Religion in Bangladesh

Only Indonesia, India and Pakistan have a larger Muslim population than Bangladesh a century ago, Hinduism represented a third of the country, but now only 12% of the people are Hindus. Some Buddhism and Christianity also exist.

Islam

Bangladesh’s Muslim majority is almost entirely Sunni. Although there is a vocal fundamentalist minority whose leaders have influence in the government, the War of Liberation affected the attitude to fundamentalist Islam. This is because some fanatics collaborated with the Pakistanis because, the ‘land of the pure’, was a crime against Islam.

Pirs are religious leaders whose status is something like a cross between that of a bishop and a sage.  They are associated with Sufism, the mystical interpretation of Islam. In much the same way that people maintain their clean roots in a home village or district, many people have a pir to whom their family or village looks for spiritual ( and sometimes political ) leadership. The largest Sufi centre in Bangladesh is Dewanbag Pak Darber Sharif, two km east of Kanchur Bridge on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.The annual Biswa Ijtema, an international Muslim gathering and second in size only to the haji (pilgrimage) to Mecca, is held on the outskirts of Dhaka, usually in January.

During the month-long observance of Ramadan, Muslims are prohibited from eating between sunrise and sunset, and this might affect your eating habits too.Prayer times occur five times during the day: just before dawn, 12.30 pm, 5.45 pm, (just after sunset) and around 7.15 pm. These times can very according to season, especially the pre-dawn and sunset times.

Hinduism

Hinduism in Bangladesh lacks the pomp and awe of the religion in India, but because of that it’s possible to understand it here more easily – people are walling for you to watch and even participate in Hindu ceremonies. It’s always worth checking put any Hindu temple you come across in case something is happening, or just to meet people whose colorful cosmos can be a relief from the austere Muslims majorities. In many larger towns there is a Rama Krishna Mission which might have information on festivals.

Buddhism

Buddhism are today a tiny minority of the population and are mostly tribal people. The Buddhism culture which once flourished here and made Bangladesh a major pilgrimage centre had faded under pressure from Hinduism before the arrival of Islam, but its influence lingered relaxed way of life. Some scholars claim that Tantric Buddhism, now largely confined to Himalayan countries, began here.The temple and monasteries in Chittagong Division, especially around Cox’s Bazar, reflect the influence of neighboring of Myanmar (Burma) rather than a continuation of Bangladesh’s Buddhist past.

Christianity

 Although there is a very small Christian population here, mostly comprising descendants of Portuguese settlers, there is quite a strong Christian presence courtesy of the foreign aid organizations. There are also number of missionary groups that have found their footing in rural areas through the operation of development projects and health care programs. Since over proselytizing is strictly forbidden by the Muslim government, these groups tend to focus on providing aid to the needy and serving the few Christians within the community rather than making converts. For this reason, the missionaries in Bangladesh tend to be a bit more relaxed about religious matters and are quite open to receiving the rare western visitor who may turn up.