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Dhaka

Survival Instinct

With the revocation of the ban on its political activities, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh has once again witnessed a political revival and is likely to thrive in these changing times.

By Taha Kehar | October 2024


Four days before it was ousted in early August, the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League promptly clipped the wings of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Bangladesh, the country’s largest religious party. An executive order issued under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 further jeopardized the future of an already beleaguered party. As per the circular, the JI Bangladesh and its concomitant organizations -- including its student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir -- were barred from engaging in political activities because they had incited violence during student-led protests.

The decision drew a mixed response from political pundits. Proponents of the Awami League presented the JI Bangladesh as a warehouse of militancy. Predictably, many supporters of the erstwhile regime didn’t hesitate to evoke memories of the party as a purveyor of war crimes during 1971. In an effort to salvage his party’s image, the JI Bangladesh Chairman Shafiqur Rehman billed the executive order as little more than a diversion tactic. If Rehman’s assertions are anything to go by, the Awami League was deliberately adding a militant flavor to a genuine student-driven protest geared towards changing policies on quotas for government jobs.

Various oppositional forces also viewed the decision to ban the JI Bangladesh as part of a policy to appease the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party regime in India.

Days later, Bangladesh’s socio-political complexion changed once the Awami League’s long rule abruptly came to a staggering halt. Ousted leader Sheikh Hasina fled to India in a helicopter, and 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus formed a transitional government. Weeks after he assumed public office, Yunus lifted the ban on the JI Bangladesh and its associated organizations. An official notification revealed that “no specific evidence” had been found of their involvement in acts of terrorism and violence.

If news reports are to serve as a gauge, the executive order was expected to be revoked as the JI Bangladesh had actively engaged in dialogue with the interim government. These developments are yet another example of how the beleaguered political group has gained approval despite being mired in political challenges and controversies. Over the last few decades, the party has weathered countless political storms and, therefore, honed its survival instinct.

The Awami League’s efforts to crackdown on the JI Bangladesh have been steered by a desire to seek accountability for the latter’s historical missteps. For decades, both political factions have found themselves at loggerheads owing to their divergent ideologies. Soon after the creation of Bangladesh, a new constitutional provision sought to outlaw all religious parties for their anti-liberation stance. As a result, the JI Bangladesh faced its first-ever ban in 1972. In 1975, when General Ziaur Rahman assumed power by declaring martial law, the ban was revoked, and the JI witnessed its first political revival.

Incidentally, the JI Bangladesh has been a former ally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was created by General Ziaur Rahman in 1978. The latter was part of a coalition government led by the BNP in 2002 and 2006.


Owing to its conduct during the liberation struggle, the JI Bangladesh has found itself on the wrong side of history, with many of its leaders allegedly involved in genocidal acts and war crimes. During the Awami League’s long tenure, a large number of its leaders were awarded death penalties and life sentences by the International Crime Tribunal (ICT) for their involvement in acts of civilian violence in 1971. The ICT trials suffered from procedural flaws and were heavily criticized by rights organizations. Even so, the JI Bangladesh found itself in a quagmire. The party lost quite a few of its top leaders to the ICT trials and convictions. A vast majority of its workers and members of its student wing were also killed in clashes with the police during demonstrations against the ICT trials. Moreover, the children of JI Bangladesh leaders who had been convicted by the ICT were reportedly picked up from their homes and were never seen or heard from again. If party insiders are to be believed, over 200 of their activists have been killed at the hands of law-enforcement agencies, and 90,000 others -- including women -- are behind bars. Faced with these difficult circumstances, most JI Bangladesh leaders and activists were compelled to go into self-imposed exile in other countries.

However, the ICT trials were merely the tip of the iceberg. The JI Bangladesh was barred from participating in elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024 but found unique ways of maintaining its survival over the years. The party resorted to fielding candidates as independents to ensure its electoral survival. Many JI Bangladesh activists dialed down on their political activities and maintained a low profile to avoid arrest. Since public displays of activism came at a cost, the party encouraged people to instead imbibe their ideologies and embark on a religious path. Such tactics have also proved to be successful. According to a report in the Daily Star, the JI Bangladesh’s permanent membership has increased threefold over the last 15 years despite the prevailing climate of persecution.

The party has also made a concerted attempt to challenge its image as a regressive forum, with a largely anti-minority, sexist stance. It has simultaneously tried to alter public perceptions of its anti-liberation tendencies by expressing pride over the events of 1971. However, the JI Bangladesh has struggled to apologize for its role in the events leading up to the creation of Bangladesh. This has led several members of the party to break away and establish the Amar Bangladesh (AB) party. Such developments indicate the significance of political survival in a rapidly evolving polity.

Under the incumbent regime, the political mood is weighted against the Awami League. With the revocation of the ban on its political activities, the JI Bangladesh has once again witnessed a political revival and is likely to thrive in these changing times.

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