Al-Lawatia

Mutrah Corniche During the mourning procession of Husayn ibn Ali on the 10th of Muharam
Mutrah Corniche During the mourning procession of Husayn ibn Ali on the 10th of Muharam

Al-Lawatia (English: The Lawatis; Arabic: اللواتية; Sindhi: لاواتي, sing. Lawati) also occasionally known as Hyderabadis are a prominent merchant tribe originally from the Sindh region and now mainly based in the province of Muscat, Oman. They are known globally as Khojas but in the Gulf are more commonly referred to as Lawatis due to them being speakers of Lawati, a Sindhi based language. There are around 30,000 Luwatis (or 1% of Omanis) in Oman.[1][2]

Many Lawati families of successful merchants of the past are now involved in large multi-faceted corporations participating in the development of the region.

  1. ^ Valeri, M. "Identity Politics and Nation-Building under Sultan Qaboos". Sectarian Politics in the Persian Golf. 179.
  2. ^ Valeri, M. (2018). K., Fleet; G., Krämer; D., Matringe; J., Nawas; D.J, Stewart (eds.). "al-Lawātiyya". Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_com_35819.