Siddiqi Shaikh in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

The term Shaikh is used here for a sociocultural group that originated with Arab settlers in South Asia which now includes many subgroups, some of which intermarry in Bangladesh with non-Shaikh Bengali Muslims and some of which don't. Islam arrived in the area now known as Pakistan in 711 AD when a Muslim Arab army conquered the northwestern part of the Indus Valley from Jammu and Kashmir to the Arabian Sea. Technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians, and sufis flocked from the rest of the Arab and Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia and settled permanently. The descendants of these Arabs usually go by the title of Shaikh and are also known in Pakistan as Muslim Khatri. The Shaikhs of Pakistan, however, claim pre-islamic ancestry. They are a sub-group of the Zamindar group or qoum, traditionally associated with farming, which is one of the two groups making up the Pakistani Punjabis (the other group is the Moeens group or quom, who are traditionally artisans). Shaikh is also a term that is usually attributed to the leaders or elders of Arabian social groups. Other variants of this term are Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh, Seyh. The Shaikh can be broadly grouped into five communities. The Chistis and Kuraishis communities who tend to be mainly converts to Islam. The other three communities, the Farukis, the Abbasi and Saddiqis are descendants of Arab immigrants. The Siddiqis claim that their distinction is that they are descendants of Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first Muslim caliph and a companion of the prophet Mohammed. He was also the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet. This gives them very high status among Muslim communities, tying them in with the Islamic religion. The Siddiqi subgroup is found mainly in India, but there are small numbers of them in Bangladesh and Nepal. Like other Shaikh groups, the Siddiqi can speak a number of languages depending on where they live.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Siddiqi Shaikh community is solidly Muslim. They are among the more orthodox Muslims, and their identity is strongly tied in with the Islamic religion.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Shaikhs are not bound by one particular profession. Consequently, the Shaikhs profess Islam and have both Sunni and Shia traditions among them. In Nepal they speak Nepali and either Urdu, Bhojpuri or Maithili in their communities. They are not vegetarian, and their common foods are rice, mutton and vegetables. Common surnames are Mondal, Siddiqui, Usmani, Faroqui and Sheikh.


What Are Their Needs?

There has been much ministry activity among the Shaikh in India. Pray that this group of Muslims will find the truth of the Prophet Isa! There is a lot of potential for gospel growth within the Shaikh community because of relatively few social divisions.


Prayer Points

Ask the Lord to open the hearts of the Siddiqi Shaikhs so they will receive the good news. Pray for a Disciple Making Movement that will bless the Siddiqi Shaikhs this decade. Pray for the Lord to send workers to the Shaikhs to tell them about Jesus or Isa.


Scripture Prayers for the Shaikh Siddiqi in India.


References

https://peoplegroupsindia.com/profiles/shaikh/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddiqui
https://www.peoplegroups.info/site/PeopleGroupHighlight/id/501/name/Indian+Muslims+%28Shaikh%29


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Shaikh Siddiqi
People Name in Country Shaikh Siddiqi
Natural Name Siddiqi Shaikh
Alternate Names Siddiq
Population this Country 8,967,000
Population all Countries 8,975,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 179
People ID 21815
ROP3 Code 118602
ROP25 Code 307422
ROP25 Name Shaikh
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 25
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
West Bengal
3,810,000
Uttar Pradesh
2,694,000
Bihar
646,000
Jharkhand
487,000
Maharashtra
297,000
Karnataka
218,000
Rajasthan
209,000
Andhra Pradesh
93,000
Delhi
90,000
Madhya Pradesh
83,000
Odisha
77,000
Telangana
59,000
Gujarat
58,000
Tamil Nadu
56,000
Uttarakhand
28,000
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 25  (only 20 largest shown)
  West Bengal 3,810,000
  Uttar Pradesh 2,694,000
  Bihar 646,000
  Jharkhand 487,000
  Maharashtra 297,000
  Karnataka 218,000
  Rajasthan 209,000
  Andhra Pradesh 93,000
  Delhi 90,000
  Madhya Pradesh 83,000
  Odisha 77,000
  Telangana 59,000
  Gujarat 58,000
  Tamil Nadu 56,000
  Uttarakhand 28,000
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Bengali (49,953,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 29
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Urdu
4,311,000
Bhojpuri
101,000
Awadhi
34,000
Maithili
33,000
Marwari
31,000
Punjabi, Eastern
25,000
Gujarati
25,000
Marathi
17,000
Telugu
15,000
Dhundari
12,000
Shekhawati
11,000
Kanauji
7,700
Mewari
7,300
Kannada
6,800
Bundeli
5,100
Primary Language Bengali (49,953,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 29
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Urdu 4,311,000
  Bhojpuri 101,000
  Awadhi 34,000
  Maithili 33,000
  Marwari 31,000
  Punjabi, Eastern 25,000
  Gujarati 25,000
  Marathi 17,000
  Telugu 15,000
  Dhundari 12,000
  Shekhawati 11,000
  Kanauji 7,700
  Mewari 7,300
  Kannada 6,800
  Bundeli 5,100
People Groups Speaking Bengali

Primary Language:  Bengali

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Bible-Complete Yes  (1809-2022)
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Photo Source Siddiqee - Wikipedia  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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