The tale of the Baha’i faith in Bangladesh

It was quarter past 10 on a Thursday morning. Two middle-aged men sat reading out from prayer books inside a small library on the ground floor of the National Baha'i Centre in the Shantinagar area in Dhaka city.

Behind them, there were three bookshelves packed with religious books of the Baha'i Faith. Except for the sound of the prayer, pin drop silence filled the room.

"I come here regularly to say morning prayers because the place is quiet, the environment is calm," said Mahmudul Haq, one of the two Baha'i middle-aged men, when their prayers ended.

Haq, a writer and researcher, is also a guest teacher for Baha'i religion in the Department of World Religions and Culture in Dhaka University. Only recently, the Baha'i faith has been included in the curriculum of the university. The other person was Rashid Un Nabi, a retired government employee. He also frequents the place.

Haq and Nabi are different from the majority of the country's population albeit having common Bangladeshi names. However, it is highly unlikely that you will spot the difference from outside.

Haq and Nabi are not Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists or Jews. Rather, they believe in Baha'i religion, and as the believers of the Baha'i faith, they are called Baha'is.

The above mentioned National Baha'i Centre is the only administrative building of the Baha'i faith in the country. The building is mainly used for prayer, administrative jobs and social gatherings of the Baha'is.

Born and raised in the Shantinagar area in Dhaka, 40-year-old Collis Ali is the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, the apex religious body of the Baha'is in Bangladesh.

"Muslims think that we are something like Shia or Sunni - the main divisions in Islam. Christians think we are the followers of a different church," said Collis Ali in a recent interview with The Business Standard. "They cannot think that we are an independent religion."

Collis Ali said that more or less 3 lakh people believe in the Baha'i faith in the country. Khulna and Rajshahi divisions have half of all the country's Baha'is.

Moreover, many people from ethnic minority groups including Chakma, Marma, Santal, Khasia and Tripura have been practising the faith in Bangladesh.

The history and culture of the Baha'i

Baha'i Faith is, comparatively, a new religion.

In 1844, a merchant who called himself "the Bab" began preaching in Iran. The Bab reinterpreted Shia Islam and said that God would soon send a new prophet in the manner of Moses, Christ and Muhammad. Baha'is consider one of the followers of the Bab - Baha'u'llah - to be this prophet, and the official founder of their religion.

However, the religious leaders came under attack soon after the proclamation of the new religion. Tens of thousands of Baha'i believers fled Iran in the face of repression. And some came to this region, what we now know as Bangladesh.

The preaching for the Baha'i religion in Bangladesh started in Chittagong during the reign of the British in the subcontinent when a Bengali group accepted the Baha'i faith.

The first Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is - the Dhaka Assembly - was formed in Bangladesh in 1952. The National Baha'i Centre was established in Dhaka in 1971.

National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member national body, oversees the affairs of the Baha'i community in Bangladesh. At the district level, the Local Spiritual Assembly oversees the affairs. These bodies perform the community's responsibilities like marriage and divorce.

Though the most cultural practices of the Baha'is in Bangladesh are very similar to most of the Bangladeshi people, they have their own distinct cultural practices too. For example, the Baha'i calendar is composed of 19 months and each month consists of 19 days. That is, they have a 361-day calendar year.

"We meet our community people every 19 days. As our months consist of 19 days, we have a get together every month," said Collis. 

Music is a part and parcel of the Baha'i community. "We have a habit of singing songs together. Songs must be included in any social gathering," said Collis Ali, who is also the first dental surgeon in Bangladesh from the Baha'i community. Not only adults but small children are encouraged to learn music.

"We believe music purifies our soul and body. Music helps us be patient," said Collis.

Interestingly, Collis said, the Baha'is people always keep politics at bay. They also encourage their children not to get involved in politics. On top of that, they also have reservations about social media.

"If you notice, we never post any comment in social media about politics," said Collis.

As the Baha'i community can be found around the world, they keep in touch with people from different languages. Being a diverse community, they have a slightly distinct accent and pronunciation.

Communication and networking are very strong among the Baha'is around the world. For example, when Baha'is go to Japan, they meet the community people in Japan.

"Our community is multilingual. As a result, we pick up languages like English or Hindi easily," said Collis. "We must have a good command of multiple languages."

Naturally, they have different religious and cultural festivals. They celebrate their religious festivals following their fasting. They also enjoy participating in festivals of the Muslims, i.e. Eids.

"In Ramadan, our neighbours send us iftar. It is not good to give the empty plate back. So, we also send them some food," said Collis. "On Eid al-Adha, neighbours send us beef. There is no barrier in eating beef."

From Tehran to Dhaka

Siamak Bahar is one of the few Iranians who are living in Bangladesh and practising his Baha'i faith for many years. Siamak came to Bangladesh for higher studies in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution.

During the turbulent years of the Islamic revolution in Iran, educational institutions were shut for around two years. As a result, more or less 300 students came to Bangladesh to continue their higher studies. All of them are of the Baha'i faith.

However, most of them went back to Iran or some other countries.

"Some of us stayed in Dhaka and only a few of us - including me - went to Mymensingh," said an old Siamak sitting at his home in Uttara.

After the completion of his study, the now 63-year-old Siamak could not be a Bangladeshi citizen as a result he could not apply for a government job. He is now working as a veterinary surgeon in Dhaka.

"You are fortunate that you were born in Bangladesh. You cannot compare a middle eastern country with Bangladesh in terms of religious freedom," said Siamak.

He said that the Baha'i community faces no problem in Bangladesh and it is because the government is very supportive of other religions.

Neda Shakiba's father came to Bangladesh in 1976 for higher studies before the Islamic Revolution broke out in Iran. She said that she never faced any problem in practising her faith in Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh is a receptive country. We are living in our own way. We do not challenge any government, institution or system. As a result, we are not a threat," said Neda. "Religion is a personal thing. We do not disrespect other religions."

Not only Iranians, but many local people also have been practising the Baha'i faith for ages. There are exclusive graveyards for the Baha'i community across the country.

"We don't engage in politics. Our children are also prohibited from participating in politics," said 75-year-old Mohammad Yasin at his home in the New Market area.

However, it becomes difficult to get a bride or bridegroom for marriage in the same community. "I needed to marry my daughter off some years ago. But I could not because she did not like any man in our community," said Yasin.

"We now think this [Bangladesh] is my motherland, I don't feel like going to Iran again," Siamak.