the oldest mosque in the region, was built in 644 CE, only 12 years after the death of Muhammad. Almost all Muslims in Dakshina Kannada are Sunni, following the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence. Islam in Dakshina Kannada has also had dark sides when Tipu Sultan conquered the region and forced many of the local inhabitants, especially the Mangalore Catholics, to convert to Islam. In recent years, the Bearys have been one of the main groups to travel to the Gulf for work, where they have been significantly influenced by the highly conservative Wahabi Islam followed there. This, along with the predominance of Hindutva, has contributed to the radicalization of Islam in the district. Christianity is the third-largest religion in the district. Christianity, although having an ancient presence on the western coast due to trade, did not gain a large following in Dakshina Kannada until the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 1500s. The majority of Christians in the district are Catholics, now called the Mangalorean Catholics.They arrived during the Goan Inquisition, fleeing persecution by the Portuguese who charged them with not following Christianity. A minority are Protestants, mainly lower castes converted by Protestant missionaries in the late 1800s who established numerous educational institutions. Historically Jainism and Buddhism were strong religions in the district, as in much of the western coast, before being eclipsed by the various denominations of Hinduism. Jainism was the traditional religion of the Alupas as well as the Chowtas, who long defended Dakshina Kannada from outside aggression including the Portuguese. It is speculated most of today's Bunts were originally Jain before starting to follow Hinduism. Today there are over 10,000 Jains in the district as a whole. Communal tensions Despite this diversity (and partially due to it), Dakshina Kannada has earned a reputation as one of the most communally sensitive districts in the country. The three religions of Coastal Karnataka were once more syncretic than they are now. For instance Muslims found important roles in paddana stories, dargahs attracted people from multiple communities, and the Muslims played significant roles in Hindu village festivities. However this soon changed at the end of British rule. The groundwork for this communalization started in the early 1920s, when some of the earliest RSS Shakas in India were introduced to the district by Gauda Saraswat Brahmins in contact with RSS founder K. B. Hedgewar. These Brahmins felt the social order threatened