Bangladesh: Hardliners’ Target Sufis – Analysis
By SATP
By Sanchita Bhattacharya
On September 29, 2024, a mob attacked and torched the Rashidiya Darbar Sharif shrine at Kumarkhali in the Kushtia District during an annual gathering. An unnamed Police official disclosed that the attack came after a group of Muslims were enraged by “playing of songs and smoking cannabis” at night.
On September 29, 2024, miscreants attacked the shrine and house of the late Kazi Afsar Uddin at Chakulia under the Bongaon Union in the Savar City of Dhaka District, Dhaka Division.
On September 13, 2024, the Shrine of Shah Sufi Fasih Paglar located in Porabari in the Gazipur District of Dhaka Division, was attacked and vandalised for an hour by about a hundred assailants. The attackers accused the shrine’s devotees of holding dance and music events, smuggling drugs, and collecting excessive tolls on the highway, and demanded that the shrine be replaced with a mosque.
On the same day, the shrine of Fakir Charu Miji Shah at Laxminarayanpur in the Noakhali District of Chittagong Division, was vandalised by 18 to 20 people led by Bijoy, the son of the shrine committee’s general secretary. Abu Naser, president of the shrine committee and president of Noakhali municipal Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), stated: “I went to the spot after receiving the news. There was no anti-social activity in our shrine.”
Naser added, further, “Bijoy is associated with Awami League politics. Now he says they liberated the country. When his father asked him about the vandalism of the shrine, he said that the shrine is bid’ah (deviation or innovation in religious matters), so they vandalised it.”
On September 10, 2024, a mob attacked the Shah Paran shrine in Sylhet District, injuring several people. The shrine and adjoining mosque are dedicated to a 14th-century Sufi saint.
On September 6, 2024, miscreants attacked and torched the Babe Jannat Dewanbag Sharif, a shrine in the Madanpur area of Bandar Upazila (sub-district) in Narayanganj District.
On September 3, 2024, the shrine of Ismail Pagla in the Haripur village of Kalia Haripur Union in Sadar Upazila, Thakurgaon District was attacked and vandalized and his grave was demolished. Thousands of worshipers and madrasa students were allegedly involved in the attack.
On August 29, 2024, the shrine of Ali Pagla, located next to the Bamanjani Bazar in the Charanchal Mansurnagar Union of Kazipur Upazila in Sirajganj District, was vandalized.
Since, the ouster of the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government from power on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh is witnessing a deluge of attacks on various minority communities and Sufi shrines. On September 6, 2024, an unruly crowd comprising students, hardliners and local mosques’ Imams and their supporters stormed the premises of the Hazrat Shah Poran Shrine in Sylhet District after Friday prayers. Following the incident, a well-known Jamaat-e-Islami Facebook ID “Basharkella” welcomed the protest and called for more attacks and protests against Sufi shrines and Khanqah (Sufi places of prayers) throughout the country. The attacks on Sufi shrines increased sharply after the post.
The Sufi community in Bangladesh has a huge number of followers and supporters. However, due to their non-violent nature, the Sufis have become targets of the anger and hatred of hardliners and radicals. There are more than 3,000 shrines across the country, and followers of all these shrines are now at risk and anxious. As reported on September 15, 2024, Syed Golam Moinuddin Bhuiyan, the chief caretaker of the Yajoora Darbar Sharif at Nangalkot in Cumilla District observed, “There are ideological differences. That’s acceptable. We do not follow Wahhabi thought. We believe in Sufism. But does that justify the attacks on us? What good will the police do after the attack? We want security before it happens.”
On September 13, 2024, a group of people protested in front of the National Press Club under the banner of “Bangladesh Asheqe Awlia,” representing followers of shrines in Bangladesh. During the protest, they claimed that at least 45 shrines across the country had been attacked and vandalized in recent days, and demanded justice. They also called for increased security for shrines to protect their sites and the lives of shrine followers.
The targeting of Sufi shrines is seen as an attack on sects and practices that Islamist fundamentalists consider deviants and at odds with their hardline version of Islam. Sadly, video clips of the attacks on Sufi shrines are going viral on social media, showing the attackers using hammers and sticks to break the walls and roofs of the shrines.
Sufis have a long history, bringing Bengal into contact with Islamic thought and practice. In the 12th century, large numbers of Turkish-speaking groups from Central Asia were driven into the Iranian plateau and further to India, fleeing the Mongol advance. These migrant Turks often grouped themselves around Sufi leaders who drew in many disciples and followers as they arrived in Bengal. Since that time, Sufism has played a significant role in Bengal’s syncretic Islamic tradition, and it remains entrenched in the social and cultural character of Bangladesh, persisting despite the growing trend towards Islamic orthodoxy in the country.
Indeed, some of the districts in Bangladesh are named after Sufis, such as, for instance, Shariatpur after Haji Shariatullah; Meherpur after 16th century Sufi saint Meher Ali Shah; Jamalpur after Hazrat Shah Jamal; Madaripur, after the 15th-century Sufi saint Badi’ al-Din Shah Madar; Faridpur after Sufi Shah Sheikh Fariduddin; Habiganj after Syed Habib Ullah, among others.
As reported on September 16, 2024, the Bangladesh Interim Government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, condemned the attacks on Sufi shrines and asked Security Forces to take action, but this appears to be a political eyewash, as little effective, preventive or punitive action has followed. Yunus stated,
It has come to our notice that a group of miscreants have been attacking Sufi shrines and Mazars in the country over the past few days. The Interim Government condemns in the strongest terms any hate speech and attack on the religious and cultural sites and the Sufi shrines. The government is acting to bring the unscrupulous forces involved in the attacks to book and initiate stringent legal actions against them. The law enforcing agencies have been instructed to take adequate measures to protect the religious shrines and cultural sites.
As reported earlier, on September 10, 2024, in response to the escalating violence, Sufi leaders had put forward the following demands:
- Exemplary Punishment for Attackers: All those involved in attacks on shrines and darbars (tombs) should be identified and face severe punishment.
- Special Security Measures: The government should implement nationwide security measures to protect shrines of pirs (spiritual guides), murshids (religious teachers), and auliyas (guardians) in all regions of Bangladesh.
- Legislation Against Defamation: Any negative portrayal of Sufi saints in the media or publications should be considered a punishable offense. The judicial system should include clear provisions for the punishment of such offenses.
- Ban on Anti-Sufi Publications: Any publications or textbooks that insult Sufi beliefs or doctrines, particularly those contrary to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an, should be banned or blacklisted.
- Official Registration of Shrines: The government should take steps to register all shrines and darbars with the Ministry of Religion or the Ministry of Social Welfare to ensure their protection and proper management.
In reality, under the interim government Islamist groups like Hefazat-e-Islam, which advocate for stricter Islamic laws and oppose secularism, have gained prominence. One of the government’s first actions was to lift the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami on August 28, and engage with Mamunul Haque, the leader of Hefazat-e-Islam. Radical groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam, and Ansarul al-Islam promote an increasingly bigoted version of Islam that associates being Bangladeshi with the Sunni extremist Islamist ideology. As these jihadi organisations are gaining currency under the interim government, Bangladesh is likelly to experience more chaos and violence in coming days.
- Sanchita Bhattacharya
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management