The Sylhetis peoples of Bangladesh

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Population: 9 million (approx.)
Bangladesh: 6 million
Assam (India): 1.5 million
UK: 300,000
Other: 1 million

The Sylhetis are the mainly Muslim inhabitants of Sylhet, the north-eastern part of Bangladesh, and neighbouring parts of Assam. They are proud to have in Sylhet Town the tomb of Shah Jalal of Yemen who brought Islam to the region in 1303 and is credited with many miracles. This tomb is Bangladesh’s most prominent centre of pilgrimage. Many Sylhetis trace their ancestry to immigration from north-west India, Afghanistan and beyond. Their language, Sylheti, is spoken by some 9 to 10 million people not only in its homeland but also in the diaspora - many Sylhetis are migrant workers in the Middle East, or have settled in New York, Rome and Britain, especially East London. The community in Britain is the largest outside Sylhet and Assam, and has strong links with the homeland. Nearly all “Indian” restaurants in the UK are staffed by Sylhetis.

Culture and Life of the Sylhetis of Bangladesh

Within Bangladesh, Sylheti Muslims are regarded as the most conservative. Officially, they are Sunni Muslims, but their practice consists of much reverence to local Sufi Pirs (spiritual guides) whose poetry and song, mixed with Hindu themes, has widespread popularity and influence. Sylhetis in Britain have become even more conservative as a reaction to their fear of Western influence, the women rejecting the sari for the burkha.

There are several thousand Christians in Sylhet, but these are not Sylheti-speaking, being drawn from the mainly Oriya tea-garden workers and immigrants from other parts of Bangladesh. There are perhaps only 50 to 100 believers from the Sylheti Muslim majority community. However, the JESUS video in Sylheti is very popular, and a Bible correspondence course on audiocassette is being widely distributed in the UK. Bible translation work is in progress.

Prayer for the Muslims in Dhaka, Bangladesh:

* Pray for the witness of Sylheti believers and Christian workers in Sylhet and in the UK. Some other major Sylheti communities such as Rome and Bahrain have no witness.

* Pray for the many Sylheti youth in the UK who are unemployed or turning to drugs.

* Pray for the distribution of new Christian materials in Sylheti that are coming on stream.