Democracy and Political Islam in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article examines the deeply contested approaches of ‘political Islam’ towards modern democracy in Bangladesh, the third largest Muslim country in the world, where sharia law is not the source of public law and where a democratic government is in place. Selecting the political manifestos and constitutions of three different influential Islamist parties, the Jamat e Islami Bangladesh, Hizbut Tahrir Bangladesh and Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, the study examines through discourse analysis why Islamists take such a hostile approach towards democracy. At first sight, Islamists desire the establishment of an alternative governing system, such as the Caliphate, to replace the present parliamentary system of governance in Bangladesh. Islamists also advocate a change of state philosophy from ‘People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ to an ‘Islamic State’, arguing that sharia should be the legal framework of the country. The key finding of this research, however, is that Political Islam in Bangladesh is also perceived as a reaction to globalisation and that this global aspect, in theory and practice, may be more powerful as a reactive agent than local/national politics.