Description

This talk addresses the salient features of Muslim Sūfi-pir practices that have for centuries shaped Bengali culture and influenced the lives of the common people in what is now Bangladesh. It does so by examining the teachings of Khwaja Enayetpuri (1886 – 1952), one of the most celebrated Sūfi-pirs in 20th century Bengal, and the operation of the centres established by him and his disciples.

Islam was spread in the Indian sub-continent by immigrant Sūfi saints from the mid-10th century. The eastern part of Bengal, now Bangladesh, first embraced Sūfi saints in the mid-11th century. Thereafter learned Sūfis and Muslim scholars continued to come to Bengal to establish centres for preaching the spiritual-ascetic tenets of Islam to the local people. They accommodated local customs that reinforced their own charismatic activities, thereby contributing to the growth of the Muslim population.

A recent survey conducted by my students at 80 Sūfi-pir centres (khanqahs) in urban as well as rural Bangladesh shows that for many poverty-stricken Muslims pir veneration seems to be almost a precondition for God’s blessing. But some of the pir practices are considered controversial by more orthodox and fundamentalist Muslims, especially the Jamaat-i-Islami party. This poses a huge challenge for the present day stake-holders in the Sūfi-pir institutions.

In this talk, I address such questions as the following. Who are the Sūfis and how do they practise what they call mystical ideals of Islam? Who are their contemporary followers and what satisfaction do they derive from the Sūfi shrines? Are the followers aware of basic Islamic teachings and practices? Or are they blindly following socio-cultural and religious customs handed down from previous generations?