Bangladesh could be the next Pakistan

Another secular blogger was murdered in Bangladesh last week – the third in four months. Ananta Bijoy Das wrote for Mukto-Mona, a secular political website edited by Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy until he himself was murdered by Islamist militants earlier this year. These killings have been largely described as acts of terrorism, which they certainly are, but there is a larger picture that is being overlooked: The attacks are less about religion than limiting the scope of politics in Muslim majority countries of South Asia. 

Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh is the fourth largest Muslim country in the world. Home to more than 150 million Muslims, Bangladesh has a strong and proud cultural history that has helped inoculate it against the spread of the Saudi version of religious extremism. Historically, the involvement of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), the country’s main Islamist political party, in the rape and murder of countless innocent civilians during the country’s war for independence left civilian politics in the hands of two major political parties: The center-left Awami League, founded by the nation’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was established in 1978 by the military dictator Gen. Ziaur Rehman.

{mosads}Gen Ziaur Rehman amended the secular character of Bangladesh’s constitution, inserting “the principle of absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah.” The BNP – headed by Gen Rehman’s widow, managed to form two governments, in 1991 and 2001, each time by forging electoral alliances with JI. This alliance, however, has always been more one of political expediency than piety – the BNP needs Jamaat’s support to form a coalition government, and Jamaat needs BNP to provide it political relevance.  

The Awami Leauge came into power six years ago with a thumping majority. It mobilized the public opinion and amended the constitution declaring Bangladesh as a secular country. Concurrently, it also began prosecuting war crimes committed by the Islamists of JI during the 1971 war for independence. While Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had the public support to carry out this agenda, political mistakes have once again polarized the country.  

The BNP–JI alliance boycotted the 2014 elections and countrywide protests resulted in harsh crackdowns by the government. Opposition leaders have demanded new elections and protested the government’s prosecution of Islamist leaders. This has given the Islamists an ideal opportunity to re-assert their power.

Bangladesh’s Islamists, like those elsewhere, are not content with continued political relevance. They aspire for political domination.  Using religious violence is an effective path to assert their political agenda. By recasting Bangladesh’s political discourse, Islamists are trying to create an atmosphere in which the moderate Muslim majority is faced with the false choice of either supporting Islamist political parties or supporting “blasphemy.” In this atmosphere, new Islamist groups are emerging – some of which are even more radical than JI. There have been recent reports that the Islamic State is attempting to find allies and networks in Bangladesh amidst the political crisis.

Sajeeb Wazed, son of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, told Reuters last week that despite its dedication to secular principles, the government is restricted in its ability to respond to the attacks because opposition parties are using religion as a weapon to attack the government’s credibility. Bangladesh may be a relatively moderate Islamic country, but being labeled as an atheist or, worse, an apostate, carries more than mere political repercussions. Meanwhile, political opponents simultaneously accuse the government of not doing enough to protect the rights of bloggers and going too far in efforts to hold Islamists accountable.  

Earlier this month, al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the murder of liberal Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy, justifying the attack by accusing him of blasphemy against Islam. The State Department has said that it could not confirm whether or not al Qaeda was responsible for the murder. The truth is that attacks on secular freethinkers are not being carried out in the interests of Islam, they are being carried out to limit the arena for secular politics. 

Bangladesh’s recent history displays robust quest for democratic rule; and its people has always defied authoritarianism. Therefore, the country’s slide into anarchy is a worrying development. In recent years, the country’s remarkable social and economic progress is jeopardized due to the instability and the creeping sway of Islamist violence.  

The leaders of Bangladesh should learn from Pakistan. The cynical use of faith by Islamist groups has been the hallmark of Pakistan’s recent history. Admittedly, the regional conflict in Afghanistan has contributed to a great extent in the rise of jihadist ideologies in Pakistan, but Pakistan’s civilian leadership gave space to Islamists since the very start, culminating in the declaration of Ahmadi community as non-Muslims in 1974. 

Since then the Islamist groups have held an outsized influence over politics. Prior to Pakistan’s 2013 elections, scores of political workers belonging to secular, moderate political parties were killed. The Pakistani Taliban decreed that anyone who voted for these parties would be attacked. Resultantly, the capacity of moderate parties to organize and mobilize their supporters has been curtailed immensely. Today most political contests are between right wing parties that have justified jihadism and advocated for accommodation of the Taliban. 

Bangladesh does not have to go down this road. Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina needs to help end the political crisis by initiating talks with the opposition so that there is stability for policy reform. Law enforcement agencies require overhaul to ensure that cases such as the killing of Roy and Das are prosecuted and the criminals are brought to justice. Given the threats posed by terrorists, the government needs to move quickly and promptly.  

The U.S. needs to highlight these dangers through effective diplomacy and the European Union needs to advise its long time friend Bangladesh to act quickly. Free speech and democratic freedoms if curtailed reduces democracy to a farce. It is time that Bangladesh’s parliament addresses the grave challenges ahead.

Rumi, a visiting fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, is a Pakistani journalist and South Asia policy analyst .