Sri Lankan Moors

The Moors [ mu ː rs] ( English for " Moors " ) are a population group in Sri Lanka. They are of the Muslim faith and tamilischsprachig. They identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and trace their ancestry back to Arab traders.

According to the 2012 census, living in Sri Lanka nearly 1.9 million Moors, which corresponds to a share of 9.2 percent of the total population. Thus, they are after Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils ​​, the third largest ethnic group on the island. The highest proportion of their population in the Eastern Province, but smaller groups of Moors also live in other parts of the country.

The Moors are Sunnis of schafiitischen law school. Unlike the Tamil-speaking Muslims in India (Tamil Nadu ), the Moors do not identify as Tamils ​​in Sri Lanka. Therefore, they fell during the civil war in Sri Lanka (1983-2009) in the crossfire between the Sinhalese -dominated government and Tamil rebels. In October 1990, the LTTE rebels expelled virtually all Moors from the Northern Province.

The Moors represent over 90 percent of the Muslim population of Sri Lanka. In addition, living in Sri Lanka but also Muslim Malays and Indian Tamils ​​Muslim faith.