No doubt the rebirth of Islam in 1838 (and subsequent years when fresh “recruits” were brought into the colony from Hindustan) contributed to the religious diversity in the colony, the immigrants brought with them the richness of the Mughal culture –the Urdu language, arts, cuisine, fashions and lifestyle. They came from districts and cities where the Mughal culture proliferated - Lucknow, Ghazipur, Allahabad, Agra, Gorakpur, Murshidabad, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Shahabad, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Patna and Alighar. Where Agra, founded by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506, and Lucknow, Faizabad and Patna, to name a few states, were centers of great learning and culture of the Mughal Empire.” Soon after their arrival in the colony the Muslims became organized despite the lack of the traditional structures of mosques, with the basic characteristics such as minarets or domes these early Muslims nevertheless celebrated their traditional Islamic holidays such as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha as well as the Tazia festival. And today, according to the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), there are about 140 mosques scattered throughout Guyana.

Despite attempts at conversion, humiliation and subjugation, Islam survived in Guyana, and it is an ongoing struggle. Hindustani Muslims in Guyana have had a long history of resistance dating back to the 11th October 1838, when two Muslims – Jummun (Juman) and Pultun escaped the clutches of the gora sahibs (white masters). The bodies of two strange men were discovered shortly afterwards at Mahaica, in the bushes who were believed to be the two “runaway coolies” Jummun and Pultun. We also saw the Rosehall uprising of 1913 where mainly Muslims were at the forefront “battling” imperialism - Moula Bux, Jahangir Khan, Dildar Khan, Chotey Khan, Aladi, and Amirbaksh stood up to the injustices on the plantations.

Ramzaan Kareem to all our brothers and sisters in Islam

Shabnam Ali
Raymond Chickerie
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i. Correspondence on the Condition of the Hill Coolies in British Guiana: Governor Light to the Marques of Normandy, 5 Sept. 1839, Encl. In No. 6
ii. Ibid.
iii. Correspondence on the Condition of the Hill Coolies in British Guiana: Ref. No. 5, Governor Light to the Marques of Normandy, 12 August 1839, p. 10.
iv. Ibid.
v. P. J. Marshall. The New Cambridge History of India Bengal: The British Bridgehead Eastern India 1740-1828, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987, p. 39.
vi. Basdeo Mangru, “Indenture and Abolition”, Toronto: Tsar Publications, 1993, p. 86.