• Allahuakbar was chanted in the Bangladeshi parliament by protesters. What does the uprising mean for Islam and the Muslim world?
• What is the responsibility among the Muslim organisations in Bangladesh now, and what can they learn from the Arab Spring?
After the Bangladeshi people valiantly triumphed over their tyrant for the first time in 16 years, it seems as though the future of Bangladesh and the freedom amongst its people are indeed hopeful.
After the deaths of more than 200 people and thousands of arrests, it seemed as though the tyrannical regime would just be flexing its muscles of barbarism once again. Yet shockingly, Sheikh Hasina, a long-time ruler of Bangladesh for 16 years whose political party has a stomach for an Indian foothold and influence, fled the country after being forced to resign. The protesters cheered and celebrated with their minds, visualising the primrose of freedom. Older generations who thought the status quo could not be changed had been shocked by the fall of what many of them considered the pharaoh of the time.
Why this uprising has shaken the Bangladeshi political system
This unexpected change of events in Bangladesh highlights that political force does not just exist within the political system that is bound to democracy; rather, it outlines that community activism has the potential to change not just the decisions but the entire system amongst the echelons of power, no matter how corrupt it is or has been. Whatever political party gets into power in the near future, with or without a democratic election, will be forced to notice and play a balancing act between the movements on the ground and the political parties that oppose them. They will be forced to listen and identify that their dictatorship-like actions could be thwarted by an uprising, regardless of whether the democratic system is in their favor.
One could argue that this uprising that occurred this week could well be a silent devolution of power from the elitist traditional parties to the grassroot groups and majority.
Parallels between the Arab Spring and Bangladesh
When the Arab Spring kicked off in Tunisia, it led to long-time rulers who many thought would continue in their tyranny to fall and regimes to crumble. For some countries, like Libya, the country descended into a civil war that drew in foreign powers like France. In Yemen, chaos reigned after the people overthrew two governments, one in 2012 and one in 2015. In Syria, a civil war ensued as the government tried to cling to power with the help of Russian and Iranian support, leading to the killing of hundreds of thousands of people.
In Egypt, however, the people overthrew long-time tyrant Hosni Mubarak and did, in fact, manage to establish a democratic system. However it was short lived, although the system of leadership had changed, the secular establishment was brutal in alienating and demonising anyone they didn’t like. The first democratically elected leader in Egypt’s history was a man named Mohammed Morsi, a man who was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic organisation that has deep roots in Egypt’s history. Once Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had attained power, the secular establishment, the media, the newspapers, and secular organisations portrayed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organisations, even though to date not a single terrorist attack has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The media instigated protests and riots until it reached such a climax that the secular-led military under Abdel Fatah El Sisi removed Mohammed Morsi to claim the presidency for himself. Since then, the economy, living standards, and repression have only gotten worse. The fall of Mohammed Morsi was directly linked to the old military establishment still existing and the old secular institutions being powerful and influential enough to continue to roam freely. In Bangladesh, a parallel can be drawn. Although the majority of the Bangladeshi population is Muslim, it is still a secular country. The institutions, the media establishment, the military, and newspapers are predominantly secular. Another parallel that can be drawn is that the process by which the tyrannical government in charge was defeated through grass-roots movements coming together to remove a government is a stark similarity between Egypt. The difference, however, is that in Egypt there was no democratic system before the Arab Spring, and in Bangladesh there was somewhat. Other opposition parties, although their leaders were arrested or persecuted by the government, had the strength and power to exist. This means that Bangladesh is unlikely to fall into the same fast-paced havoc as Egypt has, as the likely political parties to get into power are commonly known and have been instrumental in the past in unifying their people under nationalism.
The Islamic organisations and movements in Bangladesh and what this uprising could mean for them
In 2013, Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the main Islamic political parties in Bangladesh, was banned from standing in national elections. The High Court had ruled that the parties constitutions violated the national constitution by opposing secularism. Most of the senior members of the party were either hanged or jailed in 2013. It was only after the student protests began late last month over the quota on jobs did the Hasina government outright label the party as a terrorist organisation altogether, highlighting the nature of repression the Hasina government would implement. After the overthrow of Hasina, however, Jamaat-e-Islami is now able to move around freely and continue their work. For the first time in more than 10 years, the party has been able to open an office without any legal repercussions. The interim government currently in Bangladesh, which is mainly run by the military, claims that it will allow fair and free elections. If this is possible, it’s possible that Jamaat-e-Islami could stand as a political party in those elections now that the repression against them seems to have ended.
Would this be a good idea? When the Muslim Brotherhood stood for power in Egypt, they formed a coalition with other political parties; it was the coalition that led to chaos, with the military then exploiting the party. Egypt had and still has secular institutions, and Bangladesh is no different. If Jamaat-e-Islaami also decides to make a move for the presidency, it’s likely its organisation could also be hunted down by secular institutions until the organisation itself becomes dissembled. Jamaat-e-Islami is well aware of the mistakes of the Muslim brotherhood in Egypt and would know not to repeat such a move.
How is the BNP compared to the old regime?
The two biggest political parties in Bangladesh are the Awami League (deposed prime ministers party) and the BNP (Bangladeshi National Party). There has not been a fair election in more than a decade in Bangladesh, and it may well be that when and if one is called, the BNP sweeps into power. The BNP has in the past condemned Hasina’s regime for the oppression and crackdown on the Jamat-e-Islami party, and the BNP has shown itself to be more of an Islamic, nationalistic, and anti-Indian group than the former Awami League. It’s possible that if the BNP sweeps into power as predicted, the Islamic organisations like Jamat-e-Islami that have been persecuted and repressed under the old regime may well be allowed to operate and resume the spreading of Islam.
What could Islamic organisations do to establish Islam properly in Bangladesh?
Although it’s true that the majority of Bangladesh is Muslim, the majority are not aware of or educated on what it means to be Islamic on a leadership level. The people of Bangladesh are not currently ready for an Islamic flag to dominate their country like it is in Afghanistan. Islamic organisations in Bangladesh now have the freedom to roam and carry out their dawah more than they have been able to during the last 10 years because of the fall of the regime. They should use these freedoms to cultivate, nourish, and educate the young population so that they can one day make Bangladesh a politically Islamic nation that is powerful enough to fend off the secular forces that plague it.
