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Bengali Muslims constitute the world's second-largest Muslim ethnicity (after the Arab world) and the largest Muslim community in South Asia. [110] An estimated 152 million Bengali Muslims live in Bangladesh as of 2021, where Islam is the state religion and commands the demographic majority. [ 111 ]
The introduction of Islam to the Bengali people has generated a connection to the Arabian Peninsula, as Muslims are required to visit the land once in their lifetime to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. Several Bengali sultans funded Islamic institutions in the Hejaz, which popularly became known by the Arabs as Bengali madrasas.
The first Muslim conquest of Bengal was undertaken by the forces of General Bakhtiyar Khilji in the thirteenth century. This opened the doors for Muslim influence in the region for hundreds of years up until the present-day. [17] Many of the people of Bengal began accepting Islam through the influx of missionaries following this conquest.
The Chakma people are the largest tribe of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the second largest indigenous ethnic group of Bangladesh after Bengalis. A Tibeto-Burman community, have been greatly influenced by Bengali culture , including in their native Chakma language , a branch of the Bengali-Assamese languages .
The introduction of Islam to the Bengali people has generated a connection to the Arabian Peninsula, as Muslims are required to visit the land once in their lifetime to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. Several Bengali sultans funded Islamic institutions in the Hejaz, which popularly became known by the Arabs as Bangali Madaris.
Other religions practised include Presbyterian, Anglican, Unitarian, Roman Catholic and very few are Muslims. The Khasi people who reside in the hilly areas of Sylhet, Bangladesh are of the War sub-tribe. The main crops produced by the Khasi people living in the War areas, including Bangladesh, are betel leaf, areca nut and oranges.
English is often used for official work alongside Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal. Other major Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, and Nepali are also familiar to Bengalis in India. [154] In general, Bengalis are followers of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism with a significant number are Irreligious.
Islam is the largest religion across the country, being followed by about 91.1% of the population. [218] [239] [240] The vast majority of Bangladeshi citizens are Bengali Muslims, adhering to Sunni Islam. The country is the third-most populous Muslim-majority state in the world and has the fourth-largest overall Muslim population. [241]