BENGALI MUSLIMS IN COLONIAL PERIOD 17 In these circumstances, the signs of awakening among the Muslims were manifested in a different way. The Muslim theologians - Sufis and orthodox ulamas, Madrasa educated and English educated Muslim elite, who had a distinct role in this awakening, differed from one another for their inherent contradictions in their basic ideas. The Muslim mind was then greatly influenced simultaneously by a number of contradictory ideas, such as, ideals of islam, anti-colonialism, pan-Islamism, conservatism, liberalism, pro-British and anti-Congress attitudes. The Muslims mind was naturally confused being confronted with a number of questions. It was, therefore, not an easy task either for the Muslim theologians or the Muslim elite to find out a clear path in the midst of these cross-currents though efforts were made by some of them, of course, from their own perceptions, from time to time, in this direction.4 The process of Islamisation initiated by the Faraizi, Wahhabi, Taaiyyuni, Ahl-i-Hadith and other socio-religious groups of Bengal gave a cohesive character to Bengali Muslim society by removing un-Islamic ways of life. This was essential for its development.5 By the end of the nineteenth century, when the Muslim population out-numbered that of the Hindus in Bengal, the Muslim theologians put more emphasis on the process of rapid Islamization.6 The ignorance of the Muslim masses was so exposed that even in 1883 there were many of them in rural Bengal who could not perform their namaz in Arabic language. Moreover, there was a dearth of competent Imams for conducting namaz in certain areas.7 Besides the orthodox ulamas, the Sufi silsilahs also contributed to the process of Islamisation. The Muslim theologians undoubtedly played a positive role in the task of integrating the Muslim Society.8 In course of time, the syncretistic tradition lost its ground to the militant revivalist Islam. The folk tradition gradually declined in strength and vigour and failed to influence the Muslim Society in any way. The growing influence of Islamfsation thus nipped in the bud the chances of developing any 'mixed culture7 in Bengal during the period under review.9 This was the reason why the English educated Bengali Muslim elite led by Nawab Abdool Luteef (1828 -1893) and Syed Ameer Alt (1849 -1928) tried to enlist the support and sympathy of the Muslim theologians of Bengal for the furtherance of their own programme. But they could not subscribe to the anti-British outlook of the Faraizi-Wahhabi groups. Thus they wanted to acquire European knowledge and proficiency in science through the English in the second half of the nineteenth century discarding anti-British attitude. They established close contact with Aligarh wherefrom Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817 -1893) guided the movement for modernising the Muslim Society.10 But the English educated Muslim elite in Bengal took the advantage of English education only for their material advancement and they never discarded the process of Islamisation promoted earlier by the socio-religious groups. They were guided by the idea of modernising Muslim Society depending on the ideals of Islam, and naturally they took adequate safeguards to keep away the Muslim students from the mainstream of Young Bengal Movement and influence of western liberalism and rationalism.11 Thus all attempts of modernising Muslim Society are closely interlinked with the process of