ISBN-13: 9789004094970 / Angielski / Miękka / 1992 / 216 str.
This study, done within the comprehensive Weberian framework, focuses on religion and social change in Bangladesh through an imaginative use of qualitative as well as quantitative methods of modern social research. It first provides a sociological interpretation of the origin and development of Islam in Bangal using historical and literary works on Bengal. The main contribution is based on two sample surveys conducted by Mrs Banu in 20 villages of Bangladesh and in three areas in the metropolitan Dhaka City. Using these survey data, she gives a sociological analysis of Islamic religious beliefs and practices in contemporary Bangladesh and more importantly, she studies the impact of the Islamic religious beliefs on the socio-economic development and political culture in present-day Bangladesh. She also shows how Islam compares with modern education in social "transforming capacity". This work aims to hels deepen our understanding of the interactions between religious and social changes common to many parts of the Third World.