Bangladesh: JeI’s Political Reinvention – Analysis

By Sanchita Bhattacharya 

Since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) is back to the political forefront in Bangladesh, trying to expand its own area of influence and weigh its political options within the current chaos and instability.

On October 28, 2024, at a JeI protest rally at the Public Library ground against the ‘Logi-Boitha’ (Boat-hook and Oar) Movement by the Awami League on October 28, 2006, on which day six members of JeI were killed in broad daylight, council member Mahbubur Rahman Belal pledged to establish a ‘model Islamic society’ in honour of the ‘martyrs’ sacrifices’.

Belal stated, “The fascist Awami League murderers established a demonic reign by killing thousands of Islam-loving people. Almighty Allah has broken their all prides by sending them abroad through the student-people mass upsurge…That case has to be revived again. Murderer Sheikh Hasina must be brought to justice and be given appropriate punishment. “

On October 24, 2024, JeI’s chief Shafiqur Rahman announced at a meeting of the central working committee that Selim Uddin had been elected chief of JeI Dhaka City north unit for the 2025-2026 session.

On October 23, 2024, JeI filed a review petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in order to turn down its 2011 verdict that scrapped the non-party caretaker government system. JeI’s secretary general Miah Golam Porwar submitted the petition through his lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir seeking necessary directives to reinstate the system. 

On October 13, 2024, after 19 years, the Dhaka City north unit of JeI held a public conference called ‘Rukun Sammelan’ at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, to elect its next chief, with over 10,000 Rukun (party members) voting through secret ballots. During this conference, JeI chief Shafiqur Rahman called for the trial of the Awami League under laws that were enacted during the rule of the AL regime, stating that justice must be established as soon as possible to ensure that they [Awami League] get what they truly deserve. 

JeI got a new lease on life when, on August 28, 2024, the Interim Government led by Muhammad Yunus lifted the ban on the group and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS). Under the powers provided in Section 18 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, the Interim Government cancelled the previous circular that banned JeI-ICS. The Home Ministry issued a notification in this regard.

The gazette notification read, “Since there is no concrete evidence of involvement of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization Islami Chhatra Shibir in terrorism and violence… and since the Government believes that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and all its affiliates, including its student body Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, are not involved in terrorist activities.”

Earlier, on August 1, 2024, the previous Awami League-led government had banned JeI, ICS, and all of their associated organisations as political entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009, following nationwide unrest, citing the threat posed by the fundamentalist party to public security.

According to partial data collated by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), since the year 2000, 285 persons, including 112 civilians, 6 Security Force (SF) personnel, and 167 JeI/ICS cadres have been killed in 199 incidents of JeI-ICS linked violence (data till November 2, 2024).

JeI was formed in undivided India on August 26, 1941, in Lahore’s Islamia Park by its first Ameer (chief) Maulana Abul A’la Maududi, with the goal of developing an Islamic community of devout believers. After India’s Partition in 1947, the party was divided into Jamat-e-Islami Hind and Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. JeI started its activities in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during the 1950s. The Jamaat had also been banned on two earlier occasions, in 1959 and 1964, in Pakistan (prior to the creation of Bangladesh), for its communal role. During the Bangladesh liberation struggle, JeI in East Pakistan joined forces with the Pakistan Army to participate in the genocide of an estimated three million civilians, and a range of brutal crimes, including the widespread use of rape as a weapon. Jamaat has never regretted or offered apology for its role in 1971. 

In independent Bangladesh, JeI resumed overt activities in 1979. Between 1981 and 1987, the number of full members of JeI rose from 650 to 2,000, while associate membership doubled to approximately two million. The rising popularity of the organization renewed its political ambitions. The party played a crucial role in Governments formed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1991 and 2001. The JeI had 18 seats in the Jatiyo Shangshad(Bangladesh Parliament) of 1991 and 17 seats in 2001. In 1996, it had three seats. In the General Elections of 2008, it secured five seats. 

After the Awami League came to power in 2009, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) was established to try those accused of war crimes. The War Crimes (WC) Trials, which began on March 25, 2010, have so far indicted 50 members of JeI. Prominent leaders of Jamaat were convicted and hanged, including JeI politician Abdul Quader Mollah (hanged in 2013), Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami (hanged in 2016) and secretary general Ali Ahsan Mujaheed (hanged in 2015). Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years in prison, while Delawar Hossain Sayedee’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Both died while serving jail terms.

Yet, it appears, the Jamaat has been thriving. As reported in June, 2023, in 2008, the number of the party’s permanent members or Rukun was 23,863. That figure now stands at 73,046, a threefold rise. The Islamist party has also recorded a threefold rise in the number of its activists, which has leapt to 6.39 lakh from 2.21 lakh during the same period. Additionally, there has been a nearly fivefold rise in the party’s women Rukun, and a fourfold rise in women activists. Similarly, the number of associate members has now grown to 22.9 million from 10.3 million in 2008.

As expected, along with Jamaat, ICS is also demonstrating its ‘presence’ since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from power. 

On October 29, ICS announced its Jahangirnagar University (JU) committee, in a statement on its Facebook page. The names of the committee’s president Harunur Rashid Rafi, secretary Mohibur Rahman Mohib, and publicity secretary Abdullah Al Mamun Saki were declared. 

On October 28, a Facebook post by ICS revealed that it had 2,200 active members in the Islami University in Kushtia. The post identified ICS’s university unit president HM Abu Musa and general secretary Mahmudul, as having held their posts since January 1, 2024. 

On October 3, ICS’s Dhaka University (DU) unit declared its full 14-member DU committee. According to the announcement made on Facebook, Mohammad Abu Shadik Kayem was appointed president, with SM Farhad serving as the general secretary.

Further, on October 23, a Rangpur Court acquitted 41 JeI-ICS leaders and activists, in a case filed under the Speedy Trial Act-2002, 11 years ago. Judge Zulkan Nahim of the Rangpur Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-1 passed the order acquitting all the accused leaders and activists of Jamaat and Shibir. The case was filed for creating chaos and vandalism on February 18, 2013.

The Jamaat has also been trying to extend its outreach to other countries in order to expand its organisational base, mobilise new members and raise funds. In 2022, JeI sent letters to different Muslim countries and Islamic organisations abroad, describing its current political situation in Bangladesh and branding the then Awami League government ‘anti-Islam’. The organisation wrote to the Chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood on December 8, 2022; the Malaysian Prime Minister on November 24, 2022; the Chairman of The Welfare Party of Turkey on November 6, 2022; the President of The Felicity Party of Turkey on October 24, 2022; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 17, 2022 and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on September 30, 2022.

Since, August 5, 2024, representatives of many countries have tried to reach out to Jamaat to discuss the future course of politics in Bangladesh. On October 21, JeI chief Shafiqur Rahman met with the Ambassadors of Denmark and Sweden, Christian Brax Møller and Nicholas Weeks, along with Norway’s Deputy Head of Mission Marian Rabe Navelsrud. According to JeI’s press release, the meeting discussed Bangladesh’s interests, particularly its democracy and electoral system. The ambassadors shared their experiences with the numerical proportional election system used in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, offering suggestions on implementing a similar system in Bangladesh.

On October 14, Acting High Commissioner Nardia Simpson, Australian High Commission Bangladesh, met JeI chief Shafiqur Rahman to discuss Australia’s views on building strong institutions to ensure the protection and fulfilment of human rights. Shafiqur disclosed that they discussed how to advance relations with “mutual respect and love,” and described the meeting as “very friendly and successful.”

Earlier, on September 2, 2024, Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Yao Wen held a meeting with Jamaat’s chief Shafiqur Rahman at the party’s central office in Dhaka. The two talked about political changes in Bangladesh and promised closer co-operation between the people and governments of both the countries.

Under the current political scenario of Bangladesh, JeI-ICS are here to stay, thrive and assert their radical political ambition. The future of Bangladesh is likely to substantially be dictated by the radical ideology of JeI-ICS cohort, as democratic and liberal voices are systematically silenced in the country.

• Sanchita Bhattacharya 
  Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management