It appears that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Party has decided to enter the political arena with the aim of dominating legislation in Parliament and dismantling the secular identity imposed by the ruling Awami Party for the past 17 years.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, once the third political force in the country after the secular ruling Awami League, whose leader Sheikh Hasina Wazed fled to India, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia, now seems poised to become the first political force in the country. This is in light of the changing political landscape following the Bangladesh Spring.

With the power vacuum Bangladesh faces and the collapse of the ruling party, the country stands at a critical juncture. There is a competition in the upcoming elections between the Jamaat-e-Islami and the BNP, and it is unclear whether the Awami League will be allowed to participate or not.

Jamaat and the Parliament

The announcement by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, through Mohammad Salimuddin, a member of the central executive council, that they are preparing to introduce candidates for all 300 seats in the upcoming general elections indicates the party's intention to dominate Parliament. The Parliament consists of 300 seats.

But why does the Jamaat-e-Islami seek to dominate Parliament and become the leading party? Analysts propose several reasons, including the party's right to reap the benefits of its efforts with the students and youth of Bangladesh to overthrow the dictatorship of Hasina.

Other reasons include the void left after the Bangladesh Spring, the rise in the Jamaat's popularity, and their desire to control legislation in Parliament to ensure the passage of Islamic laws.

However, Bengali reports suggest the goal is to remove the secular identity that the Awami League tried to impose on the Muslim-majority country. The Jamaat places great importance on removing the secular mantle imposed by the Awami League, which led to the killing and execution of several Islamic scholars from the Jamaat-e-Islami.

In this context, the Jamaat-e-Islami demanded on September 22 that at least two prominent religious scholars be included in the “National Curriculum Review Committee,” formed by the Ministry of Education to remove secular teachings from the curriculum.

The Jamaat stated: “The previous anti-Islam government included many anti-Islamic cultural elements in school textbooks during its nearly 17-year rule, which is completely unacceptable to the people of Bangladesh.” They emphasized that many anti-Muslim and atheistic issues were included in the national curriculum as part of a long-term conspiracy.

Following the 2024 general elections in Bangladesh, the Awami League won 224 out of 300 contested seats, and 48 out of 50 seats reserved for women, giving them over three-quarters of the seats in the Parliament, known as the Jatiya Sangsad.

Of the remaining 76 contested seats, 62 were won by independent candidates, most of whom were affiliated with the Awami League and ran independently to legitimize the Awami League's victory and give the impression of free and fair elections.

Thus, many Western governments and democratic observers stated that the elections were neither free nor fair, as the main opposition party, the BNP, boycotted the elections, leading to Bangladesh being described as a one-party state.

The secular ruling Awami League banned the Jamaat-e-Islami, which has millions of supporters, in 2013 from participating in elections by a court ruling from Supreme Court judges loyal to the government, claiming that its charter violated the secular constitution of the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.

In 2013, the Election Commission banned the Jamaat-e-Islami from participating in elections after canceling its registration. This followed the establishment of the International Crimes Tribunal by the Awami League administration, which prosecuted and convicted many senior Jamaat-e-Islami leaders for war crimes during the 1971 conflict.

Subsequently, the party was excluded from the 2014 and 2018 elections, as well as the January 2024 elections, in which Sheikh Hasina won a fifth term in rigged elections.

However, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh, President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on August 6, paving the way for a transitional government. On August 28, the transitional government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus lifted the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami imposed under the anti-terrorism law. The Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the ban imposed in the final days of Sheikh Hasina's rule, which accused the Jamaat-e-Islami of inciting unrest during the Bangladesh Spring that led to her resignation. A notice published in the official gazette of the interim government stated that “there is no specific evidence of the Jamaat's involvement in terrorist activities.”

Zionist Concerns!

The Islamist transformation undertaken by the Jamaat-e-Islami after the Bangladesh Spring, its effort to remove the secular identity, and restore the original Islamic identity has angered the Zionist occupation state and Hindu India.

Hindu researcher in international relations, Ratnadeep Chakraborty, wrote in an article published in the Israeli newspaper “Jerusalem Post” on August 11: “The developments in Bangladesh threaten to reverse years of economic progress and potentially push the country towards a more Islamic future!” He stated that the most pressing concern now is the potential rise of Islamist groups to power.

He added that the history of the BNP (Khaleda Zia's party), the potential successor of the Awami League, in allying with Islamist parties, especially the Jamaat-e-Islami, raises serious concerns about the future direction of the country.

The Hindu writer in the Israeli newspaper claimed that the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJeI), with its grassroots organization and goal of Islamizing the country, poses a particular threat to the secular character of Bangladesh. He affirmed that there is a real possibility that an Islamist-led coalition could win the elections if held in the current climate.

He added that the pragmatic entanglement between religion and politics has gradually eroded the secular foundations of the country, especially with the BNP's past efforts to integrate Islam with Bangladeshi nationalism.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami x.com

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Read the Article in Arabic

What happened to Bangladesh in 1970 and the subsequent events were merely a continuation of the conspiracy to fragment India and disperse its Muslims. India, which accounted for a quarter of the world's economy (24.4%) ⁽¹⁾ before the British occupation, was never expected by the British colonialists to remain unified after they were forced to withdraw following World War II. The Muslims were the target of the division and fragmentation of greater India, as they would inevitably have returned to rule a unified India in the first free elections. Even the Punjab region was divided into two parts before India's independence.

The First Partition

“Divide and conquer” is a malicious old imperial British policy based on division and fragmentation, fostering enmity and discord among people. The partition of the Bengal region (Bangladesh), which was one of the largest Muslim concentrations in India at the time, began in the early 20th century, more than 40 years before India's independence. This was because Muslims in India never ceased their resistance to British colonialism since they were afflicted by it with the arrival of the British East India Company to the subcontinent. The first partition of the Bengal region occurred in 1905, separating the eastern areas from the western ones. However, this decision exacerbated nationalist sentiments, prompting Britain to reverse it in 1911.

Britain did not forget that this region (Bangladesh) should be divided, so when independence and the separation of Pakistan occurred, they decided to revive the old division of the region, separating the western part from the eastern one, allowing only East Bengal to join the newly formed state of Pakistan.

Planning the Separation of East Pakistan from West Pakistan

The planning to separate East Pakistan (Bangladesh) from unified Pakistan began immediately after its independence. The Awami League party and its leader were among the main tools of separation. There is no doubt that the failed Pakistani administration contributed to fueling the conflict between the two parts of Pakistan. The conspirators exploited economic disparities, linguistic and cultural differences, and political repression to ignite the separatist tendency among the Bengalis.

In the 1950s and 1960s, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) witnessed several attempts and movements aiming to separate from West Pakistan. Here are some notable events from that period:

1. Bengali Language Movement:

The Bengali Language Movement, also known as “Bhasha Andolon,” was a significant political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the 1950s. The movement demanded the recognition of the Bengali language as an official language alongside Urdu in Pakistan.

The movement began in the late 1940s, after the partition of India, when the Pakistani government led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah issued an oppressive decision to make Urdu the only official language of the country, disregarding the tens of millions who spoke Bengali. This decision inevitably angered the Bengalis, who formed the majority.

On February 21, 1952, students and political activists organized widespread protests in Dhaka, demanding the recognition of the Bengali language. Many students were killed during these protests. After years of protests and pressure, the Pakistani government relented and announced in 1956 that Bengali would be an official language alongside Urdu.

Thus, the Bengali Language Movement was a turning point in the history of East Pakistan, contributing to the strengthening of Bengali national identity and eventually leading to the independence movement in 1971. ⁽²⁾

2. 1954 Elections in East Pakistan:

The 1954 elections in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were a critical moment in the history of the nascent state. These elections saw a significant rise in Bengali nationalist sentiments, laying the foundation for a prolonged struggle for independence.

The results of these elections saw the rise of Bengali nationalism and a rejection of the dominance of West Pakistan. The election results marked the beginning of a deep political crisis between East and West Pakistan, exacerbated by the refusal of the West Pakistani elite to recognize the legitimacy of the elections and their failure to implement promises of autonomy. ⁽³⁾

3. Six-Point Program of 1966:

The Six-Point Program was a political plan presented by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami League, in 1966. The stated aim of the program was to achieve extensive autonomy for East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) within the framework of a unified Pakistan. However, a quick review of the “Six Points” shows that it aimed for complete separation. The points were as follows: ⁽⁴⁾

First: Almost complete autonomy.

Second: Complete control of Bangladesh over its economic resources, including taxes.

Third: Complete control over foreign trade.

Fourth: A separate currency for Bangladesh.

Fifth: A separate armed force for Bangladesh to maintain security.

Sixth: Control over foreign affairs.

These were demands for complete separation, not just autonomy, as the drafters claimed!

4. 1970 Elections: The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back:

In the 1970 elections, the Awami League won a landslide victory, giving it the right to form the government. However, the central government in West Pakistan, led by General Yahya Khan, refused to recognize these results. This was a golden opportunity seized by India, which was waiting for Pakistan to stumble, and by Bengali separatists.

The Awami League party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, managed to achieve its separatist goal. However, the political entity that emerged—named Bangladesh—was politically flawed from its inception. Since then, Bangladesh has lived in poor political, economic, and environmental conditions. The country has not experienced stable democracy to this day. Dictatorship began under the state's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself, who consolidated absolute power, declared a state of emergency, persecuted political opponents, implemented extreme socialist secularism, and abolished all parties except his own. He was overthrown by the military in a 1975 coup, during which he and all his family members, except two daughters, were killed. One of the surviving daughters, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, was in Germany at the time.

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1. https://www.eh-exhibition.uni-bayreuth.de/en/Statistical-Tools11/index.html.
2. M، A، Goni, The Bengali Language Movement: History and Ideology (Dhaka, 2006).
3. S، Sinha, Pakistan’s General Elections, 1954 (Dhaka, 1980).
4. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, The Six Point Programme (Dhaka, 1966).

Read the Article in Arabic

Islam reached Bengal (now Bangladesh) through Arab traders and preachers in the 8^th century CE. It is believed that the first mosque in Bengal was built in Gour, now located in West Bengal, during the Delhi Sultanate era (1206-1320 CE). Islam quickly spread in Bengal under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and the Bengal Sultanate (1352-1576 CE), and today, Muslims constitute more than 90% of the country's population.

There is material evidence of Islam's arrival in Bangladesh in the first century AH. In Kurigram district, remnants of an old mosque and Islamic inscriptions dated to 69 AH were found. Additionally, a coin bearing the name of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid dated to 172 AH was discovered in Paharpur, Rajshahi district, and another coin in the name of one of his successors, Abu Ahmad Abdullah al-Mustansir Billah, was found in Mainamati, Comilla district. ⁽¹⁾

A Prominent Location with Abundant Resources

Bangladesh today is a relatively small country in South Asia but densely populated. It is bordered by India to the west, north, and east, and Myanmar (Burma) to the southeast. The total area of the country is 148,460 square kilometers, with a population exceeding 171 million. Bangladesh has the highest number of rivers per square kilometer in the world. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Bangladesh, there are approximately 230 rivers in the country: 7 major rivers, 80 medium-sized rivers, and 149 small rivers, ⁽²⁾ with over 15% of its land covered by forests.

Bangladesh is a major producer of jute, sugarcane, and cotton, with an annual production exceeding 1.5 million metric tons of jute and 2.5 million metric tons of cotton. ⁽³⁾ It is also a leading tea producer, with an annual production of over 60 million kilograms. ⁽⁴⁾

The Partition of Bengal

Until 1858, Bengal was a single province. However, in an effort to divide the region, Britain partitioned it in 1905 into East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal (a province in present-day India, covering 88,752 square kilometers). During the British colony, Bangladesh experienced significant economic, social, and cultural changes. The Bengali language and culture were suppressed, and British administrators imposed Western-style educational and administrative systems.

The decision to partition Bengal into western and eastern regions in 1905 led to a revolution due to rising nationalist sentiments, prompting Britain to reverse the decision in 1911. However, West Bengal was separated again in 1947, but this time for good, when India was partitioned into two states, India and Pakistan.

The Grand Conspiracy

The scenario of Britain's exit from India was clear as the British Empire handed over the reins to the American Empire. It was also evident that Britain could not leave a country like India, where Muslims formed a majority and wielded significant influence. Hence, plans were made to isolate Muslims from the rest of the country, under the pretense of independence.

Muslims were aware of this grand scheme, but Britain had prepared scenarios for separation: engineered sectarian strife, premeditated massacres of Muslims, and agents to deceive the Muslim masses into believing that separation was the solution. And so it was.

Muslims in the Indian subcontinent number nearly half of the population, making up over 30% of the world's Muslim population. This large concentration of Muslims necessitated a diabolical plan to detach India from the Islamic world and scatter Indian Muslims across several countries under the pretext of independence.

Wise Muslim leaders and scholars were against the partition. The Deobandi school of thought's Muslims criticized the idea of creating Pakistan, viewing it as a conspiracy by the colonial government to prevent the establishment of a strong, unified Indian state. They helped organize the All India Azad Muslim Conference ⁽⁵⁾ and argued that the economic development of Muslims would suffer if India were divided. They saw the partition as a design to keep Muslims behind.

However, Britain had prepared Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an Ismaili, to deceive the Muslim masses who were facing an engineered sectarian civil war fueled by Britain. Pakistan separated from India, initially including Bangladesh as East Pakistan.

The Separation of Pakistan from India

In 1947, Pakistan was formed, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an Ismaili, as the head of state, and Liaquat Ali Khan, a Shia, as prime minister. Liaquat Ali, a long-time British loyalist along with his family before him, held various ministerial positions in British India, including defense and finance, and served as the Minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs in 1940, before India's independence.

The policies of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan sowed the seeds of separation. They insisted on imposing the Urdu language on Bangladesh and marginalizing the Bengali language. Despite constituting 55% of the state's population, Bangladesh had limited representation in the Pakistani government. This was coupled with stark economic disparities and the dominance of the Western part of the country (current Pakistan) over the entire state.

The Separation of Bangladesh

On December 7, 1970, the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a grand victory in the Pakistani general elections, securing 167 out of 169 seats. Bangladesh, which was called eastern Pakistan, was a part of the united Pakistan. Therefore, this victory guaranteed his party the right to form the government of united Pakistan. However, the central government in Pakistan, led by General Yahya Khan, had other plans.

General Yahya Khan, who became the President of Pakistan, refused to allow Mujibur Rahman to form the government, which became the tipping point. Massive demonstrations erupted in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), demanding separation. After failed negotiations to resolve the constitutional crisis, Mujibur Rahman, supported by India, declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971.

In December 1971, India intervened militarily, occupying Bangladesh and handing it over to Mujibur Rahman as the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. But did Bangladesh then move from hardship to the promised prosperity under the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?

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1. Islam in the Bengal region and present-day Bangladesh, Muhammad Fazlur Rahman, Article published in Al-Majalla Al-Arabia, Vol. 6, p.3, 2001, Arabic Department, Dhaka University, Bangladesh.
2. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh, 2020, Rivers of Bangladesh.
3. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2020).
4. Ibid, Agricultural Statistics in Bangladesh (2020).
5. The Indian Year Book, Bennett, Coleman & Company, 1942, p. 866.

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The leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh held a meeting with the caretaker government’s chief advisor, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yunus, on Monday, August 12. The meeting was led by Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman and included an 11-member delegation from the group.

During the meeting, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman highlighted the current situation in the country and stressed the need to take effective measures to control violence and ensure security. He stressed the importance of withdrawing all political cases filed during the previous government, and prosecuting officials who committed crimes against protesters, especially those who suppressed the anti-discrimination student movement. He also demanded the dismissal of officials involved in supporting the previous government and replacing them with honest and qualified people, publishing a white paper on the corruption of the previous government and holding all those involved in corruption accountable.

He also demanded providing support to the 57 Bangladeshis who protested in the UAE in support of the quota movement, ensuring their resettlement with dignity, working to mobilize the economy, increasing remittances and taking steps to recover smuggled funds.

The Jamaat Ameer assured that Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chatrashbir will fully cooperate with the caretaker government to ensure security and stability in the country and protect the rights and property of all citizens, including those belonging to different religions.

Dr Shafiqur Rehman was accompanied by a number of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. They included Dr Syed Abdullah Muhammad Tahir, Maulana A. L. Syed Shamsul Islam, Professor Mia Ghulam Parwar, Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, and Hamidur Rehman Azad. A number of advisors to the caretaker government were present at the meeting, including Asif Nazrul, Adeelur Rehman Khan, Muhammad Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmood Sajeeb Bhuiyan, and Advisor Farida Akhtar.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country with her family. According to media reports, Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and other family members left the country in a military helicopter bound for Agartala, India.

A source close to Sheikh Hasina confirmed the information, according to local media, stating that the prime minister and her sister have left Ganabhaban district and headed to a safe haven. Hasina tried to record a statement but was not allowed to do so.

Army chief holds talks with political leaders
In a related development, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate announced that Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqaruzzaman is holding talks with leaders of all political parties in the country to resolve the current crisis. General Waqaruzzaman urged everyone to be patient and avoid violence.

ISPR Director Shami Ahmad confirmed this information to the media, stating that the Army Chief's meeting with the leaders of political parties is still ongoing. As a result, the Army Chief's scheduled address to the nation, which was supposed to be delivered at 3 pm, may be delayed a little longer.