Scientists have confirmed what historians have long known. Genetic studies suggest that Muslims in Northern India are mostly descendants of native people who embraced Islam rather than being repositories of foreign DNA deposited by waves of invaders. The studies, conducted by scientists in India, Spain, and the US, indicate that both Shias and Sunnis in Uttar Pradesh are primarily descendants of converts. The findings, based on genetic material analysis from 60 Sunni and 59 Shia volunteers, will be published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
“Our results point to conversions in both groups, but there is greater foreign ancestry in the Shias,” said Suraksha Agrawal, a team member and head of medical genetics at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow.
