Islam in India
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Islam is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in the 2011 census. It makes India the country with the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries. The majority of Indian Muslims belong to the Sunni sect of Islam, while the Shia form a sizeable minority.
Islam in India existed in communities along the Arab coastal trade routes on the western shoreline of India particularly in Gujarat, and Malabar as soon as the religion originated and had gained early acceptance in the Arabian Peninsula, though the first incursion through sea by the new Muslim successor states of the Arab World occurred around 636 CE or 643 AD, during the Rashidun Caliphate, long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land. The Barwada Mosque in Ghogha, Gujarat built before 623 CE, Cheraman Juma Mosque (629 CE) in Methala, Kerala and Palaiya Jumma Palli (or The Old Jumma Masjid - 628 - 630 CE) in Kilakarai, Tamil Nadu are three of the first mosques in India which were built by seafaring Arab merchants.
