Khawaja Explained

Khawaja is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers.

It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims^{[1] [2]} and the Mizrahi Jews—particularly Persian Jews and Baghdadi Jews.^[3] The word comes from the Iranian word khwāja (Classical Persian: khwāja; Dari khājah; Tajik khoja). In Persian, the title roughly translates to 'Lord' or 'Master'.^[4]

The Ottoman Turkish pronunciation of the Persian خواجه gave rise to hodja and its equivalents such as hoca in modern Turkish, hoxha in Albanian, խոջա (xoǰa) in Armenian, xoca (khoja) in Azerbaijani,^{[5] [6]} hodža in Bosnian, ходжа (khodzha) in Bulgarian, χότζας (chótzas) in Greek, hogea in Romanian, and хоџа in Serbian.

Other spellings include khaaja (Bengali) and koja (Javanese).^[7]

The name is also used in Egypt and Sudan to indicate a person with a foreign nationality or foreign heritage.^[8]

See also

• Khwaja Khizr Tomb at Sonipat
• Afaq Khoja Mausoleum in Kashgar
• Khwajagan, a network of Sufis in Central Asia from the 10th to the 16th century who are often incorporated into later Naqshbandi hierarchies.
• Khajeh Nouri (Or Khajenouri), a Persian family belonging to pre-revolution nobility, their family tree can be traced back 45 generations.^[9]
• Khojaly, a town in Azerbaijan.
• Khoja (Turkestan), a title of the descendants of the Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi teacher, Ahmad Kasani
• Hoca, Turkish spelling of Khawaja
• Hoxha, Albanian surname
• Hodžić, Bosniak surname
• Koya, a medieval Indian administrative position

Notes and References

1. Book: Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 5. Epilogue -Jammu Kashmir. 23–. GGKEY:JAACF25BJCD.
2. Book: Shyam Lal Pardesi. Amudarya to Vitasta: A Bird's Eye-view of Relations Between Central-Asia and Kashmir. 1989. Sangarmaal Publications. 15. It is most pertinent to mention here that the word Khwaja is used as mark of respect before the name of a Kashmiri Muslim shopkeeper or wholesale dealer.and dalals.
3. Husain. Ruquiya K.. Khwaja Israel Sarhad: Armenian Merchant and Diplomat. 2004. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 65. 258–266. 44144740. 2249-1937.
4. Book: The Persian Gulf in Modern Times. 2014. Palgrave Macmillan US. 978-1-349-50380-3. Potter. Lawrence G.. New York. en. 10.1057/9781137485779.
5. Book: Ashyrly, Akif . Türkün Xocalı soyqırımı . Nurlan . Baku . 2005 . 12 . "Xoca" türkcə ağ-saqqal, "böyük" mənasını daşıyaraq hörmət əlamətini bildirir . az .
6. Web site: Xoca . https://archive.today/20210211184606/https://obastan.com/xoca/545262/?l=az . 11 February 2021 . Obastan . az . 11 February 2021 .
7. S. Robson and S. Wibisono, 2002, Javanese English dictionary, sv koja
8. Web site: Jamal Khashoggi's borrowed white privilege made his murder count Khalid Albaih. Albaih. Khalid. 2018-11-26. the Guardian. en. 2018-11-27.
9. Web site: The Khajenouri Family. 26 August 2020. The Khajenouri Family.