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Muslims
The Muslims in Bihar are commonly seen in Purnia, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur
and Champaran districts. In the Purnia districts Hindus and Muslims live
together and has imbibed each others religious beliefs. Many of the Hindu
and Muslim festivals are celebrated with equal zeal. The Muharram ' Tazias'
are usually borne on the shoulders by the Hindus and the Durga puja '
Akharas' are filled up by the Muslims.
Caste system was foreign to Islam, it appears to have
entered the Muslim social system as a result of the contact with the Hindus.
The Muslims are divided into two main classes, the Ashroff and Ajlaf.
The Syeds, who belong to the first category claim descent from the prophet
himself, others in this category are Mughals, Iranis, Afghans, Pathans
etc. The Momins, Kunjras and the Muslim castes-Julaha, Dhunia, Dhobe,
Kulal, Chik, Lalbegi and others belong to the second group. The Mulick
of Shahabad are all Ashroff and live by reciting poetry describing the
love of Radha and Govindha; they worship certain saints and make offering
at tombs and dargahs. In pre-Mughal Bihar, all the Ulema, Mullas and Sufis
were Sunni Muslims, there were no sectarian differences between Shias
and Sunnis.
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