Why is there such a high Muslim population in Bangladesh?
Seems odd to have a 90% populace being located in the middle of a bunch Buddhist countries.I thought most of India's Muslims were east as well.
Hi! I am a Muslim from Bangladesh and I know that our forefathers were either Buddhist or Hindu who came in touch with the religion Islam barely 700 years ago when Arabs, Turks and Persian traders and religious preachers came to our part of the world due to navigational easiness and also for the fact that lower-class Hindus were populated here who found new light of hope of living a dignified life under Islam where all are treated equally (unlike Hinduism where they have four classes/castes to give superiority of one caste over the others). Sorry if my assumption is wrong. I got the following from Wikipedia: Islam arrived in this region of Bengal since the 13th century, mainly by the arrivals of Arab traders, Persian Saints and conquests of the region. One of the notable Muslim saint was Shah Jalal, who arrived in the region of Sylhet in 1303 with many other disciples to preach the religion to the people. Islam is the largest religion of Bangladesh, the Muslim population is over 130 million (the Fourth-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia, India and Pakistan), and constitute nearly 88% of the total population, based on the 2001 Census. Religion has always been a strong part of identity, but this has varied at different times. A survey in late 2003 confirmed that religion is the first choice by a citizen for self-identification; atheism is extremely rare. Islam is the official religion of The People's Republic, as stated in the Constitution of Article 2A (inserted by the Constitution Eighth Amendment Act, 1988). Muslim saints began to teach the Islamic principles of equality while the rulers took steps to build up Muslim culture on the basis of a casteless society. Many Buddhists and Hindus chose to identify themselves with the Muslims in order to be free from social injustice and to gain equality and good position in society[citation needed]. As a result of large-scale conversion, many local beliefs, not allowed by the Islamic dogma but useful in achieving compromise, found their ways into the Muslim society of Bengal. Between the 8th century and 12th century, the Buddhist dynasty known as the Pala Empire ruled Bengal. During that time, the majority of the population in Bengal were thought to be Buddhists. After the decline of the Pala dynasty, the Sena dynasty came to power. Sena rulers were Hindu dynasty that imposed Hinduism and the caste system rigidly. When the Muslim rulers came, many Buddhists and lower caste Hindus welcomed them and accepted Islam, and others became Muslims for the purpose of fitting in into society with other Muslims. The large scale conversion to Islam of the population of what was to become Bangladesh began in the thirteenth century and continued for hundreds of years. Conversion was generally collective rather than individual. Islam, attracted numerous Buddhists, and Hindus. Sufis were responsible for most conversions. Before the conquest by the Muslims, Sylhet was ruled by local chieftains. In 1303 the saint, Hazrat Shah Jalal, came to Sylhet from Delhi with a band of 360 disciples to preach Islam and defeated the Raja Gour Gobinda. As a result, Sylhet developed into a region that was home to numerous saints and Islamic shrines. His uncle, Sheikh Kabir, one day gave Shah Jalal a handful of earth and asked him to travel to Hindustan with the instruction that he should settle down at whichever place in Hindustan whose soil matched completely in smell and color, and devote his life for the propagation and establishment of Islam there. Shah Jalal journeyed eastward and reached India in 1300, where he met with many great scholars and mystics. He arrived at Ajmer, where he met the great Sufi mystic and scholar, Pir Khawaja Gharibnawaz Muinuddin Hasan Chisty, who is credited with much of the spread of Islam in India. In Delhi, he met with Nizamuddin Auliya, another major Sufi mystic and scholar. During the later stages of his life, Shah Jalal devoted himself to propagating Islam to the masses. Under his guidance, many thousands of Hindus and Buddhists converted to Islam. Shah Jalal become so renowned that even the famed Ibn Battuta, whilst in Chittagong, was asked to change his plans and go to Sylhet to visit him. On his way to Sylhet, Ibn Batuta was greeted by several of Shah Jalal's disciples who had come to assist him on his journey many days before he had arrived. Once in the presence of Shah Jalal, Ibn Batuta noted that Shah Jalal was tall and lean, fair in complexion and lived by the masjed in a cave, where his only item of value was a goat from which he extracted milk, butter, and yogurt. He observed that the companions of the sheikh were foreign and known for their strength and bravery. He also mentions that many people would visit the sheikh and seek guidance. Shah Jalal was therefore instrumental in the spread of Islam throughout north east India including Assam. Hope above helps.
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