The Qazi community derive their name from the term qadi which means "judge." They have a tradition of being the religious leaders or imams among the Muslim groups. The majority of the Qazi live in Bihar, India but a good number in Nepal live in the Maithili speaking areas of Narayari and Janakpur zones.
They live primarily in Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan. In the latter they live mainly in Sikar, Churu and Junjunu. A number also live in Bangladesh.
The Qazi are skilled in art of Islamic religious rites and tend to perform the traditional ceremonies for the greater Muslim community. They perform the birth, purification, marriage, death and burial rites. The Qazi are Muslims of the Hanafi tradition and virtually 100% Muslim in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. In India Urdu is the mother tongue of the over 450,000 Qazi and they can speak other local languages in their context. In Nepal the Qazi primarily speak Maithili. They enjoy a higher than average social status because of the general and religious education.
The Qazi are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi tradition. They faithfully follow the Muslim practice of praying five times a day. They also fast during the month of Ramadan as do most Muslims. Some also celebrate Hindu festivals and traditions as well as participating in animistic rituals.
There is a need for education. There is also a lack of employment among them.
The Qazi are a very strategic community to bring to faith in Christ as they would be natural spiritual leaders as followers of Isa. Terrific influence among many Muslim groups could be made if a Qazi man were able to remain in the community and be a Christian Qazi leader. With Christ all things are possible!
Scripture Prayers for the Qazi in India.
Singh, K. S., ed. "India's Communities A-Z", Oxford University Press, USA 1999
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
Global Prayer Digest: 2019-09-23 |
People Name General | Qazi |
People Name in Country | Qazi |
Pronunciation | KAH-zee |
Alternate Names | Kazi; क़ाज़ी |
Population this Country | 869,000 |
Population all Countries | 908,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 2 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 17 |
People ID | 17125 |
ROP3 Code | 112472 |
Country | India | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 11 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 6 | ||||||
Largest States |
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Districts | Interactive map, listing and data download | ||||||
Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 11 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 6 |
Bihar 588,000 | |
West Bengal 110,000 | |
Uttar Pradesh 99,000 | |
Delhi 51,000 | |
Gujarat 6,000 | |
Madhya Pradesh 1,900 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
100.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Urdu (513,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | urd Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 15 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Urdu (513,000 speakers) |
Language Code | urd Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 15 |
Secondary Languages | |
Bhojpuri 97,000 | |
Bengali 83,000 | |
Maithili 20,000 | |
Gujarati 4,800 | |
Punjabi, Eastern 2,400 | |
Magahi 1,800 | |
Awadhi 1,400 | |
Marwari 900 | |
Dhundari 600 | |
Bagheli 300 | |
Kanauji 300 | |
Bundeli 100 | |
Braj Bhasha 80 | |
Angika 80 | |
People Groups | Speaking Urdu |
Primary Language: Urdu
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1747-1894) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1758-2000) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1843-2022) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Photo Source | South Asia People Groups |
Map Source | People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |