The emerging Islamist plexus in Bangladesh

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh has been rising, not only in the parliamentary and political-administrative spheres, but also outside the institutional structure in the form of the emergence of militant outfits. Therefore, one can state that the Islamists are following a twofold strategy: First, trying to undermine the political system from within by using the opportunities offered in a democratic form of governance, which can be described as the formal ‘political front’ of the fundamentalist movement. Second, the building up of an informal, extra-constitutional ‘militant front’. This finds its expression in the use of physical violence, armed confrontation, and other extra-judicial measures. (...)