Islam and Politics in Bangladesh : The Followers of Ummah

This book conceptualizes the politics of Bangladesh through an Islamic concept called ummah or the global brotherhood of Muslims. It demonstrates that, against the backdrop of geopolitics, capitalism and free flow of ideas, localization of this global religious concept at individual level, institutional level, major party platforms and state has cemented the current political condition in Bangladesh in which religiosity, religious intolerance, Islamization and extremism take place. By exploring the effects of ummah in Bangladeshi politics, this book shows how major political parties have mainstreamed political Islam in the country. The book rejects the long standing scholarly claim of religious-secular distinction in Bangladeshi politics and argues that with most Muslim-dominated states, there are no major secular parties in Bangladesh. There are only Islamic parties, which are more or less Islamic. The purely 'rational' domain of politics in Bangladesh is long lost, and political Islam sets the framework for politics in the country. The reason behind this logic of Bangladeshi politics is formed, contained and expanded by ummah. Mubashar Hasan is a Research Fellow at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo. He is also an adjunct fellow at the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative in University of Western Sydney, Australia. He has published widely in academic journals and co-edited Radicalization in South Asia published in 2019. Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 A Case Study of the Evolution of Religious Politics in Bangladesh 1.2 Why Is Bangladesh Important? 1.3 A Brief Introduction to Bangladeshi Politics 1.4 Academic Literatures on Islam and Politics of Bangladesh: A Case for Ummah 1.5 From Ummah to Ummahs 1.6 My Background and Methods 1.7 Limitations References Chapter 2: Beyond Clash of Civilizations and Post-Islamism: Ummah(s) and the Muslim World 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Debate: From the Clash of Civilizations to Post-Islamism 2.3 Ummah, Identity, and Muslim Politics 2.4 Ummah: From Theology to Political Consciousness 2.4.1 Modernity, Ummah Consciousness, and Trends in Muslim Politics 2.4.2 The First Phase: Ummah as a Critique of Colonization and Modernity 2.4.3 The Second Phase: Construction and Expansion of Islamic Modernity 2.5 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Geopolitics of Ummah(s) in Bangladesh: A Historic Narrative 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Expansion of the Islamic Civilization to Ancient India: The Root of a Divided Ummah 3.3 European Colonization and the Formation of Ummahs in Bengal 3.4 Formation of Ummahs in the Colonial Period 3.4.1 The Faraizi Movement 3.4.2 Wahabi Movement 3.4.3 Institutional Establishment of Political Islam: The Deoband Madrasah 3.4.4 The Khilafat (Caliphate) Movement 3.4.5 The Taiyuni Movement 3.4.6 Muslim League and the Creation of Pakistan 3.5 The Socio-Political Reasons for the Rise of Ummah 3.6 The Creation of Bangladesh: A Tale of Divided Ummah 3.7 The Cold War, Oil Crisis, Arab-Israel War, and Formation of the Liberal Ummah in Bangladesh 3.8 Globalization of the War on Terror and Radical and Extreme Ummahs 3.9 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Awami League, Ummah, and Political Islam 4.1 Introduction 4.2 A Historical Synopsis of the Awami League 4.3 Organizational Structure 4.4 Aims and Key Principles 4.5 Discrepancies between Rhetoric, Reality, and Practice 4.6 Ummah, Islamic Identity in the AL Leadership and Politics 4.7 Alliance and Divergence with Islamist Parties 4.8 Conclusion References Chapter 5: The BNP, Ummah, and Politics in Bangladesh 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Rise of Zia and BNP in Bangladesh Politics 5.3 The BNP, Bangladeshi Nationalism, and the Search for an ‘Islamic’ State 5.4 Party Structure 5.5 Party Principles 5.6 Thwarting Freedom of Speech: The Case of Taslima Nasrin and the Citizenship of Ghulam Azam 5.7 Thwarting Equality and Liberty: BNP’s Moral Support to Hefazat-e-Islam (HI) 5.8 Alliances with Conventional Islamist Parties 5.9 Ummah, the BNP, and Politics 5.10 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Islamization, Ummah Consciousness and Mass Support for Political Islam 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Five-Year Plans: The Policy Framework to Construct an ‘Islamic Society’ 6.3 Religious Schools—Madrasah(s): The ‘Castles of Islam’ 6.4 State-Funded Islamic Missionary Activities 6.4.1 The Islamic Mission Targeting the Poor and Disadvantaged 6.4.2 Department of Deeni Dawah and Culture 6.4.3 Imam Training Academy—Targeting the Islamic Opinion Makers 6.4.4 Publications Promoting Political Islamist Thinkers 6.4.5 Mosque-Based Child and Mass Literacy Programme—Targeting the Poor 6.5 Private Missionary Activities: The Tabligh Jamaat 6.6 Islamization of the Public Sphere 6.6.1 Mosques 6.6.2 Public Islamic Preaching Sessions (Waj Mahfils) 6.6.3 Shrines (Mazars) 6.6.4 Removal of ‘Un-Islamic Sculptures’ from the Public Sphere 6.7 An Illiberal and Unsafe Society for Minorities 6.8 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Globalization and Transnational Ummah(s) in Contemporary Bangladesh 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Transnationalism and Ummah 7.3 Transnational Ummahs in Bangladesh: The Typology 7.3.1 Transnational Islamist Parties 7.3.2 Islamic NGOs 7.3.3 Cross-Border Movement of People 7.3.4 Scholarly Networks 7.3.5 The Internet 7.4 Three Implications 7.5 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Conclusion References Index