Vol.: 02 Issue: 01 & 02: Haji Shariatullah and the Faraji Movement: A Theoretical Analysis

Rafia Sultana:

PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Bangladesh Islami University, Dhaka. Email: [email protected]

Keywords

Haji Shariatullah, Faraji Movement, Islamic Revival, Superstition and Muslim Society

JEL Classification:

B15, P14, P26, P36, P48, Z13

Abstract

In the 19th century, the Muslim society of Bengal was confined to the net of subjugation and superstition. During this crucial period, Haji Shariatullah came forward to East Bengal to guide the unruly people on the right track. He was highly educated, strong in the power of faith, and he was also considered as the great hero of the country's independence. He chose the struggle of ideals and rights against unequal forces. It showed the accurate way to the oppressed nations and the path of light to the wayward Muslims. His lifelong struggle was able to make them conscious Muslims. It gave them strength in religious, socioeconomic and political spheres through the Islamic revival movement; which later came to be known as the Faraji movement. This way of obtaining rights was very friendly. He had to face the opposition of Muslims of different sects of his own religion, the unwanted eye-rolling of Hindu landlords and British rulers. He and his companions were subjected to various tortures including imprisonment for propagating the true teachings of the Holy Quran and Hadith and organizing the vast masses of East Bengal as an independent nation. The seeds of freedom he sowed, with the evolution of time and the skillful role of his followers, transformed into the freedom of Bangladesh.