The masjid built by Muqlish Khan in 1375 is a site for Muslim pilgrimage, especially during the pir's mela (fair).[2] It attracts a large number of pilgrims during Urs festival.[3] Oral tradition holds that the Bagdi (Barga Kshatriya) king who ruled here was defeated by Shah Kabir Halibi and Karamuddin, both of whom were killed in the battle.[4] Their tombs are revered to this day by both Hindus and Muslims.[4] Veracity of the account and other details are unstudied.[5]
Furfura Sharif contains the mazar of one Pir Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique and his five sons, popularly known as the Panch Huzur Qeblah.[6] He was a social and religious reformer, who founded charitable institutes, orphanages, madrasas, schools and learning centers. He encouraged female education by establishing a School for girls in Furfura Sharif named Siddiqua High School. He was the founder of the "Order Of Furfura Sharif" or "Silsila-e-Furfura Sharif" and a religious congregation observed on the 21st 22nd and 23rd of Falgun Bengali month (Approx 5, 6 & 7 March).[7][8]
Villages in Furfura panchayat are as follows: Furfura, Purba Durgapur, Gopalnagar, Hosenpur, Dakshindihi, Rampara, Toralpur, Santoshpur, Chak Barada, Belpara, Ramnagar, Nilarpur, Charpur, Bakcha, Kashipur, Ramchandrapur, Hazipur, and Bhimpur.[9]
Demographics
Furfura had a population of 6,720 out of which 1,133 belonged to scheduled castes and 195 belonged to scheduled tribes according to the census of 2001. [9]
Education
Furfura High Madrasah is a coeducational institution affiliated to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. It has arrangements for teaching Bengali, English, history, geography, philosophy, political science, mathematics and economics.[10] Furfura High Madrasah, established in 1908, is the oldest high madrasah in the district.[11]
The Aliah University controls three other "madrasah colleges" in the state — the "colleges" at Batna (in Malda district), Beldanga (in Murshidabad district) and Furfura Sharif. With the introduction of "modern subjects" including computer application, the teachers for these colleges will now be recruited through the Public Service Commission.[12]
^"Hooghly District". Places of Interest. District administration. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^"West Bengal Tourism Policy, 2008". Fairs and Festivals Tourism. Government of West Bengal, Department of Tourism. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^Kabir, Humayun (2011). "Contested notions of being 'Muslim': Madrasas, ulama and the authenticity of Islamic schooling in Bangladesh". The Moral Economy of the Madrasa: Islam and Education Today. Routledge. pp. 146–7. ISBN9780203840788.
^"National Award to Teachers, 2007"(PDF). Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, (Department of School Education & Literacy). Archived from the original(PDF) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
