Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh

File:Ahmadiyya annual convention.JPG

The Ahmadiyya movement is thought to have reached Bengal in 1905, with Ahmad Kabir Noor Muhammad of Anwara, Chittagong pledging allegiance to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He was then followed by Rais Uddin Khan of Kishoreganj. His wife Syeda Azizatunnisa also pledged allegiance and thus became the first Ahmadi woman from Bengal. In 1909, a student named Mubarak Ali from Bogra visited Qadian where he became a member of the movement. The Ahmadiyya movement gained speed in 1912 after the allegiance of Syed Muhammad Abdul Wahid Ahmadi, a Brahmanbarian mawlana. The Ahmadiyya Community became officially established in Bengal in 1913 with the name of "Anjuman e Ahmadiyya".{{cite book|last=Babul|first=Jahangir|title=আহমদিয়াতের ইতিহাসে বাংলার স্মরণীয় ব্যক্তিত্ত্ব|language=bn|year=2010|publisher=Ahmadiyya Jamaat Bangladesh|isbn=978-984-99102-0-6|pages=5, 7, 36, 65, 66}}

Ahmad Taufiq Choudhury, who belonged to the Sunni zamindar family of Selbaras,{{cite journal|title=অবিস্মরণীয় নাম: আলহাজ্জ আহমদ তৌফিক চৌধুরী|language=bn|author=Muhammad Jahangir Babul|journal=The Fortnightly Ahmadi|volume=77|issue=2|pages=29–30|date=31 July 2014|publisher=Ahmadiyya Jama'at, Bangladesh|url=https://www.theahmadi.org/public/pdf/Ahmadi_NewVol77Iss02_Da31Jul_2014.pdf|access-date=6 May 2022|archive-date=21 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121042412/https://www.theahmadi.org/public/pdf/Ahmadi_NewVol77Iss02_Da31Jul_2014.pdf|url-status=dead}} joined the Ahmadiyya movement where he became the regional leader of Khuddam-ul Ahmadiyya in Sylhet. He later migrated to Mymensingh and became the Ameer (leader) of Ahmadiyya Jamaat Bangladesh after independence.{{cite journal|title=Zikr-e-Khair|language=bn|author=AK Rezaul Karim|journal=The Fortnightly Ahmadi|volume=68|issue=6/7|date=15 October 2005|publisher=Ahmadiyya Jama'at, Bangladesh}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-197992|website=The Daily Star (Bangladesh)|date=10 August 2011|title=Death Anniversary}}

{{Main|Persecution of Ahmadis#Bangladesh|Freedom of religion in Bangladesh#Persecution of Ahmadis}}

Since its establishment in Bangladesh, members of the Ahmadiyya Community have faced persecution from Muslim groups. In 1963 two Ahmadis were killed in Brahmanbaria. In 1992, the Ahmadiyya headquarters in Dhaka were attacked by a mob and a number of Qurans & other books were burnt. In 1999, a bomb blast at an Ahmadiyya mosque killed seven people. On 29 October 2003, an Ahmadi Imam named Shah Alam in Roghunathpurbak village in Jhikargachha upazila of Jessore was killed.{{cite web |url=http://www.wluml.org/action/bangladesh-continued-attacks-ahmadiyya-community |title=Bangladesh: Continued attacks on the Ahmadiyya community | Women Reclaiming and Redefining Cultures |publisher=Wluml.org |access-date=2012-12-05 |archive-date=2012-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206122645/http://www.wluml.org/action/bangladesh-continued-attacks-ahmadiyya-community |url-status=dead }} In 2004, the International Khatme Nabuyat Movement (IKNM) besieged several Ahmadiyya mosques countrywide.{{cite web|url=http://www.thepersecution.org/y2004apr.html |title=Religious Persecution of Ahmadiyya Community - Updates April-June, 2004 |publisher=Thepersecution.org |access-date=2012-12-05}} In 2004, the Government of Bangladesh banned all religious texts of the Ahmadiyya community.{{Cite news|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2004/01/09/d4010901011.htm|title=Ahmadiyya books banned|work=The Daily Star|access-date=2019-08-09|archive-date=2019-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809194442/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2004/01/09/d4010901011.htm|url-status=dead}}

On 17 June 2010 an angry mob vandalised an Ahmadiyya mosque and the house of an Ahmadiyya believer at Ghatail upazila in Tangail Thursday.{{cite web|url=http://www.thepersecution.org/world/bangladesh/10/06/ds19.html |title=Ahmadiyyas in Tangail attacked - The Daily Star, Bangladesh |publisher=Thepersecution.org |access-date=2012-12-05}} In February 2013, a mob set fire to Ahmadiyya property at a site which had been prepared to hold the community's centenary celebrations, causing tens of millions worth of damage in local currency.{{cite web |url=http://www.newreligion.eu/2013/02/sectarianism-in-bangladesh-must-be.html |title=Bangladesh: Ahmadiyya persecution overview; New Religion |publisher=newreligion.eu |access-date=2013-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005005426/http://www.newreligion.eu/2013/02/sectarianism-in-bangladesh-must-be.html |archive-date=2013-10-05 |url-status=dead }} In 19 February, Shah Ahmad Shafi blamed them for involvement of anti-Islamic activities in Shahbag protests in his open letter named An Open Letter from Shah Ahmad Shafi to the Government and the Public.{{Cite book |title=White Paper: 2000 Days of Fundamentalist and Communal Violence in Bangladesh |publisher=Public Commission to Investigate Fundamentalist and Communal Terrorism |year=2022 |location=Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212 |page=52 |language=bn}}

In March 2023, after Ahmadiyya homes were attacked in Panchagarh District, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina donated 10 million BDT to the Ahmadiyya families affected.{{Cite web |last=Report |first=Star Digital |date=2023-03-15 |title=PM gives Tk 1cr to affected Ahmadiyya families |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/pm-gives-tk-1cr-affected-ahmadiyya-families-3272046 |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-03-09 |title=Trained group behind attack at Ahmadiyya gathering: Panchagarh SP |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/crime/trained-group-behind-attack-ahmadiyya-gathering-panchagarh-sp-597050 |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}

Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh were attacked after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.{{Cite web |last=Hakam |first=Al |date=2024-08-07 |title=Ahmadi Muslims in Bangladesh: A Community under siege amidst political turmoil |url=https://www.alhakam.org/bangladesh-ahmadiyya/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.alhakam.org |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Atalayar |date=2024-08-16 |title=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community denounces violent attacks in Bangladesh |url=https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/society/ahmadiyya-muslim-community-denounces-violent-attacks-in-bangladesh/20240816170000204147.html |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Atalayar |language=en}}

• The Bangali Ahmadiyya Community currently has 120 local chapters across the country, in 425 cities and villages.Ahmadiyya Mosques Around the World, pg. 118
• There are 65 missionaries, an MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya) studio in Dhaka and a Jamia Ahmadiyya (Missionary Training College).
• Maharajpur Mosque in the Natore District Ahmadiyya Mosques Around the World, pg. 119
• Ahmadiyya Mosque in Khulna
• Galim Gazi Mosque in Betal, Kishoregonj

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• [http://www.ahmadiyyabangla.org/index.htm Official website of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Bangladesh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022132907/http://www.ahmadiyyabangla.org/index.htm |date=2015-10-22 }}

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Bangladesh

Category:Islam in Bangladesh