A ‘secret’ heritage in Chattogram? The tensions between Sufism and reformist Islam in Southern Bangladesh

Bibliographic Data

ID10934844
AuthorsAbdul Wohab (0000-0003-1434-7577, North South University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume56
Issue3
Pages1-20
Publication date2026-03-20
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0048721x.2026.2644749
OpenAlexW7139001945
LanguageEN
References cited20

Lukkayito jayga (‘hidden place’ according to respondents) and oitijjobahi sthan (‘heritage’ sites) in Bangladesh are terms used to talk about places characterized by the Sufi saints and pirs tradition, which can be intended here as pluralistic cultural and religious practices created by the fusion of two or more religious or socio-cultural influences. Those Sufi-related sites function as inward, protective spaces of devotion, even while remaining publicly known and culturally embedded. These Sufi-traditions developed since the 13th Century, most prominently through and along with Sufi saints (darbesh) and pirs. These hidden places of Sufi traditions constitute what I call here a ‘secret’ heritage, which is derived from the discussion with the visitors/participants of those sites, that has long been a source of inspiration and a way of life for many people in Bangladesh, regardless of their religious, cultural, or traditional faith. Against the backdrop of the progressive erosion of secularism and concomitant Islamisation of Bangladeshi democratic practices and society over the last few decades, this article asks: How do people, particularly those with conservative Islamic ideology, negotiate their entrenched faith in such a ‘secret’ heritage? Building on ethnographic research in Chattogram, a southeastern part of Bangladesh and an area marked by increased conservatism, the article argues that Sufi traditions remain prominent and constitute a ‘secret’ heritage among the visitors. My research revolved around two Sufi shrines (dargah/mazar), the Bayezid Bostami and Maizbhandar Darbar Sharif, based on Maizbhandari tariqa (path or order), and involved observation, informal interviews with Muslim and Hindu women and men, individual and group visitors aged between 20 and 80, and in-depth interviews with religious leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam, particularly from Hathazari madrasa, which is also called a Qwami madrasa, a Deobandi system of Islamic education. From my ethnographic insights, the persistence of a strong Sufi presence and its influence on socio-cultural traditions in Islam owes much to the historical context and the entrenchment of multiple forms of secular practices. These factors enable various religious groups to practice religious tolerance and harmony, preserving the country's cultural heritage for their personal beliefs and practices.

Islam · Sufism · Asian Studies and History · Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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