Khoja
Encyclopedia
| |
||
| Classification: | Ethnic Group | |
| Subdivisions: | Ismaili Shia, Ithna Ashari Shia, Sunni, Punjabi Punjabi people The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the... |
|
| Significant populations in: | South Asia South Asia South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east... , East Africa East Africa East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:... , Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... and North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... |
|
| Language | The Indo-Aryan languages Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family... of Urdu Urdu Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an... , Sindhi Sindhi language Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division... , Gujarati Gujarati language Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages... , Memoni and Kutchi Kutchi language Kachhi Kachhi Kachhi (also spelt Cutchi, Kutchhi or Kachchhi, is an Indo-Aryan Language spoken in the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat as well as in Sindh.- Closely related languages :... |
|
| Religion | Primarily Ismaili Ismaili ' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers... Shi'a, with significant Twelver Shi'a ; Sunni and Armenian Christian minorities |
|
The Khojas are ethnic group of Shia Muslims. The word Khoja derives from Khwaja, a Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
title .
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, many Khojas migrated to and settled in the province of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and especially in the city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. While in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and the city of Hyderabad. Many Khojas have also migrated and settled over the centuries in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The Khoja were originally adherents of Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Shi'a Islam
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
. In the late 19th and early 20th century, a minority separated and adopted Twelver Shi'ism or Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, while the majority remained Ismaili.
Origin of the name
The term “Khwaja”, pronounced “Khoja” in Gujarat, is a Persian honorific title, first bestowed by the IsmailiIsmaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Pir
Pir
-Finance:Pir may refer to:* Pier 1 Imports Stock symbol NYSE:PIR, a Texas-based retailer specializing in imported home furnishings and decor-Economics:PIR may refer to:* poverty index ratio, a measure of income relative to U.S...
Sadr al-din
Pir Sadardin
Pir Sadardin or Pir Sadruddin was a fourteenth century Ismaili Da'i and is regarded as the founder of the Khoja Ismaili sect, also called Satpanth...
(d. c. 15th c) upon his followers during the lifetime of the Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
Islamshah. As such, Pir
Pir
-Finance:Pir may refer to:* Pier 1 Imports Stock symbol NYSE:PIR, a Texas-based retailer specializing in imported home furnishings and decor-Economics:PIR may refer to:* poverty index ratio, a measure of income relative to U.S...
Shihab al-din Shah wrote regarding the origins of the Khojas that the very formation of the community came about through Pir Sadr al-din’s devotion to the Imam.
It is said that many Lohana
Lohana
The Lohana also referred to as Luvana are an Indian caste,largely classified as merchants and are categorized as Vaishya or Bania caste although their ancient history proves that they are Kshatriya of Suryavanshi descant, claiming their lineage from Lava, son of Rama...
s of Gujarat converted to Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
sect of Islam due to the efforts of Sadr al-din
Pir Sadardin
Pir Sadardin or Pir Sadruddin was a fourteenth century Ismaili Da'i and is regarded as the founder of the Khoja Ismaili sect, also called Satpanth...
. They gradually used the title Khwaja and Memon. Before the arrival of the Aga Khan
Aga Khan
Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī followers of the Shī‘a faith. They affirm the Imamat of the descendants of Ismail ibn Jafar, eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, while the larger Twelver branch of Shi`ism follows Ismail's younger brother Musa...
from Persia to India in the 19th century, Khojas retained many Hindu traditions including the one about ten incarnations (Dashavatar) of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. Only difference being that they believed Imam Ali was the tenth and last incarnation (Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
).
Ismaili Khojas
Originally Ismaili, the Khojas remain Ismaili by majority today. The Khojas credit their title to Pir Sadr al-din who laid the foundations for the NizariNizari
'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...
community in India, even before the Anjudan
Anjudan
Anjudan is a village situated near the major Shi'i centres of Qumm and Kashan in Iran, to which the Nizari Ismaili Imamate was transferred during the late 14th century CE...
phase of Ismaili history. The gināns indicate that the Pir established Ismaili religious centres (Jama'at Khanas) in Sindh, Punjab and Kashmir.
Twelver Khojas
A number of Khoja families resented the direct control of the Imam on community affairs and formed a reform movement, some even claiming that Khojas were originally a Sunni community, which resulted in a court case which ruled in favor of the Aga Khan IAga Khan I
Aga Khan I The Imam Hasan Ali Shah was born in 1804 in Kahak, Iran to Shah Khalil Allah, the 45th Ismaili Imam, and Bibi Sarkara, the daughter of Muhammad Sadiq Mahallati , a poet and a Ni‘mat Allahi Sufi...
. In the early 19th century, some Khojas embarked on Ziyarat
Ziyarat
Ziyārah is an Arabic term literally means "visit", used to refer to a pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants , his companions, or other venerated figures in Islām, such as the Prophets, Sufi saints and Islāmic scholars...
and while in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, they met the Twelver Mujtahid of the time, Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Zain al-Abidin Mazandarani. During their discussions they adopted the Twelver Shi'i cause. At the behest of Sheikh Mazandarani, Mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
Kader Hussein arrived in the subcontinent espousing Twelver Shi’ism, resulting in several more Khoja families leaving the Ismaili faith.
A student of Mullah Kader Hussein, Haji Ghulamali Haji Ismail, remembered as Haji Naji, born in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, was a Gujarati-speaking Twelver scholar who was instrumental in converting many Ismailis. His publications included magazines like Rah-e-Nijat and various books of supplications in the Gujarati language. One such book, entitled Majmuaa, is an integral part of Twelver Khoja literature to date. His speeches, preaching, and simple way of explaining the faith has earned him the respect of Twelver communitiesaround the world.
Perhaps the most notable Khoja Ismaili to convert to Twelverism is Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
, Pakistan's founding figure and first president.
Another example would be an unrecognized community of Twelver Khojas residing in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
since no short time, who still preserve their ethnic identity as Khojas till recent days. Though tides of Arabianization wiped out most of their lingual and cultural inheritance.
Largely Khojas are very religious, disciplined, strong ideologues with deep rooted Hindu culture in their practice and names. They are conservative, divisive and not open to societal changes. To an extent they follow the Jinnah's doctrine of purism(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah). There place of worship often called Mahfil or Jamaat Khana. They have high respect for their officers in their organization and Mahfil who are the most powerful members of the organization even have the control to hire or fire the resident priest.
Sunni Khojas
Some Khojas follow the HanafiHanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
fiqh of Sunni Islam; others are members of the unaffiliated Ahl al-Hadith movement.
Punjabi Khojas
A HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
trader converted to Islam is also known by the name Khoja. Thus, the Khojas of Shahpur are almost entirely Khatri
Khatri
Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...
s. A Khatri convert to Islam in this district is termed a Khoja. The Khojas of Jhang, on the other hand, are Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
converts to Islam; while some at least of the Lahore Khojas claim Bhatia
Bhatia
Bhatia is a group of people and a caste originating from Sindh Province and Rajasthan. The Bhatias primarily live in Northwestern India and Pakistan. They are mainly found among the following ethnic groups or clans: Rajputs, Khatris, Gujjars, Yaduvanshi/Yadav and Bhati...
In northwest Punjab and northern districts of the Northwest Frontier Province, the term Paracha is preferred by Hindu traders who convert to Islam. Therefore while the Parachas are a recognized and wealthy community, the term Khoja is used for miscellaneous Muslim traders.
Migration to Africa
For hundreds of years South AsiaSouth Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns sailed down the coast of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
in their sail ships during the North Eastern monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
s. There were young Khojas amongst these early sailors and some of them stayed behind in East Africa and took advantage of opportunities in commerce and trade.
While the new land offered limitless opportunities to the Khojas, the new environment and prevailing influences called for a reorientation.
The Khojas around the 1870s primarily followed Ismaili Shi'a Islam. However, a minority rejected the changes of modernity under the guidance of the Imam of that era and revolted. While some were barred from the Jama'at Khana, the Ismaili place of worship, others abandoned it willingly. Many of these adopted the larger Twelver branch of Shi'a Islam
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
and were aided by scholars from Iran, hence the origination of an Agha (Persian) community in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. Alongside were the Bahranis, Arab Twelver Shi'a from Bahrain, whose inspirations emanated from Kalbe Aly Khan, a minister to Sultan Majid/Bargash. He proved a great influence and helped a minority of Khojas to secede.
Zanzibar had a prosperous Khoja community and it was quite forthcoming into this secession. In fact, the Kuwwat Jamaat of Zanzibar became the first ever Khoja Twelver Shi'a community (jamaat) in the world in 1882 when the Khojas elsewhere including the subcontinent were still facing opposition to establish their separate identity. There were stirring events and emotions were roused as the dissidents fervently built up their mosque. Initially the connection between the two Khoja groups persisted for a while and even a couple of dhegs (large pots) used to be dispatched to the Jama'at Khana from the mosque during jaman (feast). Social traditions also prompted the two counterparts to meet each other. Later restrictions became severe and even family members separated disconnecting ties between each other or the two met in hiding at a secret place.
See also
- IsmāʿīlīIsmaili' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
- Twelver Shi`ism
- Khoja (clan)Khoja (clan)Khoja or Khwaja is a gotra of mostly Jats found in Marwar, Ajmer-Merwara and Jhunjhunwati areas of Rajasthan , as well sa Kutch and Punjab in India. They are also found in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. They are also scattered around the surrounding areas. The word Khoja is a phonetic corruption of...
- KhojkiKhojkiKhojki or Khojiki was a script used almost exclusively by the Khoja community of parts of South Asia such as Sindh. It was employed primarily to record Muslim Shia Ismaili religious literature, as well as literature for a few secret Shia Muslim sects....
- Enver HoxhaEnver HoxhaEnver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
- NizariNizari'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...