https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Banu_IsrailBanu Israil - Revision history2026-07-30T23:57:38ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Banu_Israil&diff=489679&oldid=prevLucasRowan at 11:37, 21 November 20252025-11-21T11:37:28Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian Muslim community}}<br />
{{for|similar uses|Children of Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Children of Israel}}<br />
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}<br />
The '''Banu Israil''' or Bani Israili are a [[Indian Muslim|Muslim]] community of [[Jews|Jewish]] origin.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-07-05 |title=Aligarh's Muslims of 'Jewish descent' wary of tag |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/aligarhs-muslims-of-jewish-descent-wary-of-tag/articleshow/53049802.cms |access-date=2025-06-17 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Their name means 'Children of Israel', and the community claims descent from the Jewish community of [[Madinah]], in Arabia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anas |first=Mohammed |date=2022-03-14 |title=Madrasa with Jewish roots lights up a new path in western UP |url=https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/madrasa-with-jewish-roots-lights-up-a-new-path-in-western-up-33200.html |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=Indianarrative |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benjamin |first=Joshua M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZ1tAAAAMAAJ&q=banu+israil,+uttar+Pradesh |title=The Mystery of Israel's Ten Lost Tribes and the Legend of Jesus in India |date=2001 |publisher=Mosaic Books |isbn=978-81-85399-57-7 |pages=111 |language=en}}</ref> They belong to the [[Shaikhs in South Asia|Shaikh]] caste{{Clarify|reason=Where are these people mainly located or were mainly located after migrating from wherever they had migrated from? parts of India? Pakistan?|date=September 2025}} and typically carry the surname ''Israily''. They should not be confused with the [[Bene Israel]], a Jewish community in western India.<ref>The Lost Tribes of Israel: The History of a Myth by Tudor Parfit {{ISBN|0-297-81934-8}} page 131</ref><br />
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== Origin ==<br />
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The exact circumstances of their settlement in India is unclear, but their traditions make clear that they were Jews at the time of their settlement. They are largely an urban community, occupying distinct quarters in a number of towns and cities in western [[Uttar Pradesh]], such as Banu Israilyan in [[Aligarh]]. Quite a few of them occupied important administrative positions under both the [[Sultanate of Delhi]] and its successor, the [[Mughal Empire]]. This was especially true of the Banu Israil of Aligarh, where the community were the heredity ''[[kotwal]]s'', a post which entailed being both the head of police and garrison commander.<ref>Boundaries and identities : Muslims, work and status in Aligarh by E. A. Mann {{ISBN|0-8039-9422-2}}</ref>{{pn|date=October 2023}}<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Shaikh of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
* [[Allahdad]]<br />
* [[Donmeh]]<br />
* [[Chala (Jews)|Chala]]<br />
* [[Converso]]<br />
* [[Marrano]]<br />
* [[Neofiti]]<br />
* [[Makhamra family]]<br />
* [[Jewish tribes of Arabia]]<br />
* [[Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/06/26/religion-journal-the-indian-muslims-with-ties-to-israel/ Religion Journal: The Indian Muslims with Ties to Israel] – ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''<br />
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{{Indian Muslim}}<br />
{{Jews and Judaism in Pakistan}}<br />
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[[Category:Shaikh clans]]<br />
[[Category:Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in India]]<br />
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Pakistan]]<br />
[[Category:Groups claiming Israelite descent]]<br />
[[Category:Hejazi Jews]]</div>LucasRowan