According to an estimate approximately 26% of Bangladeshi Muslims identify themselves with a Sufi order, almost half of whom adhere to the Chishti order. During the Sultanate period, syncrestic Sufis emerged and formed khanqahs and dargahs that serves as the nerve center of local communities The tradition of Islamic mysticism known as Sufism appeared very early in Sunni Islam and became essentially a popular movement emphasizing worship out of a love of Allah. Sufism stresses a direct, unstructured, personal devotion to God in place of the ritualistic, outward observance of the faith and "a Sufi aims to attain spiritual union with God through love" An important belief in the Sufi tradition is that the average believer may use spiritual guides in his pursuit of the truth. Throughout the centuries many gifted scholars and numerous poets have been inspired by Sufi ideas.