page_title: Religion in Chennai
section_title: Islam
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Chennai / Islam
caption_attribution_description: Thousand Lights Mosque
context_page_description: Chennai is religiously cosmopolitan, with its denizens following various religions, chief among them being Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. Chennai, along with Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, is one of the few Indian cities that are home to a diverse population of ethno-religious communities. With the majority of the people in India following Hinduism, Chennai, like other Indian cities, is home to more Hindus than any other religion. Chennai has centres of worship for a multitude of faiths. According to 2001 census, majority of the population are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists.
context_section_description: Islam was introduced in the city during the Mughal era and is currently the second largest religion of Chennai, accounting for around 9.4 percent of the population according to the 2001 census. An overwhelming majority of Chennai Muslims belong to the Sunni sect although a small Shia minority does exist. Majority of Muslims of Chennai speak Tamil, while a small minority speak Urdu in a Tamilized version, Dakhini. The "Urdu" speakers mentioned in the previous sentence are mostly the Shias and a small number of Sunni Muslims. The rest of the Sunni Muslims and some Shias speak only Tamil and other Indian languages.
caption: Thousand Lights mosque on Anna Salai
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