DAR AL ISLAM-BANGLADESH: A SECULAR STATE MORPHING INTO A SHAR'IAH RULED STATE...

Bangladesh: Politicians Strike Deal for Power
Once secular state is on its way to becoming an Islamic one

Islamic parties in Bangladesh are making headway in transforming the country into an Islamic state with the help of a memorandum of understanding it recently signed with the two major political forces -- the Awami League-led 14-party alliance and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led 4-party alliance -- ahead of national elections in January.

In the hope of winning the upcoming elections, the Awami League (AL), which has twice been the ruling party, invited Islamic parties to join its alliance, including extremist Islamic groups Khelafat Majlish (KM), one faction of Islami Okay Jote, the Zaker Party, the Islamic Front, and Anjuman-e-Islah. Avoiding secularism and without discussion with the other 13 leftist parties in its alliance, AL signed a five-point agreement with KM on Sunday.

If voted into power, the AL agreed not to enact laws that would be inconsistent with the dictates of the Quran and Shariah. They also agreed to reserve the right of a certain category of Islamic clerics to issue fatwas, and to consider as a criminal offence any criticism of the prophets (Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc.) and their associates and to officially recognize the Quami madrasah, which is also followed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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Statistics in the Bangladesh Economics Review show that government funds for madrasahs increased 22 percent from 2001 to 2005. The number of teachers in madrasahs increased 16.52 percent between 2001 and 2005 as opposed to a 12 percent increase in secular schools and collage.

There are 1,234 government-registered madrasahs in Bangladesh and about 10,000 non-registered ones. These unregistered madrasahs have been left entirely on their own and are not subject to any observation of their finance and conduct.

Notably, extremist Islamic groups KM, Islamic Okay Jote, Jaker Party, Islamic Front and Anjuman-e-Islah are too small to get into the parliament alone. But they have become strong and have been given an entry into politics through the blessings of military rulers, secularists and nationalists who lack political morality.


Bangladesh:

Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Religions:
Muslim 83%,
Hindu 16%,
other 1% (1998)

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