Moplah

Mappila, also known as a Muslim Mappila, formerly spelt as Moplah or previously known as Jonaka Mappila, are an ethnoreligious community of Malayali Muslims based in the Malabar region of the Indian state of Kerala. Muslims of Kerala, of which Mappilas make up a large majority, constitute 26.56% of the population of the state (2011), and as a religious group they are the second largest group after Hindus (54.73%). Mappilas share the common language of Malayalam with the other religious communities of Kerala.

The Mappila community originated primarily as a result of the pre and post-Islamic Arab contacts with Kerala, which was fundamentally based upon commerce. As per tradition, Islam reached Malabar Coast, of which the state is a part of, as early as the 7th century AD. The uninterrupted association of the Mappilas with the merchants from the Middle East have created a profound impact on their life, customs and culture. This has resulted in the formation of an unique tradition - although within the large spectrum of Malayali culture - in literature, art, and music.

Most of the Mappilas follow the Shafi'i School, while a large minority follow movements that developed within Sunni Islam.

"Mappila" was a term originally used to denote foreign visitors and immigrants to Malabar Coast including the Muslims, Christians and the Jews. These three were the dominant the trading communities of historical Kerala. The Muslims were referred to as Jonaka or Chonaka Mappila ("Yavanaka Mappila"), to distinguish them from the Nasrani Mappila (Saint Thomas Christians) and the Juda Mappila (Cochin Jews).

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