SADF COMMENT 1
Bangladesh: Drifting into Islamic Fundamentalism?
Siegfried O. Wolf November 14, 2013
South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) Avenue des Artes – 1210 Brussels, Belgium www.sadf.eu
About the Author Director of Research at SADF; he was educated at the Institute of Political Science (IPW) and South Asia Institute (SAI), both Heidelberg University. Additionally he is lecturer in International Relations and Comparative Politics at SAI as well as a former research fellow at IPW and Centre de Sciences Humaines (New Delhi, India). Before starting his academic career, Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf worked for various consultancies specialising in political communication, e.g. promoting the interaction and cooperation between academic, political and economic spheres. He is the co-author of ‘A Political and Economic Dictionary of South Asia’ (Routledge: London, 2006), coedited several books, and is Deputy Editor of the ‘Heidelberg Papers in South Asian and Comparative Politics’ (HPSACP). Furthermore, he has worked as a consultant for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany as well as a political columnist in Bangladesh.
About SADF COMMENTS The SADF Comment series seeks to contribute innovative and provocative thinking on significant, on-going debates as well as provide immediate, brief analysis and opinion on current occurrences and developments in South Asia. The topics covered are not only directed towards academic experts in South Asian affairs but are also of relevance for professionals across disciplines with a practical interest in region. Therefore, the SADF Comment series serves as a platform for commentators who seek an international audience for opinions that impact state and society in South Asia and beyond. About SADF South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) is a non-partisan, autonomous think tank dedicated to objective research on all aspects of democracy, human rights, security, and intelligent energy among other contemporary issues in South Asia. SADF is based in Brussels and works in a close partnership with the Department of Political Science at South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University.
Since
9/11
the
world
regarded
seems that this trend of ignoring or
Pakistan and Afghanistan as the epicentre
neglecting the rise of Islamic fanaticism in
of Islamic fundamentalism. Many of the
other South Asian countries with Muslim
early
majorities, such as Bangladesh or the
observations
has
dealt
with
the
tremendous challenge that terrorism and
Maldives, seems to continue.
religious-militant extremism would pose for peace and stability from a geopolitical
In order to understand the distortion in the
perspective. Realising the increasingly
scholarly
complex
fundamentalism, one has to look at the
scenarios
as
well
as
the
engagement
with
Islamic
causalities and impacts, analyses on the
different
phenomenon
were
research, which changed over time. In the
slowly but persistently broadening. In
earlier years, the clear focus of monitoring
order to be able to address not only the
and analysing was to get a deeper
militant, but also the socio-economic and
understanding
political
structure
under
discussion
dimensions
fundamentalism
-
of
the
Islamic
networks
reasoning
of
of
and
the
militant
interests
of
organizational Islamist
groups
and
operating in the AfPak region in order to
ideological foundations of internationally
develop an adequate strategy for a military
acting
solution. Furthermore, research findings
fundamentalist
increasingly
caught
observers
worldwide.
groups
of
stressed the anti-democratic and anti-
Nevertheless,
systemic potential of Taliban and other
despite a general broadening of the
militant Islamist oppositional forces in
research focus when it comes to Islamic
order
fundamentalism,
governments
it
the
have
also
attention
led
to
the
to
provide with
foreign the
involved necessary
phenomenon of only seeing part of the
arguments to justify missions and budgets
story: First, being pre-occupied with the
for their missions in Afghanistan.
security aspects of the Islamist challenge in the context of the foreign intervention in
However, it seems that recent endeavours
Afghanistan, many analysts, initially had a
have been concentrating on identifying
narrow focus on the ‘AfPak’ region.
arguments aimed at sustaining that claim
Consequently,
fundamentalist
that Islamic militants merely pose a
developments in other parts of the Indian
regionally limited threat: in other words it
subcontinent
adequately
‘only’ affects Pakistan and Afghanistan and
recognized until today. Second, today it
if a negotiated settlement is achieved, the
were
not
1
Taliban-problem automatically.
will
be
solved
remarkable
It is obvious that this
impetus
to
cooperation
between the different militant groups.
strategy only serves the purpose of ensuring a safe and smooth withdrawal of
Obviously, this apparition -the emergence
foreign troops while creating the image of
of an increasing interlinked international
having provided a framework for a minimal
Islamist
level of stability.
rationale of legitimizing the process of
It is noteworthy to mention that analysts
negotiation with the Taliban. It is important
who follow this line of argumentation try to
to understand, that the Taliban and other
introduce
the
Islamist groups as anti-systemic and anti-
Afghani Pakistani Taliban. Despite the fact
democratic forces are bounded by as well
that this distinction partly matches the
as trapped in a common fundamentalist
reality
ideology and, in order to keep the whole
a
of
structures,
separation
different tactics,
between
organisational strategies,
and
movement-
undermines
the
movement going, it has to reject any
recruiting patterns of the Taliban operating
democratic
in the region, it ignores the commonalities
Because the Islamist’s major goal is to
when it comes to ideological foundation,
establish Islamic fundamentalist state –
spiritual leadership and central command
not only in Afghanistan but also in the
which justifies the description of the
Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh too.
Taliban as a coherent whole movement. In
However, in order for the US to ensure a
this context, one also has to point out that
safe
the Taliban are only a facet, of a much
Washington will remain ignorant towards
larger, Islamic fundamentalist movement.
this threat.
system
withdrawal
of
from
governance.
Afghanistan,
This phenomenon of an interconnected Islamist movement sector, pushed by
Additionally, by properly recognizing the
transnational
extremist
rise of Islamic fundamentalism that is
organisations, like the Muslim Brotherhood
transforming Bangladesh into a hub of
or al-Qaida, is dramatically rising in South
international
Asia. For example, al-Qaida through Bin
consequentially call for measures by the
Laden’s 1998 declaration calling for an
international community (presuming that
internationally coordinated Jihad, which
there is a coherent logic of the ‘war
was signed by terrorist organisations with
against terror’). However, the US and its
links to Pakistan and Bangladesh, gave a
allies are ‘exhausted’ and not keen on any
religious
2
militancy,
would
new
assignment.
observers
prefer
Therefore, pick
up
academics an alternative field of activities
other
to get active in Bangladesh without having
flashpoints, like the disastrous working
to position themselves in the context of
environment
another existential threat towards the
in
to
western
Bangladesh's
textile
industry. This is without any doubt a very
Bangladeshi
crucial issue and deserves much attention.
tremendous polarisation between the two
However, focusing on other themes is
antagonistic political parties in Bangladesh
conveniently helping western government
Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh
in two ways:
Nationalist
First,
it
draws
the
international
state
Party
and
society:
(BNP)
and
the
their
respective leadership leading the country
community’s attention away from growing
from crisis to crisis.
Islamic fundamentalism, which arguably poses the most dangerous challenge to
To summarize, it seems that history is
Bangladesh at this moment. However, by
repeating itself. As in 1971, during the war
using the strategy of general ignorance,
of
the international community does not have
community,
to justify their reluctance to tackle this
watching the genocide of three million
problem. But decision makers should be
people
aware that the chosen tactic not only leads
destruction
to the neglect of everything Bangladesh
infrastructure in Bangladesh by West-
stands for, especially the idea of secular
Pakistan apathetically. Today, there is an
democracy in a Muslim majority country,
imminent threat that the very same
but it also threatens to put the country
countries once again remain idle while the
back to square one, i.e. the return to an
collaborators of the then aggressors - who,
atmosphere comparable to the days of
slowly but persistently, built the backbone
West Pakistan’s dictate. The difference
of Bangladesh’s fundamentalist movement
would be that instead of being under the
over the past decades - penetrate the
choke of West-Pakistani military rulers,
state and its institutions and oppress
Bangladeshis would be controlled by
Bangladeshi society.
independence
as
the
especially well of
as the
the the
international US,
was
large-scale
economy
and
Jihadist organisations which emerged in or are supported by Pakistan.
The international community must realise
Second, the strategy of focusing on ‘less-
the
critical
regionally and globally acting Islamic
issues’
offers
politicians
and
3
urgency
of
the
situation.
Both
fundamentalist movements are tightening
behaviour combined with extra-judicial
their grip on Bangladesh. Since the early
measures
1990s, a silent process of Islamisation has
killings, major terrorist activities) are used
started in the country. The breeding
to compensate the lack in electoral
ground for this process was prepared by
support. Needless to say, as long as
the country’s military rulers, General Ziaur
Islamist militant groups are seen as an
Rahman (1975-1981) and General H.M.
instrument in certain policy fields, the
Ershad
both
imbalance between support by the people
far
reaching
and influence on the political decision
amendments
were
(1982-1990).
autocratic
governments,
constitutional introduced
which
During
undermined
(e.g.
black
mailing,
target
making process will continue.
the
institutional bulwark, i.e. secularism and
Having said that, after the reintroduction of
democracy, against a potential Islamist
parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh in
takeover. More concretely, Ziaur and
1990/91, the Islamist parties (foremost
Ershad diluted the secular principles in the
Jammat-e-Islami and Islamic Okye Jyote)
constitution in order to gain legitimacy by
were already so deeply rooted into the
playing the religious card. By anchoring
political landscape that they continued to
Islam in the constitution and putting
be part of elected governments. In result,
religion at the centre of the political
they were not only using state resources
discourse, Bangladesh was effectively
to promote their ‘anti-secular revolution’
transformed into an Islamic state. As a
but also to push the entrenchment of
result, Islamist parties have been able to
Islamic fundamentalist elements deeply
incrementally appropriate room in the
into the political-administrative structure of
political arena, despite the fact that they
the country. Today, ‘Islamisation’ is not a
did not enjoy much general public support.
silent
It is interesting to mention that in this
aggressive and it has reached the centre
direction Pakistan serves as an interesting
of power politics in Dhaka.
process
anymore:
it
is
loud,
point of reference: the fact that Islamist parties do not get many votes does not
Furthermore, one has to stress that
mean
automatically
Islamic fundamentalism is not anymore an
marginalised when it comes to exercising
urban phenomenon. Islamist ideologies
political influence and access to state
and radical views of how social order
resources.
should be organised can be found with an
that
they
Here,
are
aggressive
political
4
increasing extent in the daily lives of the
Bangladesh realise that the only way
people in remote rural areas. The high
forward is to stop downplaying the Islamist
level of Islamist penetration of state and
threat. It is time to develop a coherent and
society in Bangladesh can not only be
stringent
seen
fundamentalism.
Bangladesh’s
and
principles
in
the
formulation
of
including
the
blackmailing
policies, of
whole
strategy
democratic
against
religious secular
are
under
governments and inconvenient political
tremendous
parties, but also in the context using
political and militant extremism. The few
coercive force
as an instrument to
measures carried out by the current
transform the country into an Islamic
government to contain the Islamist threats
fundamentalist state. It is alarming that the
remain ineffective. For example, despite
Islamists are not even attempting to cover
the fact that some Islamists groups are
up the fact that they identify themselves
banned, their mobilising capacities and on-
with the Taliban and their former terror-
going operations are still relatively strong.
state the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,
A reason for the fruitlessness of efforts to
which, according to some Islamists, should
protect secularism and democracy is
serve as a blueprint for restructuring
because they are negated in qualitative
Bangladesh’s political and social systems.
and quantitative terms by examples of how
pressure
through
radical
state institutions, major political actors, However, it seems that the recent increase
and Islamists are still cooperating with
in
abuses,
each other. The root thereof is the
violations of civil rights and constraints on
unrestricted political struggle between AL
political participation in the country have
and
given the international community food for
additional room to manoeuvre in order to
thought. The likelihood of a military
capture political space and power. Of
intervention in civil-political affairs in order
course, there are many other factors too
to avoid a clash between the AL and BNP
that contribute to the growth of Islamic
(especially in the context of the upcoming
radicalism in its political and militant forms
general elections) will add to the tendency
in Bangladesh. First of all, there are
of foreign observers reassessing their view
domestic
of the political situation. Indeed, it is of
governance,
utmost
political
reports
of
human
importance
diplomats
and
the
rights
that
both
foreign
government
of
BNP,
relations,
5
which
ones,
gave
e.g.
instability
culture,
the
corruption, and
troubled
unfortunate
Islamists
a
bad
violent
civil-military
socio-economic
conditions. Furthermore, there is also unquestionably a ‘foreign hand’ involved, which helps to facilitate and orchestrate the growth of the Islamic movement. Nevertheless, for the moment one can conclude that an Islamic state like the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan is still far from being established. But there are clear indications that the Islamists are aiming at achieving the implementation of such a form of governance and have already set patterns to prepare the ground for it. In order to stop this process, a collective national involvement of the major political actors is necessary to protect democracy, secularism and human rights, supported by a more determined and active international community. As long as this is not achieved, Bangladesh risks falling in the clutches of Islamic fundamentalism!
6