Abstract
AbstractThe years 1975 and 1977 witnessed a wave of de facto military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. In Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq operationalized the country's preexisting Islamic identity from emblematic to substantive at both domestic and international levels. General Ziaur Rahman and General Ershad of Bangladesh revived the country's Islamic identity at the domestic and international levels and reopened the space for religious fractions that were banned from politics constitutionally in the previous regime. Focusing on military regimes in Bangladesh and Pakistan between 1975 and 1990, this paper aims to bridge that gap by specifically examining the use of Islam. This study argues that dictators in both countries used Islam to support their survival strategies of legitimacy, repression, and social control. Authoritarian rulers did not have to use Islam to maintain military coherence, because of the military's culture of subordination to superiors.
Highlights
The second half of the 1970s witnessed the emergence of two military authoritarian rulers in South Asia
Sheikh and Ahmed the state system, transforming the nation’s identity from “secular Bangladesh” into “Muslim Bangladesh”; religious political parties were allowed in politics (Hossain, and Siddiquee 2004, 384–99), the civil–military bureaucratic nexus was built up and overall, Bangladesh revived the Islamic ideology that had guided it during the Pakistan period (1947– 1971)
As we argue in this study was used more in other authoritarian strategies, such as for legitimacy, repression and social control
Summary
The second half of the 1970s witnessed the emergence of two military authoritarian rulers in South Asia. In 1975, after the bloody departure of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August and the “Sepoy mutiny” of November, General Ziaur Rahman (hereafter ZR) assumed power and became the de facto military ruler of Bangladesh (Hossain 2015, 381) Sheikh and Ahmed the state system, transforming the nation’s identity from “secular Bangladesh” into “Muslim Bangladesh”; religious political parties were allowed in politics (Hossain, and Siddiquee 2004, 384–99), the civil–military bureaucratic nexus was built up and overall, Bangladesh revived the Islamic ideology that had guided it during the Pakistan period (1947– 1971) This military regime was succeeded by General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1981, who continued to rule until 1990 and followed the same path. The military rulers used Islam strategically for attaining authoritarian legitimation, strengthening political and social stability domestically to gain legitimacy at home and abroad
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