COLOMBO: Since the earliest times, a syncretic and symbiotic relationship has existed between the Hindus and Muslims of Tamil Nadu, which accounts for the remarkably tension-free relations between the two communities in the state. Chennai-based film maker Kombai S.Anwar elucidates this in his documentary Yaadhum-A Tamil Muslim’s Search For His Roots And Identity.
Anwar begins his journey from this home town, Kombai, near Theni. If Kombai had prospered since 1 AD, it was because its pepper and cardamom were marketed worldwide by Arab maritime traders. Kodungalur, North of Kochi, was a major Tamil port since the days of the Cheras. Not surprisingly, India’s oldest mosque, the Cheraman Jumma Palli built between 800 and 1100 AD, is in Kodungalur.
The Big Temple in Thanjavur built by the Cholas, has inscriptions mentioning the Arab currency “Drammam” (Dirham). Sonaka Saroor was a high official in the Chola kingdom. When the 16 th.Century Sufi Saint Shahul Hameed cured Thanjavur ruler Achutappa Naik of an ailment, land was granted to him at Nagoor. At the Vishnu temple in Alwarthirunagari in Thirunelveli, a vessel with Arab traders on board is depicted. Even today, in an era of fundamentalist Islam, Muslims use caparisoned elephants and Nadaswaram musicians in the Sufi Kanduri festival processions in the southern districts.
In the past, mosques were built in the Dravidian style with sculptured columns, though no humans or animals were depicted. In Kilakarai, the Seethakaadi mosque built in the 17 th.Century and the Habib Arasar mosque built in the 19 th.Century, conform to the Dravidian style with sculptured, multi-pillared prayer halls.
The 16 th.Century Tamil poem Miharaj Malai on the Prophet’s ascent to Heaven, is sung in the Carnatic style. Ayiram Masala (1000 Questions) about Islam written in 1590, was accepted in the highest Tamil literary circles of Madurai. According to poet Abdul Rahman, Muslims introduced to Tamil, new literary styles like Kissa, Nama, Padaippor, and Munajat. In the 17 th.Century work Seera Puranam on the Prophet’s life, Umaru Pulavar chose to use the more familiar South Indian imagery.