One motivation for this growing interest is the “notorious biography” of one migrant among their offspring: Osama bin Laden’s father, who migrated to Saudi Arabia and established himself as a wealthy and influential businessman.5 Influential money changers and bankers in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the Hejaz region, have usually been of Hadrami origin. In addition to their notable economic power in Java and south Sumatra in Indonesia, the Hadrami Shafi‘i diaspora played an active role in shaping the economic, religious, and intellectual lives of the Malay Muslim community in Singapore. Interestingly, the Hadrami community of Singapore emigrated from Indonesia, not from Yemen. In India, on the other hand, the Hadrami community established a good presence and extensive commercial activities in the states of Kerala and Hyderabad.6