It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims[1][2] and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jews.[3] The name or title Khawaja was usually given in Arab lands to non-Muslim dignitaries, usually to Jews or Christians. The word comes from the Persian word khwāja. In Persian, the title roughly translates to 'Lord' or 'Master'.[4]
Other spellings include khaaja (Bengali) and koja (Javanese).[7] The term has been rendered into English in various forms since the 1600s, including hodgee, hogi, cojah and khoja.[8]
The name is also used in Egypt and Sudan to indicate a person with a foreign nationality or foreign heritage.[9]
Gallery
Hodja of Shkodra, from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
Hodja of Salonika, today's Thessaloniki (first on the right, with the Hakham Bashi of Salonika on the left and a Monastir town dweller in the middle), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
^Zaken, Mordechai (2007). Jewish subjects and their tribal chieftains in Kurdistan: a study in survival. Jewish Identities in a Changing World. Leiden: Brill. pp. 59–60. ISBN978-90-04-16190-0. The leading Jewish family in Aqra during the last three generations was known by the name of Khawaja Khinno. The patriarchs of Khawaja Khinno managed the affairs of the Jewish community of Aqra and developed relationships with aghas and officials whose benevolence aided the Jews in times of need... The name or title Khawaja was usually given in Arab lands to non-Muslim dignitaries, usually to Jews or Christians.
^Ashyrly, Akif (2005). Türkün Xocalı soyqırımı(PDF) (in Azerbaijani). Baku: Nurlan. p. 12. "Xoca" türkcə ağ-saqqal, "böyük" mənasını daşıyaraq hörmət əlamətini bildirir
^"Xoca". Obastan (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^S. Robson and S. Wibisono, 2002, Javanese English dictionaryISBN0-7946-0000-X, sv koja
This page lists people with the surnameKhawaja. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.