Tamil Muslims

[Samar Abbas]

On Mon, 4 Dec 2000, Swaminathan Madhuresan wrote:
> There are many Muslims who speak a Tamil dialect in Sri Lanka who call
> themselves Tamils. Several famous Tamil writers and artists come from
> the Muslim community in that country.

The Tamil Muslims are overwhelmingly converts from Shaivism. Virtually all
have preserved their Tamil mother tongue. An attempt has been going on for
some period, attempting to change this identity from `Tamil Muslim' to
`Moro' or `Moor'. A certain amount of Mughalisation and Urdufication has
hence taken place. This has had limited impact, with only one in five
Tamil Muslims now speaking Urdu. The anthropological differences render
most claims to Mughal descent as futile. This has been the main reason for
the preservation of Tamil amongst Tamil Muslims.

 Hence, most self-identified `Moros' will still accept their Tamil
ancestry, especially on the female side. There are few who claim
`Turuska' lineage. The Tamil Muslims are Tamils.

Samar