Bangladesh: Are Islamist parties growing in influence?
October 25, 2024
Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was banned by the now-ousted government of Sheikh Hasina just days before the former prime minister fled the country in August.
Hasina's Awami League party insisted that the JI was involved in terrorist activities. Many party members and activists were jailed and its leaders hanged during Hasina's 15 years in power.
After Hasina's government was dissolved, Bangladesh's interim government led by Muhammed Yunus reversed the ban.
Khalid Hossain, adviser to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for the interim government, said the interim administration was "working to establish a level playing field for all the political parties in country."
He told DW the political culture and citizens' voting rights in Bangladesh have been eroded over time, and the interim government is striving to restore them by supporting all political parties, including Islamic ones.
But Munshi Faiz Ahmad, former chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), told DW that the previous Awami League government had legitimate grounds to restrict the political activities of JI.
"Given JI's opposition to the creation of Bangladesh through its association with Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war, it should not be permitted to operate under that name. However, if its leaders wish to participate in politics under a new name, they should be allowed to do so," he added.
The mandate of Bangladesh's interim government is to pave the way for new elections and propose reforms that could be enacted under a newly elected government. The date for the new election has yet to be determined.
A new opportunity for Islamist parties?
Lawyer Shishir Munir, who represents JI in legal disputes, said the party survived the last 15 years under the Awami League, and could thrive in the future.
"Like other political parties, JI has begun adapting to align with the expectations of citizens. JI will adjust its strategy to better prepare for the upcoming election, keeping in mind the lessons from the downfall of the previous government," he told DW.
Syed Mohammad Mosaddek Billah, a senior leader of the Islamist party Islami Andolan Bangladesh, told DW that Islamist political parties, including his, were suppressed by the Hasina government and are now being supported by the interim administration to take part in the upcoming elections.
Post-doctoral research fellow at Central European University in Hungary, Shafi Md Mostafa, said that Islamist parties supported the student-led movement that led to the ouster of Hasina and the Awami League, and that has earned them a role in the reform-making process.
Demands by Islamists
Mamunul Haque, the leader of far-right Islamic advocacy group Hefazat-e-Islam, demanded the withdrawal of nearly 300 cases filed against the group's leaders and activists. The party also wants the Awami League to be banned.
Haque told DW that only one or two cases have been withdrawn, and no significant steps have been taken to dismiss the rest.
Following these demands coming from Islamist political parties, on October 24, Bangladesh's interim government officially banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League party, labeling it a "terrorist organization."
Ridwanul Hoque, a former law professor at the University of Dhaka, criticized the decision to ban the BCL, calling the move politically, legally, and constitutionally flawed.
He told DW that the BCL ban from the interim government was autocratic and devoid of a fair process.
The measures taken by the interim government, including the removal of Supreme Court judges and university teachers, have been criticized by some rights groups as lacking transparency.
"Many convicted terrorists have been released from jail since the formation of this government without following proper legal procedures, which poses a security threat to Bangladesh and beyond," said Veena Sikri, former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
Sikri told DW that "even the students' opinion is divided, and it is mostly the Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir, the student wing of JI, which is involved in bringing these changes through involving the interim government without following due process."
Edited by: Wesley Rahn