A group of college students on a heritage tour visits an old mosque on the south-western coast of India, believed to date from about the thirteenth century. Their guide explains that the Muslim families of this area descend partly from traders from Arabia who settled here many centuries ago and slowly took up the ways of the land. Inside the prayer hall, the students notice a niche set into one wall and, beside it, a raised platform with steps from which sermons are given. Outside, they see that the roof looks very different from the domes they have seen on mosques in Delhi.
Which coast did these Arab traders settle along, and which local language did they adopt?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The Malabar coast; Malayalam
Option (1) The Malabar coast; Malayalam — Correct. Arab Muslim traders settled along the Malabar coast in Kerala and adopted the local language, Malayalam. This shows how Islam blended with local traditions.
Option (2) The Malabar coast; Tamil — Incorrect. The coast is right, but the language is wrong. The settlers on the Malabar coast took up Malayalam, the language of Kerala.
Option (3) The Coromandel coast; Malayalam — Incorrect. The Coromandel coast is the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra. The Arab settlers of this account lived on the Malabar coast.
Option (4) The Coromandel coast; Tamil — Incorrect. Both parts are wrong. The settlers lived on the Malabar coast in Kerala and adopted Malayalam.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 The popular practice of Islam … “The complex blend of a universal faith with local traditions is perhaps best exemplified in the architecture of mosques. Some architectural features of mosques are universal – such as their orientation towards Mecca, evident in the placement of the mihrab (prayer niche) and the minbar (pulpit). …” |