.jpg) Khojas of Western India ca. 1855-1862 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Gujarat, Sindh, Maharashtra | |
| Languages | |
| Gujarati, Kutchi, Sindhi, Hindi-Urdu | |
| Religion | |
| Nizari-Ismaili Shia (majority), Twelver Shia, Sunni (minority) |
| Part of a series on Islam Isma'ilism |
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The Khoja are a mainly Shia tribe of people of the western Indian subcontinent.[1] They are historically members of the Bania caste.[2]
In India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and the city of Hyderabad. In Pakistan, most Khoja live in Karachi in Sindh province. There is a diaspora of Khojas and they are known by many names such as the Lawatia in the Gulf and Karana in Madagascar.
The Khoja originally observed Hinduism and then became adherents of Nizari Isma'ilism.[1][2] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the aftermath of the Aga Khan Case a significant minority separated and adopted Sunni Islam and Twelver Shi'ia Islam, while the majority remained Nizari Isma'ili.[3]
- ^ a b Khoja at the Encyclopædia Britannica. "Khoja, Persian Khvājeh, caste of Indian Muslims converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 14th century by the Persian pīr (religious leader or teacher) Saḍr-al-Dīn and adopted as members of the Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah sect of the Shīʿites."
- ^ a b Tyler, Stephen A. (1986). India: An Anthropological Perspective. Waveland Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-88133-245-2.
Some, like the Khojah caste, are Bania groups converted to Islam by Muslim pirs (saints).
- ^ Boivin, Michel (2014). "The Isma'ili — Isna 'Ashari Divide Among the Khojas: Exploring Forgotten Judicial Data from Karachi". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 24 (3): 381–396. doi:10.1017/S1356186314000224. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 43307309. S2CID 162188373.