interaction with people of Arabia and Persia. Many Gujarati Saints and Sufis became famous. Among them names of Sheikh Ganjul lim (1381), Syed Burhanuddin (1411) and Sheikh Wajihuddin Gujarati are well known (P. 169 Islam and Indian Culture By Mohammad Shujaat, Shujaat Muhammad).
Gujarati Muslims are very prominent in Industry and Sports, and there is a very large Gujarati Muslim community in Mumbai. Several Gujarati Muslim communities are:
- Memon
- Dawoodi Bohra
- Khoja
- Sunni Vora (aka "Vora Patel")
- Surti Muslims
- Pathan
There are many famous Gujarati Muslims:
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Abdullah Yusuf Ali (translator and commentator of the Quran)
- Azim Premji (son of founder of multinational Wipro and current chairman)
- Badruddin Tyabji
- Ismail Merchant
- Tiger Memon (infamous)
- Irfan Pathan
- Yusuf Pathan
- Zaheer Khan
- Munaf Patel
- Sajid Nadiadwala
- Farooq Shaikh
- Parveen Babi
- Ismail Darbar
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Gujarat, Religions