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Sufism in Bangladesh is more or less similar to that in the whole Indian subcontinent. India, it is claimed, is one of the five great centers of Sufism, the other four being Persia (including central Asia), Baghdad, Syria, and North Africa. Sufi saints flourished in Hindustan (India) preaching the mystic teachings of Sufism that easily reached the common people, especially the spiritual truth seekers in India.[1] Sufism in Bangladesh is also called pirism, after the pirs or teachers in the Sufi tradition[2] (also called Fakir).[3]
The Sufism tremendously influenced local population and thus these Sufi masters were the single most important factor in South Asian conversions to Islam, particularly in what is now Bangladesh. Most Bangladeshi Muslims are influenced to some degree by Sufism. The conversion to Islam of the population of what was to become Bangladesh began in the thirteenth century and continued for hundreds of years. Muslim pirs who wandered about in villages and towns were responsible for many conversions.[4]
A majority of Bangladeshi Muslims perceive Sufis as a source of spiritual wisdom and guidance and their Khanqahs and Dargahs as nerve centers of Muslim society[5] These majority of Muslims in Bangladesh are Sunni, who mainly follow the Hanafi school of thought (madh'hab).[6]
Sufis have been subject to religious violence in Bangladesh, part of a broader pattern of violence perpetrated by Islamists against Sufis, Shias, atheists, religious minorities, liberals and foreigners.[7]
- ^ Dastagir, Md Golam (June 2002). "Some Aspects of Khwaja Enayetpuri's Sufism". Copula. 19. Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University.
- ^ Dastagir, Golam. "Public lecture: Islam and Multiculturalism in Contemporary Bangladesh: A Reflection". International Institute of Advance Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Eaton, Richard M (1993). "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760". ark.cdlib.org. The Question of Sufis and Frontier Warfare. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ Heitzman, James; Worden, Robert, eds. (1989). "Islam in Bangladesh". Bangladesh: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 73–76.
- ^ Clinton Bennett; Charles M. Ramsey (1 March 2012). South Asian Sufis: Devotion, Deviation, and Destiny. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-3589-6.
- ^ "Bangladesh". Emory Law - Islamic Family Law. 2002. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Bangladesh: Sufi Muslim Leader Hacked to Death". BenarNews. Retrieved 5 February 2018.