Sri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors (commonly referred to as Muslims) are the
third largest ethnic group in Sri
Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population (approx. 2 million
people in 2005). They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace
their ancestry to Arab
traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the eighth and fifteenth
centuries. The Arabic
language brought by the early merchants is no longer spoken, though many
Arabic words and phrases are still commonly used. Until the recent past, the
Moors employed Arwi as
their native language,[1] though this is
also extinct as a spoken language.Moors today use Tamil as their primary language with influence
from Arabic.[1] Those from
central and southern Sri Lanka also widely use Sinhala, an Indo-European language spoken by the
ethnic Sinhalese
majority in Sri Lanka.The Sri Lankan Moors lived primarily in coastal trading and agricultural
communities, preserving their Islamic cultural heritage while adopting many
Southern Asian customs. During the period of Portuguese
colonisation, the Moors suffered widespread persecution, and many fled to the Central Highlands and the East Coast, where their descendants
remain.
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[edit]History of Arabs in Sri
LankaThe Jami Ul Alfar Mosque, which is in the
pettah area, is one of the oldest mosques in Colombo
The Tamils of Sri Lanka, throughout history, have attempted to categorize the
Sri Lankan Moors as belonging to the Tamil
race. It is claimed that this was a bid to eliminate the minority community
from having its own unique identity. The Government of Sri Lanka, however,
treats the Muslims as of Arab origin and as a distinct ethnic group from the
Tamils.[1]
The manner in which Islam developed in Sri Lanka is very similar to that on
the Malabar coast of India. Tradition has recorded that Arabs who had settled
down on the Malabar coast used to travel from the port of Cranganore to Sri
Lanka on pilgrimage to pay homage to what they believed to be the footprint of
Adam on the top of a mountain, which, until today, is called Adam's Peak.[1]Ibn
Batuta, the famous 14th century Arab traveller, recorded many facets about
early Arab influence in Sri Lanka in his travelogues.
Before the end of the 7th century, a colony of Muslim merchants had
established themselves in Ceylon. Fascinated by the scenic splendour and
captivated by the traditions associated with Adam's Peak, Muslim merchants
arrived in large numbers and some of them decided to settle in the island
encouraged by the cordial treatment they received by the local rulers. Most of
them lived along the coastal areas in peace and prosperity, maintaining
contacts, both cultural and commercial, with Baghdad , Hadramout , Oman
and other Islamic cities.[1]
According to Tikiri Abeyasinghe in his Portuguese Rule in Ceylon,
1594-1612, Colombo (1966), Lake House
Investments Ltd., p 192, tradition has it that,
[...]the first Mohammadans of Ceylon were a portion of those Arabs of the
House of Hashim, who were driven from Arabia in the early part of the 8th.
century by the tyranny of the Caliph, Abdel Malik bin Marwan, and who proceeding
from the Euphrates southwards made settlements in the concan in the southern
parts of the peninsula of India, on the island of Ceylon and Malacca. The
division of them that came to Ceylon formed eight considerable settlements along
the Nort-East, North and Western coast of that island; viz., one at Trincomalee,
one at Jaffna, one at Colombo, one at barbareen, and one at Point de
Galle.[...]
The first Arabs who practiced Islam arrived in Sri Lanka around the 7th/8th
century A.D, and there is evidence that there was a settled community of Arabs
in Ceylon in pre-Islamic times.[1]
The circumstances that helped the growth of Muslim settlements were varied.
Most of the majority Sinhalese depended more on agriculture than trade, thus
trade wide open to the Muslims. The Sinhalese Kings considered the Muslim
settlements favourably on account of the revenue that they brought them through
their contacts overseas both in trade and in politics. The religious tolerance
of the local population was also another vital factor in the development of
Muslim settlements in Ceylon.[1]~Kechimalai Mosque - Beruwala~ One of the oldest
mosques in Sri Lanka. It is believed to be the site where the first Arabs landed
in Sri Lanka
The early Muslim settlements were set up mainly around ports on account of
the nature of their trade. It is also assumed that many of the Arab traders may
not have brought their womenfolk along with them when they settled in Ceylon.
Hence they would have been compelled to marry the Sinhalese and Tamil women of
the island after converting them to Islam. The fact that a large number of Moors
in Sri Lanka speak the Tamil language can be attributed to the possibility that
they were trading partners with the Tamils of South India and had to learn Tamil
in order to carry out their business. The integration with the Muslims of Tamil
Nadu, in South India, may have also contributed to this. It is also possible
that the Arabs who had already migrated to Ceylon, prior to Islam, had adopted
the Tamil language as a medium of communication in their intercourse with the
Tamil speaking Muslims of South India. The Muslims were very skillful traders
who gradually built-up a very lucrative trading post in Ceylon. A whole colony
of Arab Muslims is said to
have landed at Beruwela (South Western coast) in the Kalutara District in 1024 CE[1]