Q32
History of IndiaDelhi Sultanate
India's earliest contact with Islam came through
- a.Arab invasion of Sindh in the seventh century.
- b.Turkish invasions of the eleventh–twelfth centuries.
- c.Arab merchants of Malabar Coast.
- d.Sufi saints and Arab travellers.
Answer: (C) Arab merchants of Malabar Coast.
India's earliest contact with Islam was through Arab merchants who traded along the Malabar Coast of Kerala as early as the 7th century CE, even before the Arab conquest of Sindh (711 CE). Arab traders and settlers intermarried with local populations, creating the Mappila Muslim community.