Religion:

After Bangladesh gained independence, Secularism was included in the original Constitution of Bangladesh in 1972 as one of the Four State Principles, the others being Democracy , Nationalism and Socialism . In 1977, the word "Secularity" was replaced with "Absolutue trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions" by the government of President Ziaur Rahman . However in 2010 the High Court upheld the secular principles of the 1972 constitution. The government of Bangladesh again made Islam the state religion in 2011. However, Bangladesh follows combined system of state laws and individual religious laws applicable to people of respective religious group. The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam (90.3%), but a significant percentage of the population adheres to Hinduism (8.7%). The majority of Muslims are Sunni , although a small number are Twelver Shias or Shias. Bangladesh is the second largest Muslim populated state after Indonesia with over 150 million.

Many people in Bangladesh practice Sufism , as historically Islam was brought to the region by Sufi saints. Sufi influences in the region go back many centuries. The largest gathering of Muslims in the country is the Bishwa Ijtema , held annually by the Tablighi Jamaat . The Ijtema is the second largest Muslim congregation in the world after the Hajj . Other religious groups include Buddhists (0.7%, mostly Theravada ), Christians (0.3%, mostly of the Roman Catholic denomination), and Animists (0.1%).

Note: Baitul Mukarram , the National Mosque of Bangladesh.