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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 7,440,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Bangladesh, districts of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar They are an Indigenous people, in the Bengali people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Sylheti.

Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) in Bangladesh photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Adam Jones - Flickr Adam Jones - Flickr Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Bengali
Primary Language(s): Sylheti (syl)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 7,440,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001207
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sylheti
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Sylheti Speakers

Media Resources in Sylheti:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sylheti:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sylheti bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti)

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti)

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti)

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him and have assurance that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

Sylheti Bengali, Muslim (ROP3 - 109660) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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