Kasem bin Abu Bakr (Bengali: কাশেম বিন আবু বকর) is an Indian-born Bangladeshi novelist whose novel focuses on Islam-centered love in a rural context.[1] He was born in Hooghly, present-day West Bengal, and later moved to Bangladesh. In his early life, he was a bookseller. He wrote his first novel Futanto Golap in 1978, which took almost a decade to be published.[2] The book became a bestseller after its publication, gaining international attention after coverage by Agence France-Presse (AFP).[3]

Kasem bin Abu Bakr
Born
NationalityBangladeshi
Occupationnovelist
Notable workBoiling Rose

Academic Life

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He passed his Matriculation from the Howrah Board in West Bengal. Although he enrolled in intermediate studies, he was unable to complete them due to family pressures arising from being the eldest son.[4]

Work

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After completing the manuscript for Boiling Rose, he struggled to find a publisher and eventually sold the rights for the book for 1000 Taka. Following the success of Futanto Golap, he went on to write a total of 72 novels.[5]

  1. Boiling Rose
  2. I'm Human Too
  3. You're Human Too
  4. Foreign Meme
  5. Krandasi Piya
  6. What I Got
  7. The Parson of Love
  8. Delayed Bashar
  9. Love and Dreams
  10. In Your Expectation
  11. Broken
  12. Pahari Lalna
  13. Pictures in the Heart
  14. Who's Calling You
  15. Cloudy Sky
  16. Eternal Love
  17. The Last Gift
  18. Flower of Stigma
  19. City Girl
  20. Flower
  21. Golden You
  22. Heart Yamuna
  23. Many Rupees
  24. Bride
  25. Kamini Kanchan
  26. The Wedding Cake
  27. On the Run
  28. Black Girl
  29. Immortal Love
  30. I'm Yours
  31. Dhanir Dulali
  32. Sudden Meeting
  33. Sharifa
  34. Bye Bye
  35. Modern
  36. Dark Clouds in Astronomy
  37. No Forest Deer
  38. Afternoon Morning Flowers
  39. I Will Not Go
  40. No One Forgets the Flower of Love Heaven, No One Forgets
  41. A Flower of Five Flowers
  42. Best
  43. Love Is Like a Golden Deer
  44. Neighbor
  45. Unequal Love
  46. Palli Bala
  47. Finally Reunited
  48. Love You
  49. Marriage Breakdown
  50. Known Girl
  51. Unclaimed Will
  52. The Desired Life
  53. You Are Beautiful
  54. Family
  55. Big Brother
  56. The Stranger
  57. Girl's Pride
  58. Basr Night
  59. Supernatural Love
  60. Man Is Inhuman
  61. Wait
  62. Introduction on the Way
  63. Smoky Path
  64. Cloudy Mind
  65. Audience
  66. Beside the Naf River
  67. Family Is Happy Because of Ramani
  68. Self-Selected Best Novels
  69. Harvest of Love
  70. Crying of Azrael (as)
  71. The Girl in the Burqa
  72. Love
  73. Neelima[6]

Controversy

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Qasem bin Abu Bakr was largely overlooked in Bangladesh's literary circles and mainstream media, despite his popularity among urban literate readers. There is a discussion going on about his literature about Islam and Love; his writing is not acceptable or vice versa.[7] [8]

References

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  1. ^ "Islamic romance novels set hearts aflutter in Bangladesh". Prothom Alo. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  2. ^ "Hundreds of very common novels and a very common Qassem bin Abu Bakr, yes!". Chittagong Daily. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-07. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help); Unknown parameter |invalid-url= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "A Qasem bin Abu Bakr and Bangladeshi media's hideout". Qawmikantho. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |void-url= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Correspondent, Staff (26 April 2017). "Islamic romance novels set hearts aflutter in Bangladesh". Prothomalo. Retrieved 27 October 2024. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব (7 May 2017). "কাশেম বিন আবু বাকার ও আমাদের মনস্তত্ত্ব". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  6. ^ "A Qasem bin Abu Bakr and Bangladeshi media's hideout". Qawmikantho. April 27, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-05-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |void-url= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "কাসেম বিন আবুবাকারের লেখা নিয়ে এবার ইসলামপন্থীদের আপত্তি". BBC News বাংলা (in Bengali). Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  8. ^ "একজন কাশেম বিন আবু বকর ও আমাদের ঘুণে ধরা সমাজ". একজন কাশেম বিন আবু বকর ও আমাদের ঘুণে ধরা সমাজ. Retrieved 27 October 2024.