Bihari Muslims
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
•  India •  Pakistan• Bangladesh •  United States •  Canada •  Australia | |
| Languages | |
| • Urdu • Hindi | |
| Religion | |
•  Islam 100% • | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Bihari peoples |
Bihari Muslims are people originating and tracing descent from the Indian State of Bihar, who practice Islam as their religion. Bihari Muslims mainly practice Sunni Islam of the Hanafi creed , though a small Shia minority exists.
Origin
Islam in Bihar is said to have been established in the 10-15th century with the arrivals of Sufi missionaries as well as Sunni rulers.
About 3 millions of Bihari Muslims migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh because of Muslim League politics. Those who settled in Pakistan were deemed a sub-caste of Muhajirs. Those who lived in Bangladesh were deemed stranded Pakistanis.
Society
The majority of educated Bihari Muslims formally speak Urdu. The Muslims of Bihar have wealth rates comparable to rest of India.
Muslims are spread throughout the State of Bihar, but are mainly concentrated in some Districts of Bihar, especially Purnia, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Champaran, Samastipur, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Munger, Nawada, Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad and Muzaffarpur.
Disapora
During the Partition of the British India Empire in the summer of 1947 many Bihari Muslims migrated to both Pakistan and Bangladesh. The majority (approx 3 million) went to Pakistan and settled down in the Province of Sindh, especially in Karachi. The Pakistanis of Bihari origin are clubbed under Muhajirs. Those that went to Bangladesh lived in Dhaka where they remain till now. Many of them have gained voting rights and many are termed as stranded Pakistanis.
Culture
Bihari Muslims have a rich culture representing a syncretisation between Arab and local Hindu Bihari traditions. Shab-e-Baraat and Mawlid-un-Nabi is widely celebrated by Bihari Muslims ,as are festivals such as Eid-ul-Fitr , Eid-ul-Adha and Miraj. The majority of Bihari Muslims follow the Barelwi movement of Sunni Islam , although a large Deobandi and Ahle Hadees minority exists especially in the northern districts. Sectarian conflict among Bihari Muslims is very rare and all the different sects live in peace and harmony. The differences in matters of Aqeedah are confined to the Mosque and rarely boil over into public life like it is in Pakistan. The major differences are between Ashraf and Afjal Muslims. Although in both, the people are of mixed descent, local and foreign. Both are endogamous and marriage outside of clan and tribe is considered a taboo and may be punished accordingly. Genetic studies among Muslims have further proven that atleast 0.1% of the Muslims of Bihar have some ancestry of Iranian and Central Asian regions and atleast 0.05% have Middle eastern paternal genes.
Bihari Muslims have developed a distinct cuisine, different from the Mughal Cuisine of the rest of North Indian Muslims.