Bangladesh is getting ready for elections on January 7, but some people are still not sure if the polls will be fair. The fight for power between the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has people all over the world interested. They see it as a battle between liberal and conservative groups.
Religion and Politics in Bangladesh: The AL and BNP are more than just names.
Which is it: the liberal AL or the conservative BNP?
Because of their past ties, the world story tends to make the AL sound like a secular party and the BNP sound like a conservative party. Bangladeshi politics are more complex than that, though, as you can see.
Religion and Politics in Bangladesh: Getting fuzzy about politics in Bangladesh
There are faith roots that go deep.
Since most of the people in Bangladesh are Muslims, Islamic ideals are deeply ingrained in its government. Faith is a way for both the AL and BNP to connect with people.
Religion and Politics in Bangladesh: Islam that is open to new ideas and freedom
AL is secular, but it doesn’t believe in God and has an open view of Islam. For this reason, atheism is a big part of Islam because it backs up everyone’s right to choose their own faith.
What’s the link between AL and BNP?
On both sides, has ties to Islamists
Not like most people think, but both AL and BNP are linked to Islamist groups. Most of the active Islamist groups were part of the AL or its partnership before the 2018 election.
Religion and Politics in Bangladesh: Putting sacred words in rules
Each party’s platform and speeches make religious problems a big part of their policies for the state.
Looking back at AL and BNP in the light of history
Religion and Politics in Bangladesh: AL is secular, but its ideas come from Islam.
Atheism being written into the constitution is often seen as something AL did just for show and not because they really believe in it. People think it’s smart that the party has ties to the Jamaat-e-Islami.
The BNP is based on Islam.
The BNP, on the other hand, changed the rule so that trusting Allah was more important. This was done to get help from Middle Eastern countries that sent people to Bangladesh.
The Role of Religion in Government
Big money is being put into religion.
A lot more money has been spent by the government on religion problems since the late 1970s! Over 6500% more money. This trend has been kept up by both the AL and BNP governments.
Being Muslim and running for office
All politicians say they are Muslim a lot of the time and bring religion customs into state and party work. There is more and more cooperation between Bangladesh and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Problems with Islam in Bangladesh and places where people agree
Lack of knowledge about God and “religious sentiment”
Hurting “religious sentiment” is now a crime in Bangladesh, so it’s dangerous to be not religious. It’s true that both big parties work with Islamist parties sometimes, but they also say that violence in the name of Islam is wrong.
How to Find Your Way Through the Political and Religious Scene
It is important to know how religion and politics are connected as Bangladesh gets ready for the upcoming elections. That there aren’t clear lines between liberal and conservative shows how important it is to take a broad view of the elections.