Odia Muslims are a community of people hailing from the Indian state ofOdisha who follow Islam. They mostly descend fromindigenous embraces to Islam along with a small proportion that migrated fromnorthern India.
It is uncertain when Islam first arrived in Odisha. It is believed that the first significant Islamic presence dates from the invasion of the Bengal general,Kalapahad. Commanding the army of SultanSulaiman Khan Karrani, theSultan of Bengal, Kalapahad defeated Raja Mukund Deva ofCuttack in 1568 CE.[1]
Karrani brought with him Muslim soldiers who settled down in Odisha, however their number was very few.[citation needed] Later migration continued underMughal as well as theNawab of Bengal's rule. The majority of these were traders or clergy, sent to preside over the courts, both secular and Islamic.[2] Conversions seemed to have mainly occurred from the 16th century onwards.[3]
Islam has had a very slow rate of growth in Odisha even during theMuslim rule as there had never been any major Muslimmissionary work. The current population of Muslims in Odisha is 911,670 (2011 census), roughly 2.2% of the total population. The city ofBhadrak has the maximum number of Muslims as a percentage of the total population (about 35%).[4]
Most Odisha Muslims are Sunni while a small minority are Shia, belonging to such groups as theKhoja andDawoodi Bohra.[3]
^Nazish, Motiullah (2023).Odisha Ke Mujaahideen e Aazadi (in Urdu) (1st ed.). Sanskruti Bhawan, BJB Nagar,Bhubaneswar: Odisha Urdu Academy. pp. 263–266.
