"The Muslim Heritage of Bengal is a multidimensional work. . . . I am sure this book will add to the vista of knowledge in the field of Muslim history and heritage of Bengal. I recommend this work."—A. K. M. Yaqub Ali, PhD, professor emeritus, Islamic history and culture, University of Rajshahi "Khan's book provides invaluable information which will inspire present and future generations."—M. Abdul Jabbar Beg, PhD, former professor of Islamic history and civilization, National University of Malaysia A popular history that covers eight hundred years of the history of Islam in Bengal through the example of forty-two inspirational men and women up until the twentieth century. Written by the author of the best-selling The Muslim 100. Included are the prominent figures Shah Jalal, Nawab Abdul Latif, Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, Sir Salimullah Khan Bahadur, and Begum Rokeya. Muhammad Mojlum Khan was born in 1973 in Habiganj, Bangladesh, and was educated in England. He is a teacher, author, literary critic, and research scholar, and has published more than 150 essays and articles worldwide. He is the author of The Muslim 100 (2008). He is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and director of the Bengal Muslim Research Institute, United Kindgom. He lives in England with his family.

Architectural inscriptions are a fascinating aspect of Islamic cultural heritage because of their rich and diverse historical contents and artistic merits. These inscriptions help us understand the advent of Islam and its gradual diffusion in Bengal, which eventually resulted in a Muslim majority region, making the Bengali Muslims the second largest linguistic group in the Islamic world. This book is an interpretive study of the Arabic and Persian epigraphic texts of Bengal in the wider context of a rich epigraphic tradition in the Islamic world. While focusing on previously untapped sources, it takes a fresh look into the Islamic inscriptions of Bengal and examines the inner dynamics of the social, intellectual and religious transformations of this eastern region of South Asia. It explores many new inscriptions including Persian epigraphs that appeared immediately after the Muslim conquest of Bengal indicating an early introduction of Persian language in the region through a cultural interaction with Khurasan and Central Asia. In addition to deciphering and editing the epigraphic texts, the information derived from them has been analyzed to construct the political, administrative, social, religious and cultural scenario of the period. The first survey of the Muslim inscriptions in India ever to be attempted on this scale, the book reveals the significance of epigraphy as a source for Islamic history and culture. As such, it will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian Studies, Asian History and Islamic Studies.

The mosque architecture of the Independent Sultanate period (from the 14th to the 16th centuries) represents the most important element of the Islamic architecture of Bengal. In this book Perween Hasan demonstrates that the distinctive style of the region drew its inspiration from the indigenous vernacular architecture of Bengal, which was also a source for the Buddhist/Hindu temple architecture of the region. She illustrates with photographs and floor plans how the popularity of the style is rooted in the geography, ecology and culture of the area. -- Dust Jacket.

The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh greatly expands on the previous edition through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 700 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, events, and institutions, as well as significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects.