Bangladesh stands at a crossroads where religion is increasingly dictating the political narrative, especially as elections loom. A damning report exposes how nearly every party is leveraging faith-based appeals, from heavenly rewards to Sharia enforcement, to capture votes in a nation striving for progress.
Published on a prominent Bangla news portal, the piece cites TIB research attributing this surge to prolonged democratic deficits, homegrown extremism, and external radical influences. Election rallies have become spectacles of piety: politicians in traditional garb preaching divine favor for their ballots.
Jamaat-e-Islami faces particular scrutiny for peddling ‘paradise passes’ via party symbols, a tactic decried by BNP leaders as regressive medievalism. Yet, no party escapes blame. BNP’s 1991 fearmongering about mosques becoming Hindu sites set a precedent, mirrored by Awami League’s shrine-centric launches under Sheikh Hasina, who strategically adopted religious aesthetics in multiple campaigns.
Even alliances fracture over ideology—the Islamic Movement Bangladesh split from Jamaat and others over Sharia disagreements. Now, with 36% of candidates from Islamist outfits in the February polls—up dramatically from recent years—the trend is accelerating.
Out of 1,981 hopefuls from 51 parties, 13% run independent, but the Islamist share dominates, infiltrating administration and policy. This isn’t mere rhetoric; it’s a systemic shift eroding Bangladesh’s secular foundations laid post-independence.
As the nation eyes its future, stakeholders urge a return to issue-based politics. Without checks on religious politicking, Bangladesh risks sliding into theocracy, jeopardizing its hard-won pluralism and development gains.