India: Identify us by our ethnicity and not by religion, Assam Muslims say (Sept 2012 article in Times of India)

The Times of India

Identify us by our ethnicity and not by religion, Assam Muslims say

TNN | Sep 17, 2012, 06.04 AM IST


GUWAHATI: After the violence in Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD), heated discourses on the Muslim community have become common in the state. Sadou Asom Goria Moria Deshi Jatiya Parishad (SAGMDJP), an organisation representing indigenous Assamese Muslims, on Sunday said that their community members wanted to be identified by their ethnicity and not by their religion. "We belong to the Goria, Moria and Deshi ethnic groups of the Assamese Muslims. It is another fact that our religion is Islam, but we have our own ethnic identities. These communities have evolved distinct identities because of their ethnicity. We want these communities to be identified and referred to by their ethnic identities and not by religion," SAGMDJP president Sahiruddin Ali Ahmed said in a public meeting on Sunday.

Gorias are the converts from different ethnic groups and tribes to Islam in the state, while Morias are the descendents of Muslim soldiers taken prisoners during wars with local kings. In subsequent years, Morias married local women and extended their families. The Deshi Muslims are Koch Rajbongshis who converted to Islam.

"Despite Islam being our religion, we carry the blood of various indigenous communities. Ethnically, we are closer to other indigenous communities in the state than our Muslim brothers elsewhere in the country. We are also ethnically different from the East Bengal Muslims although we practice the same religion," SAGMDJP general secretary Hafijul Ahmed said. Sayed Muminul Aowal, president of All Assam Khilanjiya Mussalman Jaamat, another body representing indigenous Muslims, said the history of indigenous Muslims in the state is much older than the 13th century when Ahoms established their kingdom.

Although the Gorias, Morias and Deshis have been demanding separate identities for the last several years, it gained momentum in the aftermath of BTAD conflict between Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims. After protests in Mumbai's Azad Maidan and other parts in the country against the atrocities on Muslim in BTAD, SAGMDJP said that it was not correct to dub the violence as clashes between Bodos and Muslims because indigenous Muslims were not involved in the conflict.

Aowal said that the time has come to ask for constitutional safeguards to protect their ethnic identities. He said that these communities were deprived of development funds for minorities as their number is significantly lower than Muslims of other ethnic groups in the state.

"We do not even have political representations in the state assembly. If we do not get constitutional safeguards our ethnic identities and existence will be wiped out. We do not want this to happen," Aowal said.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Identify-us-by-our-ethnicity-and-not-by-religion-Assam-Muslims-say/articleshow/16429116.cms