Would a Jamaat Victory in February Turn Secular Bangladesh into an Islamic Republic?

Two and a half years before his death, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, the first president of Iran after the Islamic Revolution, gave an interview to the international news agency Reuters in 2021. Bani-Sadr appeared deeply somber in that interview, given in Versailles, a suburb of Paris. He described how Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 revolution, betrayed its principles after seizing power. Bani-Sadr believed that Khomeini’s deception and betrayal of the thousands of people who returned to Tehran from exile abroad left a “very bitter” taste among the revolutionaries.

​Before the revolution, both Ayatollah Khomeini and Banisadr lived in exile in Paris. During the Shah’s authoritarian rule, Khomeini left Iran in the mid-1960s. He first went to Turkey, then to Iraq, and eventually settled in a modest house in a village outside Paris. From there, he laid the foundations of Iran’s Islamist revolution. Bani-Sadr, the son of a prominent Shiite cleric in Iran, was then a student of economics in Paris. Due to close family ties, Bani-Sadr not only helped Khomeini obtain political asylum in France but later became one of his closest confidants and a colleague.

​Bani-Sadr initially served as a deputy minister in the interim government, and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. Then, in January 1980, with Khomeini’s blessing, he was elected president. Within a year and a half, however, Khomeini himself removed him from power. In the Reuters interview, Bani-Sadr said, “While in France, Khomeini always spoke in favor of liberal democracy. To Western observers, Khomeini appeared to be advocating a modern interpretation of Islam where religion and politics would be separate.” But immediately after landing in Iran, Khomeini changed. In a country with a thousand-year-old secular tradition, theocratic rule took hold.

Is the Muslim-majority Bangladesh, the second-largest economy of South Asia, heading toward a similar historical fate? Just as a cow once burned fears even a red cloud, a significant number of people in Bangladesh believe that if Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party of the world’s eighth most populous country, wins the upcoming February elections, a long dark night awaits them. If a Jamaat-led coalition comes to power, there is a real risk that Bangladesh could be transformed into a full-fledged Islamic republic. The question of whether Bangladesh is prepared to accept the leadership of an Islamist force has sparked renewed debate. Some fear that such leadership might attempt to impose Sharia law, inevitably curtailing women’s rights.

​For the first time since Bangladesh got its independence from Pakistan in 1971, Jamaat has a realistic opportunity to come to power as the leader of a ruling coalition. Exploiting the political vacuum created by the banning of the recently deposed secular Awami League party, Jamaat quickly established itself as the main rival to the center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). If a Jamaat-led alliance manages to win, it would mark a dramatic comeback for a party that not only opposed the birth of Bangladesh but also collaborated with the occupying Pakistani army in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis.

Most observers believe that the general elections of 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2008 in Bangladesh were broadly acceptable, participatory elections. An analysis of the results of those four elections shows that the Awami League received 30.08 percent of the vote in 1991, 37.44 percent in 1996, 40.13 percent in 2001, and 48.04 percent in 2008. In the 1991 election, the BNP received 30.81 percent of the vote; in 1996, 33.61 percent; in 2001, 40.97 percent; and in 2008, 33.20 percent. In contrast, Jamaat received 12.13 percent of the vote in 1991, 8.61 percent in 1996, 4.28 percent in 2001, and 4.60 percent in 2008. In the twelve elections held so far, Jamaat has never won more than 18 parliamentary seats.

This time, however, the picture appears different. Bangladesh’s principal Islamist party seems to have reinvented itself. Ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, the party is attracting new support, posing a threat to moderates and minority communities. A survey conducted in December by the US-based International Republican Institute showed the BNP with 33 percent support, while Jamaat stood at 29 percent. Another survey put the BNP ahead with 34.7 percent support, with Jamaat close behind at 33.6 percent.

If these surveys are accurate, the question naturally arises: have Bangladeshi voters become more religious than before? Undoubtedly, a significant segment of Bangladeshi society is moving toward a more Islamist direction. Religiosity has increased across the country, and conservative interpretations of Islam are gaining momentum. Evolving from a transnational Islamist movement, Jamaat has become a distinct political force in Bangladesh. A senior Jamaat leader recently told Al Jazeera that the party has an estimated 20 million supporters, including approximately 250,000 registered members known as “Rukon.”

Jamaat’s Amir, Shafiqur Rahman, has repeatedly said that if elected, they will establish not an Islamic theocracy but a welfare-oriented democratic system in Bangladesh. Many people remain unconvinced by this assurance. Founded in the early 1940s, the party believes in a pan-Islamist movement. Just as Bangladesh has Jamaat-e-Islami, India has Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Pakistan has Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, and Afghanistan has the active Jamiat-e-Islami. All of these parties are interconnected. Members of these groups believe that “those who work for an Islamic state will not stop at Bangladesh, India, or Pakistan; based on the revolutionary idea of Islam, they seek to influence a widespread revolution across all of humanity.”

Jamaat’s founder, Syed Abul A’la Maududi, opposed the creation of Pakistan and sought to transform the entire Indian subcontinent into “Dar-ul-Islam.” Following the footsteps of the first Muslims who migrated from Mecca to Medina, Maududi dreamed of an Islamic revolution. A few days ago, Shafiqur Rahman also said that they want to build a society in Bangladesh based on Islamic principles, modeled on Medina, the first Islamic state. It is worth noting that Shafiqur Rahman is not the party’s president or chairperson; he is the party’s Amir—a term synonymous with “commander.”

Let us return once again to the Iranian Revolution. Two months after leading the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini outlined aspects of his political philosophy in a speech to the nation. Criticizing what he called Western “hypocrisy” on democracy and human rights, he declared, “The fulfillment of Almighty Allah’s promise is near.” He asserted that Iran’s new system, founded on justice, would prove that “only Islamic democracy is correct,” and that, in contrast to East and West, “there is no oppression in Islam” and “an Islamic government does not commit injustice.” He proclaimed, “Everything that exists in Iran today must be changed.” At the end of his speech, Khomeini called upon other Islamic countries to “cut off the hands of the devils from their lands.”

Forty-seven years after his speech, if we look at Iran today, we see a horrific dictatorship in place. There is no freedom of expression. Thousands of opposition political activists are being killed. The economy is in dire condition. Women there have no respect or dignity. If Jamaat-e-Islami comes to power in Bangladesh, many wonder whether this tiny nation with over 170 million people will be more like current-day Iran.

Author profile

Md. Abu Naser

Md. Abu Naser, Ph.D. is the current Chair of the Department of Communications at California State University, Bakersfield. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

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