Muslim Tamils: The Historical, Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Perspective

Asia is home to all Muslim Tamils who have made their mark in several fields and have played a constructive role in Asia's economic rise and cultural influence across the world. Muslim Tamils involved in various trades. They also involve in Gems trade and Leather industry.Muslim Tamils are identifiable by a common language and religion. Otherwise, they belong to multiple ethnicities such as Dravidian, Aryan, Oriental, Malay, Semitic etc. They are listed in official gazettes of different nations as Lebbai, Marakayar, Rowther, Kayalar (in India) Sonagar (in Sri Lanka), Mamak (a pejorative term used in Malaysia), Cholias (in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Singapore). The home language of Sri Lankan Muslim Tamils and those of Tamil Nadu is Tamil.The Muslim Tamil (spoken at home) in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu is a dialect in that it has substantial number of Turko-Perso-Arabic loan words.There are close cultural systems between the Muslims of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. This book may serve as a stepping-stone to a further study. This work provides opportunities in research within the framework of anthropological study of Muslim Tamils.