Mappila man in Malabar (1926-1933) The Mappila community originated primarily as a result of the West Asian contacts with Kerala, which was fundamentally based upon commerce ("the spice trade").As per local tradition, Islam reached Malabar Coast, of which the Kerala state is a part of, as early as the 7th century AD.Before being overtaken by the Europeans in the spice trade, Mappilas were a prosperous trading community, settled mainly in the coastal urban centres of Kerala. The continuous interaction of the Mappilas with the Middle East has created a profound impact on their life, customs, and culture. This has resulted in the formation of a unique Indo-Islamic synthesis — within the large spectrum of Kerala culture — in literature, art, food, language, and music. Most of the Muslims in Kerala follow the Shāfiʿī School, while a large minority follow movements such as Salafism. Very much unlike other parts of South Asia, the caste system does not exist among the Muslims of Kerala (all Muslims are allowed to worship in all Kerala mosques). A number of different communities, some of them having distant ethnic roots, exist as status groups in Kerala . Mappilas are but one among the many communities that form the Muslim population of Kerala. Sometimes the whole Muslim community in former Malabar District, or even in Kerala, is known by the term "Mappila". Portuguese writer Duarte Barbosa (1515) uses the term 'Moors Mopulars' for the Muslims of Kerala.[citation needed] "Mappila" ("the great child", a synonym for son-in-law/bridegroom[) was a respectful, and honorific title given to foreign visitors, merchants and immigrants to Malabar Coast by the native Hindus. The Muslims were referred to as Jonaka or Chonaka Mappila ("Yavanaka Mappila"), to distinguish them from the Nasrani Mappila (Saint Thomas Christians) and the Juda Mappila .