Gujarati Muslims

The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify a Muslim from the state of Gujarat on the western coast of India. Gujarati is the mother tongue of most Gujarati Muslims, but for some communities Urdu is the mother tongue. The majority of Gujarati Muslims are Sunni, with a minority of Shia groups. Gujarati Muslims are very prominent in industry and medium-sized businesses and there is a very large Gujarati Muslim community in Mumbai and Karachi. Having earned a formidable accolade as India's greatest seafaring merchants, the centuries-old Gujarati diaspora is found scattered throughout the Near East, Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere regions everywhere in between Africa and East Asia with a notable presence in: Hong Kong, Britain, Portugal, Canada, Réunion, Oman, Yemen, Mozambique, Zanzibar, United Arab Emirates, Burma, Madagascar, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Pakistan, Zambia and East Africa. Throughout the medieval period, Gujarati Muslim merchants played a pivotal role in establishing Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.