@Bengal_Tiger - How big is the problem of Bangladeshis going to SA for work? Do they come back brainwashed in Wahabi ideology? It is a very broad question, but your remarks since you are insider?
Hmm....I don't think it's a major problem to be honest. However I am a practising Muslim and you have different religious views (everyone has the right to freedom of belief) but things which might not make me uncomfortable would make certain non-Muslims including westerners uncomfortable. I mean let's say there is a Mediterranean Arab country like Morocco and Tunisia which westerners flock to for holidays and then 5 years later they see much more women in Hijab, they would find this as "uncomfortable Islamization", whereas for me it's just an increase in religious observance.
Despite that I don't think that Wahabism has gained much inroad in to Bangladesh and unlikely to do so.
1. Bengalis by nature are calm, placid people. This placidity was viewed by the aggressive south-west Asian Pakistanis as "timidity".
Pakistani "Islam" is much more aggressive, much more connected to martial historical glory with a belief in a historical destiny to subdue "evil" Hindus. The level of hatred that many Pakistanis have for Hindus especially darker Indians is quite intense, less amongst somewhat middle-class educated Pakistanis but definitely quite pronounced amongst some of the more common Punjabi Muslims.
Bangladeshi Islam is somewhat timid, non-confrontational like Bangladeshis themselves. For example in the Deobandi v Barelvi disputes between Pakistani "scholars" a Bengali guy I know with undercover Jamaati/Pakistani inclination was shocked with the coarse language, the swearing they use against each other including I believe calling each other infidels, he said this would never happen amongst Bengali Deobandis and Barelvis (or our nearest equivalent).
However the problem is Bangladeshis in Islamic terms are intellectually followers not leaders and copy Pakistan, so apparently the Bangladeshi Barelvis (not actual Barelvis but nearest equivalent) are now copying Pakistanis through the influence of satellite TV and links with their scholars. This is one reason why I believe Bangladesh should promote a Bangladeshi-centric national Islam as Turkey and Indonesia do.
2. "Wahabism" despite having a bad name and despite being fundamentally flawed is seen by many in a positive light as it purports to show the true Islam free of the excessive innovations of many Sufis. This is what attracts many to it, i.e. it's being seen as a purer, more sincere, pristine Islam.
I don't think there is any major influence of Wahabism in Bangladesh in terms of political radicalization or support for Jamaat. Some Bangladeshis may work in Saudi, think that some of the practises of Hanafi Islam are misguided, wear a certain dress but it won't go beyond that.
By the way Jamaati Islami are a mish-mash of different beliefs and ideologies, though they follow certain Salafi (Wahabi) legal rulings they are very pro-Iran. Most Jamaatis do not have beards or wear gowns but are likely to wear jeans and shirts as they believe in a more "dynamic" and "modern" Islam.
3. Most Bengali Muslims are Hanafi, with the Deobandis being the strongest faction. They do not have the same violent Pakistani-originated hatred of Hindus that Jamaatis do, as they are scholastically indigenuous to the area and have lived with Hindus for centuries. Even the Indian origin Deobandis in India itself such as Maulana Azad did not believe in partition and the co-existence of Hindus and Muslims.
They are not Pakistani nationalists like Jamaat are, but are not particularly anti-Pakistani either. They have links to Pakistani Maulanas theologically.
However I think Hasina showed them a red line a few years ago when Hefazat Islam went to Dhaka to - according to some - essentially overthrow the government and impose backwards Taliban-style laws.
4. The Dhaka intellectual elite are quite secular and cherish secularism deeply and the tragedy of 71 has intensified the repugnance they have for fundamentalism. In any country the business and intellectual elite enjoy disproprotionate power.
To summarize my rant. I don't think Wahabism is a major threat to Bangladesh in terms of creating hatred of India and it is not spreading that fast anyway. The biggest threat to India-BD relations is from Jamaat and its masters in Pakistan who also sponsor the BNP.
These are my two-cents and my word cannot be taken as the definitive truth, though one thing I can categorically say is that Bengali Muslims are far less aggressive, sectarian and militaristic than Pakistanis. If an Indian went to Dhaka, I don't think he would encounter any great problem, though he may find it somewhat culturally alien as even Calcutta has a heavy non-Bengali, northern Indian presence whereas Dhaka is overwhelmingly Bengali thus racially very different to India.
