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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh

The Bengali Muslims (Sylhetti) of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 7,410,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Bangladesh, districts of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and can also be known as Sylheti Muslims, Sylhetti Bengali, Syloti Muslims. 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: 7,410,000
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.

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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

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

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:5

While there are many who do not yet praise God, pray that He will work in their lives, advance the gospel among them, and bring many to saving faith in Christ.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

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

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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