It is no secret that the financial position of Muslims in Nepal is not that good. Though after Nepal declared itself as democratic republic, Muslims are able to perform their rituals and are following Islamic way of living so we can say in around last 20 years things are getting better for Muslims in Nepal. Muslims are staying in different cities of Nepal. If statics are to be believed there are 5 million Muslims living there but numbers are said to be higher than that with some claiming it is around 10 million. Officially Muslims are nearly 4.5% of total country’s population and they are minority in Nepal. Muslims have Mosques in their respective localities but there is a Government ban on usage of loudspeakers in any religious institutions.
There are many shrines of Sufi saints also present in Nepal and many follow Sufism in Nepal. These shrines/tombs are either in individual places or adjacent to a Mosque with a short biography of these deceased ones in Arabic or Persian language which reveals that they were followers of Ahlul Bait (A.S) in their lifetime.
Even, 90% of these Sufi saints who came here long ago were “Sayyed” that means their ancestors belong to Prophet Muhammed (s) and Lady Fatimah’s (s) family. It is pertinent to mention here that there are three graves of Sufi saints in Kathmandu Kashmiri Mosque and these are all coved by canopy and beautified by verses of Holy Quran. Muslims do visit these shrines throughout the year to pay their homage to these saints. It has been observed that those who follow Sufi ideology here maintain a distance with the people who follow Wahabi ideology and these Sufis love the holy household of prophet Muhammed (s).
However, there are many unknown graves that exist in the mountains which are believed to be of Sufi saints .These graves are mainly in the “Tarai” valley which is adjacent to Uttar Parades and Bihar border with Nepal. Believers of this community are present there in this province where they perform their rituals and follow their religion peacefully.
Shi’as In Nepal:
The socio political and economical conditions of Shi’a are not stable in Nepal. Most of the people from Shi’a community lead a very low level life i.e below poverty line. They are deprived from education, culture, full time job and many other social aspects. One of the main reasons for Shi’as being deprived of Government opportunities is that Shi’a as community is not recognized in Nepal and is lagging behind in education. It’s the most backward community in every aspect in Nepal and due to its limited members it has failed to get any official recognition.
Shi’as are officially not considered as Nepalese Muslim population. Shia religion is not mentioned in the constitution of Nepal and that’s the reason unfortunately Shi’as are not considered in any religious believers. The numbers of Shi’a people are significantly more in Kathmandu than any other cities of Nepal. In Kathmandu Shi’as are not confined to a particular area rather they have been living across the city and adjacent areas. They are mixed in general Nepalese culture and no one can distinguish them from common Nepalese people. Their clothing, food, culture are the same as a common Hindu or Buddhist Nepali. If someone observes minutely, then they may guess that they are Muslim. There are some Shi’a families in Tarai region. This is a mountain valley situated in South-West of the country bordering India. They speak Urdu and Hindi language and their culture matches with Indian Shi’as. They sometimes visit to Indian state UP and Bihar for many religious occasions including Muharram, Eid celebration etc.
Shi’a that live in Nepal fall under three categories i.e those who have been living in Nepal for years and are legal citizen of the country. There are almost seven families of this type living in Kathmandu and they speak Hindi and Nepali fluently. Their children are also habituated in Nepal’s culture and they go to Nepali schools, colleges etc. Their Young Generation often gets married to people from other religions or communities and they are very modern.
The second category is mainly of refugees. They migrated mainly from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. United Nations have given them refugee Card for their social identity. These people are mainly the labor worker who works on daily wages and they often speak in their own languages and are confined in their micro community. They often get neglected and get second class treatment by people. Ali (name changed) who has done a detailed research on Shi’as in Nepal and their social, political condition has met many Shi’a families during his stay in Nepal. As per him few families of this category have again migrated from here to another country while many are in process of doing so. If his figures are to be believed there are almost 58 Afghanistani refugees Shi’a currently staying here who speak Farsi and Dar language and their children go to Nepali schools. There is one Iraqi family who speak Arabic language as well. Moreover there are four Pakistani refugee families living here who speak Urdu language and their children also go to Nepali schools and know English and Nepali language. There is one Iranian refugee family from Tehran city. The third category of Shi’a Muslims in Nepal is the businessmen. They have mainly migrated from India for the purpose of business. They often live without their family and that’s the reason they visit their family frequently.
However, there are seven families who stay in Kathmandu who fall under this category and they mainly came from Bihar state of India. They generally speak in Nepali and Urdu language and their children go to Nepali and English school.
Moreover there are Shi’a people from Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh etc numbering around 70 who come for business purpose and don’t bring their families along to Nepal.
There are some other Shia families who stay in Nepal apart from Kathmandu city i.e Birat Nagar, Nepalgunj and some other small suburban towns. These families are mainly the Sayed who work as the salesperson. Ali met around 150 Shi’a in Kathmandu city. He also came in contact with 22 families who live very far from Kathmandu which is something around 30 miles away from city center. These families are mainly Afghani, Pakistani and Indian.
Given the number and financial positionof Shia’s there in not a single religious center for Shi’a Muslims including Mosque, Imam Bargah, Religious School present in entire Nepal. During the month of Muharram and Ramzan Shi’a families invite each other and they commemorate or do celebrate together in their homes. For last 20 years they couldn’t build any Bargah due to their limited financial resources and go to each other’s home during such occasions.
There is also no private graveyard present for Shias in Nepal. That is the reason whenever any Shi’a passes away, the family need to go to the graveyard of Ahle Sunnat waal Jamaat. Given the difference between both schools of thoughts at times it becomes difficult to get consent for the burial. As per the Nepalese law one cannot be buried in a general area except in a graveyard so until Shi’a have their own graveyard they will have no option but to request others for the burial.
A lot of Shi’a Muslims want to study Shia religion but due to lack of any classes they can’t do that and also do lack a platform where they can debate and get their question answered. There is also no Library or orphanage of Shi’as over there.
Most of the Shi’a families living in Nepal are below the poverty line. The occupation for these families are restricted to shop keeping, daily wages, door to door sales, helping the shop owners in their business, plumbing, gatekeeper etc. There are very few who have permanent jobs. All the Shi’a families stay in rental home and some of them run shops which are also on rental property.
There are many organizations working in Nepal for the promotion of many religions but there is no organization which works for or promotion of teachings of Holy household of Prophet Muhammad (s).
This is high time for taking some steps by those who could help them so that these people too can avail the facilities and practice their religion without finance being any hindrance in that.