page_title: Tamil Muslim
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Tamil Muslim / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Facsimile of inscription on Tamil bell
context_page_description: Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is at least 4.5 million people in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, Muslims consider themselves as "Tamils" but Tamil-speaking Muslims in Sri Lanka are classified as Moors due to independent lineage. The Tamil-speaking Muslims are the descendants of the marriages between early Arab Muslim traders of the high seas and indigenous Tamil women, and also of local converts.
  The community is predominantly urban. There is a substantial diaspora, particularly in Southeast Asia, which has seen their presence as early as the 13th century. In the late 20th century, the diaspora expanded to Western Europe, Gulf Countries and North America
context_section_description: In Tamil Nadu, the community is well known as rentiers, entrepreneurs, gemstone jewellers and money changers with above State-average GDP per capita incomes.
caption: Tamil Bell with its inscription and translation
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