Punjabi Muslims

Punjabi Muslims
پنجابی مسلمان

Total population
(90 million approx.)
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan: 92,531,483 (2011)[lower-alpha 1][1][2][3]
United Kingdom	500,000[4]
Saudi Arabia	500,000+ (2013)
United Arab Emirates	300,000+
India	500,000
United States[5]	263,699
Canada	100,310[6]
Italy	100,000+
Kuwait	80,000+
Oman	55,000+
Greece	55,000+
France	54,000
Germany	43,668+
Qatar	42,000+
Spain	37,000+
Bahrain	35,500+
China	43,000+[7]
Norway	29,134+
Denmark	18,152+
Australia	31,277+
South Korea	25,000+[8]
Netherlands	19,408+
Hong Kong	13,000+[9]
Japan	10,000+
Sweden	5000+
Malaysia	1000+
Peru	100+
Languages
Punjabi, Urdu
Religion
Islam 100% (majority Sunni, while 20% being Shia)

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Punjabi Muslims (Punjabi: پنجابی مسلمان (Shahmukhi); also spelled Panjabi) are a linguistic, geographic and religious ethnic group living in the region of Punjab, found between eastern Pakistan and northern India. Forming the majority of the Punjabi ethnic group at large,^[10] Punjabi Muslims are those who profess Islam and speak the Punjabi language. With a population of more than 90 million,^[11] they are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan and the third largest ethnic Muslim community in the world.^[12] The majority of Punjabi Muslims are adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. A minority adheres to Shia and other sects, including the Ahmadiyya community which originated in Punjab.

The homelands of Punjabi Muslims are mainly concentrated in the Pakistani province of Punjab. They have a worldwide diaspora, with significant communities in North America and the United Kingdom, and large expatriate populations in the Middle East.

Punjab literally means the land of five waters (Persian:پنج آب panj ("five") āb ("waters")). Punjab is often referred to as the breadbasket in both Pakistan and India.^[13][14]

The coalescence of the various tribes, castes and the inhabitants of the Punjab into a broader common "Punjabi" identity initiated from the onset of the 18th century CE. Prior to that the sense and perception of a common "Punjabi" ethno-cultural identity and community did not exist, even though the majority of the various communities of the Punjab had long shared linguistic, cultural and racial commonalities.^[15][16][17]

History

Ancient history

Map showing the sites and extent of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Harappa was the center of one of the core regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in central Punjab. The Harappan architecture and Harrapan Civilization was one of the most developed in the old Bronze Age.

Punjab during Mahabharata times was known as Panchanada.^[18][19] Punjab was part of the Indus Valley Civilization, more than 5000 years old.^[20] The main site in Punjab was the city of Harrapa. The Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of what is today Pakistan and eventually evolved into the Indo-Aryan civilization. The arrival of the Indo-Aryans led to the flourishing of the Vedic civilization along the length of the Indus River. This civilization shaped subsequent cultures in South Asia and Afghanistan. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was partially damaged in 1857 when engineers constructing the Lahore-Multan railroad used brick from the Harappa ruins for track ballast, an abundance of artifacts have nevertheless been found. Punjab was part of the great ancient empires including the Gandhara Mahajanapadas, Achaemenids, Macedonians, Mauryas, Kushans, Guptas, Hindu Shahi, Gurjara-Pratihara and old Rajputana.^[21][22][23] Agriculture flourished and trading cities (such as Multan and Lahore) grew in wealth.

Punjab was part of the Vedic Civilization

Due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and influence from the west and witnessed centuries of foreign invasions by the Greeks, Kushans, Scythians, Turks, and Afghans. The city of Taxila, founded by son of Taksh the son Bharat who was the brother of Ram. It was reputed to house the oldest university in the world, Takshashila University. One of the teachers was the great Vedic thinker and politician Chanakya. Taxila was a great centre of learning and intellectual discussion during the Maurya Empire. It is a UN World Heritage site, valued for its archaeological and religious history.

Central Asian, Greek, and Persian Empires

Mahmud and Ayaz
The Sultan is to the right, shaking the hand of the sheykh, with Ayaz standing behind him. Mahmud of Ghazni appointed Malik Ayaz as the ruler of Lahore, Punjab during the Ghaznavid era.

The northwestern part of the South Asia, including Punjab, was repeatedly invaded or conquered by various foreign empires, such as those of Tamerlane, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Having conquered Drangiana, Arachosia, Gedrosia and Seistan in ten days, Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush and was thus fully informed of the magnificence of the country and its riches in gold, gems and pearls. However, Alexander had to encounter and reduce the tribes on the border of Punjab before entering the luxuriant plains. Having taken a northeasterly direction, he marched against the Aspii (mountaineers), who offered vigorous resistance, but were subdued. Alexander then marched through Ghazni, blockaded Magassa, and then marched to Ora and Bazira. Turning to the northeast, Alexander marched to Pucela, the capital of the district now known as Pakhli. He entered Western Punjab, where the ancient city of Nysa (at the site of modern day Mong) was situated. A coalition was formed against Alexander by the Cathians, the people of Multan, who were very skillful in war. Alexander invested many troops, eventually killing seventeen thousand Cathians in this battle, and the city of Sagala (present-day Sialkot) was razed to the ground. Alexander left Punjab in 326 B.C. and took his army to Persia and Susa.

Arrival of Islam

Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), a Muslim Sufi poet

The Punjabis followed a diverse plethora of faiths, when the Muslim Umayyad army led by Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Southern Punjab in 712, by defeating Raja Dahir. The Umayyad Caliphate was the second Islamic caliphate established after the death of Prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Mecca, their capital was Damascus.

Afghans were the first to bring message of Islam to the population of Punjab. Over the next millennium Punjab was part of Muslim Empires consisting of Afghans, and Turkic in cooperation with local Punjabi tribes and others, which facilitated a millennium long Islamic dominance across South Asia and with its peak during large parts of the Mughal Empire . During the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni, the province became an important center with Lahore as its second capital of the Ghaznavid Empire based out of Afghanistan. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region.

Mughal Empire

The Mughals controlled the region from 1524 until around 1739 and implemented building projects such as the Shalimar Gardens and the Badshahi Mosque, both situated in Lahore. Muslim soldiers, traders, architects, theologians and Sufis came from the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia. Later, the Afghan conqueror Ahmad Shah Durrani made the Punjab a part of his Durrani Empire lasting until 1762.^[24]

Pakistan Movement

The Indian state of East Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India split the former British province of Punjab between India and Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab province; the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became India's East Punjab state. Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and the fears of all such minorities were so great that the Partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence.

Lahore and Amritsar were at the centre of the problem; the Boundary Commission was not sure where to place them – to make them part of India or Pakistan. The Commission decided to give Lahore to Pakistan, whilst Amritsar became part of India. Some areas in Punjab, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, and Gujrat, had a large Sikh and Hindu population, and many of the residents were attacked or killed. On the other side, in East Punjab, cities such as Amritsar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, and Jalandhar had a majority Muslim population, of which thousands were killed or emigrated.

Independence

In 1947 the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab. Western Punjab was assimilated into the new country of Pakistan, while East Punjab became a part of modern-day India. This led to massive rioting as both sides committed atrocities against fleeing refugees.

Punjab (Pakistan), which once formed a major region of British Punjab, was home to a large minority population of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus up to 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.^[25]

Migration between India and Pakistan was continuous before independence. By the 1900s Western Punjab was predominantly Muslim and supported the Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After independence, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while Muslim refugees from India settled in the Western Punjab and across Pakistan.^[26]

Recent history

At the Wagah border ceremony

Since the 1950s, Punjab industrialized rapidly. New factories were established in Lahore, Multan, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Wah. In the 1960s the new city of Islamabad north of Rawalpindi.

Agriculture continues to be the largest sector of Punjab's economy. The province is the breadbasket of the country as well as home to the largest ethnic group in Pakistan, the Punjabis. Unlike neighbouring India, there was no large-scale redistribution of agricultural land. As a result most rural areas are dominated by a small set of feudalistic land-owning families.

In the 1950s there was tension between the eastern and western halves of Pakistan. In order to address the situation, a new formula resulted in the abolition of the province status for Punjab in 1955. It was merged into a single province West Pakistan. In 1972, after East Pakistan seceded and became Bangladesh, Punjab again became a province.

Punjab witnessed major battles between the armies of India and Pakistan in the wars of 1965 and 1971. Since the 1990s Punjab hosted several key sites of Pakistan's nuclear program such as Kahuta. It also hosts major military bases such as at Sargodha and Rawalpindi. The peace process between India and Pakistan, which began in earnest in 2004, has helped pacify the situation. Trade and people-to-people contacts through the Wagah border are now starting to become common. Indian Sikh pilgrims visit holy sites such as Nankana Sahib.

Starting in the 1980s, large numbers of Punjabis migrated to the Middle East, Britain, Spain, Canada and the United States for economic opportunities, forming the large Punjabi diaspora. Business and cultural ties between the United States and Punjab are growing.

Tribes and clans of Muslim Punjabis

Some of the numerically large, or socially important communities include:

• Jats

Jat people found throughout the Punjab region. The Jat are the principal tribe of Central Punjab, but in the Pothohar region, they take third place, after both the Rajput and Awan. Jats began converting to Islam from the early Middle Ages onward, and now form the distinct community of Muslim Jats. Some of the clans are Bajwa, Buttar, Chattha, Cheema, Dhillion, Gondal, Kahloon, Khar, Khattar, Malhi, Ranjha, Sahi, Sandhu, Tarar, Virk, Waraich. They use the title of Chaudhry. Also the surname of Khan.

• Rajputs

The Rajputs are large caste cluster, found in Punjab. The Punjabi Rajputs have almost 90% converted to Islam. Their reasons for conversion are complex and controversial, but all that can be said with certainty, is towards the middle of the 16th century, all the Rajput clans had converted to Islam. They are sub-divided into various clan, such as Bhatti, Chouhan, gakhars, Minhas, Janjua, Khokhar, Ghorewaha, Naro, Sulehria, Dhudhi, Parmar etc. and further divided into sub-clans. Rajputs historically were of the zamindar or landowning class. They often carry title such as Raja, Rana, Rao, Rai, Khan.

• Gujjars

Gujjar is a pastoral agricultural ethnic group with large population of Muslim Punjabis. Gujjars historically were of the zamindar or landowning class. They often carry title such as Malik, Choudhry and Khan.

• Khatris

Muslim Khatris are originally from Hindu Khatri community who had converted to Islam. In western districts of the Punjab (Sargodha, Mianwali, Multan, Jhang, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Faislabad), converted Khatri traders called themselves "Khoja". Some times they are called "Khoja Sheikh". There were conversions of Hindus to the faith from among various Punjabi communities, including Khatris. Generally they retained their tribal and clan affiliations as has been the norm in the region. Similarly, the Khatris who converted to Islam continue to retain a strong social identity and are known as Punjabi Shaikh.They are sub-divided into clans such as Siddiqui and Qureshi. Muslim khatris community are known for their business acumen and have for many years been influential and prosperous in.These Shaikhs are even found in parts of Northern India in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and West Bengal.

• Kashmiris

Many clans of Kashmiri Muslims have been living predominantly in central parts of Punjab since last few centuries, they include Dar, Mir, Butt, Lone etc. They all speak punjabi as their mother tongue.

• Arains

The Arain (Urdu: آرائیں) are a Muslim tribe of Pakistan who are found mainly in the Punjab province. They are chiefly associated with petty farming or gardening and the legal profession, with some being zamindars (landlords). They often carry title such as Chourdry and Mian.

• Awans

Awan is a tribe living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Pakistani Punjab. On a rural level, Awans historically were of the zamindar or landowning class and many Awan families to this day live on and cultivate land, which their ancestors have held for centuries. They often carry titles typical to Punjabis who own tracts of ancestral land such as Malik, Chaudhry.

• Pathans

Pathans depending upon region of Punjab are originally Pashtun people (Pathans) who have settled in the Punjab. These Pashtun communities are scattered throughout the Punjab and have over time assimilated into the Punjabi identity, both culturally and linguistically. They are also known as Khan.

• Syeds

The Sayyids of Punjab belong to Hasani (descendants of Hasan), Husaini (descendants of Husayn), Alavi (descendants from other sons of Ali) and Zaidi (descendants of Zayd ibn Ali, grandson of Husayn) groups of sa'dat and also Rizvi, descendants of Ali al-Ridha and Naqvi (Ali al-Hadi).

See also

• Islam in Pakistan
• Hinduism in Punjab

Notes

References

Province of Punjab topics
History	Harappa Punjab history History of Lahore
Government and politics	Provincial Assembly Chief Minister Governor
Culture and places	Punjabi people Saraiki people Punjabi tribes Language Saraiki language Saraiki Ajrak Saraiki Topi Cuisine Diaspora Music Archaeological sites and monuments
Geography	List of cities Districts Punjab region
Education	University of the Punjab
Sport	Gaddafi Stadium