Baháʼí Faith in Bangladesh

The origins of the Baháʼí Faith in Bangladesh begin previous to its independence, when it was part of British Raj. The roots of the Baháʼí Faith in the region go back to the first days of the Bábí religion in 1844.

During Baháʼu'lláh's lifetime, as founder of the religion, he encouraged some of his followers to move to India. It may have been Jamál Effendi who was first sent and stopped in Dhaka more than once. The first Baháʼís in the area that would later become Bangladesh was when a Bengali group from Chittagong accepted the religion while in Burma. By 1950 there were enough members of the religion to elect Local Spiritual Assemblies in Chittagong and Dacca. The total number of Baháʼís in Bangladesh is too small to have any major direct impact on society at large. However, the World Christian Encyclopedia estimated the Baháʼí population of Bangladesh about 9,603 in 2010. Baháʼís are widely persecuted in Bangladesh. According to The Business Standard the population is about 300,000.