Dr. Tawhidul Islam’s article explores the historical debate over early Arab Muslim settlements in Bengal, particularly in coastal areas such as Chittagong and Noakhali. Drawing on historical records and interpretations by scholars like Dr. Enamul Haq and M.A. Rahim, the piece discusses claims that Arab traders established communities for commercial purposes as early as the eighth century. Some accounts suggest these settlements evolved into organized Muslim communities, possibly forming an independent state under rulers titled 'Sultan'. However, other historians remain skeptical about the existence of such settlements before formal Muslim conquests.
The article highlights linguistic and cultural evidence supporting Arab influence, including Arabic-derived words in the Chittagong dialect and place names. It also notes that Arab traders’ interactions with local populations were facilitated by Bengal’s fertile coastal geography and its role in regional trade networks. Accounts from later travelers, such as the Portuguese Barbosa in 1518, describe Chittagong as a thriving port dominated by Arab and other merchants.
The text further contextualizes this contact within Bengal’s fragmented social structure under Sena rule, where caste restrictions and religious decline created conditions favorable to Islam’s spread and Arab settlement.
ড. তাওহিদুল ইসলাম প্রকাশ : ১৯ ফেব্রুয়ারি ২০২৬, ১০: ৫৪আপডেট : ১৯ ফেব্রুয়ারি ২০২৬, ১০: ৫৯ ড. তাওহিদুল ইসলাম বাণিজ্যিক কার্যক্রম পরিচালনার সুবিধার জন্য আরব বণিকরা ধারাবাহিকভাবে মালাবার, সিলন, জাভা, সুমাত্রা, মালয়া এবং তাদের বাণিজ্যপথের অন্যান্য বহু ব
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