Awami League Has Mollycoddled Hefazat-e-Islam and Khilafat Majlis to Counter Jamaat-e-Islami
By
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty
19th
December 2020
Islamists
in Bangladesh have latched on to a bizarre issue—of opposing the setting up of
any statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They have gone to the extent of damaging
and defacing his statue in Kushtia that was under construction. The vandals,
who came in the dead of the night, turned out to be two local madrasa students.
Both were arrested along with two of their teachers.
Bangladesh flag. (Image used for representation)
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The
agitation started when it was decided to install a statue of Mujibur Rahman in
an area south of Dhaka to commemorate his centenary celebrations this year. He
is revered as “Bangabandhu” (friend of Bengal) and is one of the most famous
Bengalis of all time. His leadership was pivotal in the freedom struggle that
led to Bangladesh’s emergence.
The
Islamists have condemned all statues and sculptural exhibits as “un-Islamic”,
though their stand has been challenged by many who have pointed that statues
and sculptural exhibits exist in all Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia.
What has angered many in the country is this brazen act of vandalism occurred
in December, celebrated as “Victory” month, commemorating the surrender of
Pakistani armed forces on December 16, ending the 1971 war.
Protests by
several organisations broke out against this incident and the government is
trying to work out a settlement with Islamist groups led by the Hefazat-e-Islam,
an organisation that runs Qaumi Madrasas all over the country and remains
beyond government regulation as it does not accept funding from it. The Hefazat
is a platform for mullahs and madrasa students to promote Islamisation of
Bangladesh. The government hopes to work out a compromise, but it is unclear
what its contours will be. Politics, as usual, is at the bottom of this
confrontation.
The Awami
League has mollycoddled the Hefazat and some other Islamist outfits like the
Islami Andolan and Khilafat Majlis with the political objective of building
up a pro-government Islamist front, as a counterweight to the Jamaat-e-Islami,
the main Islamist outfit that had opposed the independence of Bangladesh. The
Jamaat had joined hands with Pakistani forces in suppressing the freedom
movement and inflicting untold atrocities on Bangladeshis.
The Jamaat
is also the political partner of the opposition BNP; this partnership has a
distinct anti-Indian, pro-Pakistan and anti-Hindu bias. The Islamists have been
undertaking street protests against France’s actions against Islamists and have
now found a new issue to agitate and embarrass PM Sheikh Hasina. The Islamists
would be fully aware of the red lines of the Awami League government, which has
not shied away from cracking down harshly on violent Islamic radicals involved
in acts of violence in Bangladesh.
The Awami
League’s move to prop up the so-called “moderate” Islamists triggered vehement
criticism from secular forces, including from within the party, and led to
dilution of its support for the so-called pro-government Islamists. The latter
comprise a bunch of backward-looking clerics who oppose the secular constitution,
demand the implementation of Sharia law and a ban on female education, and
oppose any display of statues or sculptures that pollute the Islamic ambience.
Pandering to their demands, the government relocated the statue of a Greek
Goddess holding the scales of Justice that was in front of the Supreme Court.
The demand
for banning the extremist and sectarian politics of the Islamists is growing in
Bangladesh and secular organisations have taken out counter protests all over
the country. Bangladesh has a tradition of “Waaz Mehfils”, which are public
gatherings where mullahs give fiery speeches, often peppered with diatribe
against non-Muslims and women. For these mullahs, the donations at these
gatherings are sources of considerable income and they indulge in hate speeches
to incite people. Awami League-affiliated organisations have started a campaign
of disrupting such “Waz Mehfils” as soon as the mullah starts speaking on the
topic of statues and sculptures.
The
pressure on Islamist leaders is mounting. Petitions in courts have led to
sedition cases against them and the High Court has ordered the government to
protect all statues and sculptural exhibits. The Islamist leaders have argued
that their movement is not against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or the government.
They have rejected all arguments that have sought to differentiate between
statues and idols. Appeasement of Islamists, for whatever objective, has
emboldened them to up the ante.
Is there a
hidden hand behind this agitation? It is not beyond the realm of possibility
that some foreign powers are encouraging it, to put pressure on PM Sheikh
Hasina to join the China-Pakistan axis that has become hyperactive against
India. The PM is unlikely to take kindly to such pressures. In a recent meeting
with Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, she made it clear that the events
of 1971 cannot be forgotten and its memories will remain painful forever. She
was referring to the genocide and rape committed by Pakistan’s army during the
independence struggle.
In Pakistan,
there has been media speculation that Sheikh Hasina has broken the ice in the
largely frozen bilateral ties. There is little doubt that Pakistan is working
at the behest of China, to exploit Bangladesh’s unhappiness at India’s pushing
through the NRC and CAA. Bangladesh has viewed them as the sword of Damocles
that could lead to illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India being forced to return
home. Already burdened with more than a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar,
Dhaka is apprehensive about the return of illegal Bangladeshi migrants from
India, despite assurances given by New Delhi that illegal migrants rendered
stateless will not be pushed into that country.
The
Bangladesh PM’s move to reset ties with Pakistan is a signal to India and a
classical manoeuvre at counterbalancing, a policy Bangladesh has followed
deftly with respect to China and India. It is also to deflect domestic
opposition that has accused her of getting too close to India. There are limits
to such balancing given the geopolitical situation in South Asia and close
bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh. In India, there are no illusions
that her “Neighbourhood First” policy will come under stress from the
China-Pakistan axis. Some neighbours will seek leverage in this contest and India
will have to deal with the situation with astute diplomacy and leverage, which
India has and will exercise, in defending her national interests.
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Pinak
Ranjan Chakravarty is Former Ambassador, Ex-Secretary in MEA & currently a
Visiting Fellow at ORF, Delhi
Original
Headline: Islamist agitation and sculpture politics in Bangladesh
Source: The New Indian Express
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/awami-league-mollycoddled-hefazat-e/d/123811
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