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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 7,555,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bengali people of northeastern Bangladesh whose identity is rooted in the Sylhet region, shaped by a distinct Sylheti linguistic tradition, regional culture, and historical ties to wider Bengali and global Sylheti communities. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Sylheti is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Bengali Muslims

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Bengali
Primary Language(s): Sylheti (syl)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 7,555,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG001207
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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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sylheti
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sylheti Speakers

Media Resources in Sylheti:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sylheti:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2014 Edition✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sylheti bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

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.

Next steps for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti):
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

Pray specifically for the Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
readColossians 4:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, their speech will always be gracious and ready to answer for the hope which is within them.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti)PG001207Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti)Bangladesh7,555,000Engaged yet UnreachedSylhetiSunni Islam

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 Data Standards section.

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