Conflict between Islamist and Secular Forces Has Plagued Bangladesh since Its Formation
DW
Documentary
Apr 17,
2018
In
Bangladesh headlines are dominated by violence: Secular bloggers murdered by
Islamic extremists, government opponents disappear, the Hindu minority is under
attack.
The country
that wants to reconcile democracy and Islam appears to be finding it harder and
harder to strike a balance between the two. Bangladesh was born in blood. The
Bangladeshi government claims some three million people were killed during the
1971 war of liberation, though independent figures vary greatly. While Pakistan
has remained an Islamic republic, Bangladesh made secularism a founding
principle in the republic’s constitution. But conflict between Islamist and
secular forces has plagued the country since its formation - and has a major
impact on how it is perceived abroad. Annual economic growth has been at well
over five percent for a decade; inward investment is flowing. Bangladesh is one
of the world’s leading producers of garments and textiles.
The
government in Dhaka is keen to attract foreign cash. That fixation with inward
investment also helps explain the refusal on the part of the political elite to
recognize the growth of violent Islamism in the country. In 2016, Bangladesh experienced its worst
terrorist attack to date. In Dhaka in the heart of the capital’s diplomatic
quarter, terrorists murdered 20 people they’d taken hostage in a popular café,
among them 18 foreigners.
So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility
for the attack in Dhaka, but the Bangladeshi government continues to deny that
there are IS or Al-Qaeda cells in the country.
The political landscape of the country is currently shaped by the
personal animosity between the two most powerful women in Bangladesh: Sheikh
Hasina, who heads the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia from the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party. When one of them holds the reins of power, the other
regularly does all she can to bring government grinding to a halt by having the
opposition dig in its heels.
In a further twist to this tale Khaleda Zia
was sentenced to five years in jail early February 2018, charged with misusing
charitable funds. Khaleda Zia is also currently barred from taking part in
parliamentary polls. The daughter of the country’s founding father Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Hasina has led the Bangladeshi government since 2009.
She views herself as a mediator between secular and Islamist forces. But the
brutal murder of bloggers critical of religion and the continuing restriction
of democratic freedoms show how this balancing act is teetering - and could
soon tip into disaster.
URL: https://newageislam.com/multimedia/conflict-between-islamist-secular-forces/d/123759
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