The Awami League government made a lot of mistakes. De-listing Jamaat-e-Islami is not one.
In fact, the Awami League government didn’t even make the decision to de-list Jamaat as a political party.
A group of Bangladeshi citizens filed the petition against Jamaat in 2013. Their petition was heard by a high court, which decided in favor of the petitioners against Jamaat. Jamaat’s legal team appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the high court’s decision to de-list Jamaat.
We all know what Jamaat did when they didn’t get their way. Look it up if you can’t remember.
Now that the armed forces decided to brief Jamaat on the transition-in-power, the reprisals and communal violence has begun, and activists are telling us “what you need now is a Jamaat government”, it makes sense to consider whether the original case against Jamaat remains relevant today.
Supreme court advocate Tania Amir represented the petitioners in 2013. Her father is M Amir-ul Islam, who drafted the declaration of independence, and helped draft the constitution. Although her family supported the Awami League, government did not request her to take up the case. She took it up independently.
Full disclosure: I’ve met Amir. We’ve talked about it. She is not an Awami League apologist. She’s a patriot though and I can’t imagine her ever apologising for that. Take my word for what it’s worth.
Amir summarised the case against Jamaat in three points.
One, Jamaat’s party registration was un-constitutional. The constitution obliges citizens to refrain from communal politics and uphold the country’s independence and sovereignty.
Two, Jamaat violated the Representation of the People Order, 2008. That order, enacted by the then interim government, said all political parties needed women among their leadership.
Three, Jamaat’s aims ran counter to the Charter of Medina, signed by the Prophet Muhammed. Many interpret the charter as providing a framework for secular and democratic governance.
Now that the transition in power appears to have given Jamaat a new lease on life, we have a responsibility to reconsider the merits of the original case against Jamaat as a party.
Personally, I think Amir’s arguments are compelling. Whether you believe in the constitution, the non-partisanship of an interim government, or the Charter of Medina, there is something for you.
But ask yourself. Should parties refrain from communal politics? Should women be excluded from leadership roles? Should non-secular and -democratic parties participate in a secular democracy?
Your answers to these questions needn’t account for the Awami League government’s past. Reinstating Jamaat as a political party cannot make-up for the Awami League government’s past deeds. We can’t answer for the Awami League.
But we can think about the kind of future we want – even foreigners like me (Bangladesh is home to me too) – and consider how Jamaat fits into that picture.
I’ll go first. I’m told we live in a free country.
Jamaat had a decade to put itself on the right side of the law. Jamaat had a judgement they could have used as a self-help guide: disavow communal politics; place women in leadership positions; commit to a secular, democratic system of government. They chose not to.
Perhaps they were unable. One aspect of Jamaat that remains poorly understood is its overseas network. We don’t know where all their money comes from. We don’t really know how their associations work. A real can of worms.
Still, it feels ironic that – after a student movement rejected a political environment in which the leading parties accused each other of serving foreign interests – a group that actually has foreign branches should re-emerge as a credible actor. I’d have hoped we’d be done with all that.
It’s strange that Jamaat – who seem to have more lobbyists in Washington DC, London, and Brussels than Dhaka – should be briefed by the armed forces instead of student leaders who precipitated the transition in power. Maybe they know something we don’t.
And you know, it’s sad that Jamaat – who hasn’t renounced the 1971 war crimes and genocide, let alone the past decade of violence against students, free thinkers, and minorities – should influence the interim government that comes, and the democratic government we hope will emerge.
Ultimately, Jamaat just scares people. People who lived through Bangladesh’s first 50 years.
In my mind, Jamaat has shown why Germany banned the Nazis after World War II. Why the United States did not allow the Confederates to hold office after the American Civil War. If you want to be fascist in Germany, or a racist secessionist in the US, you don’t get to in the name of those who lost the war.
It’s a fair ask in the best of times. And these are not those times.
Bangladesh has a security problem. And a communal violence problem. No big secret. In truth, the army, paramilitaries, and police have never really been able to make everyone feel safe.
We have no reason to accept that as normal.
Back in the States, Vice President Kamala Harris just selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz earned a lot of plaudits for passing legislation that makes peoples’ lives better. But he earned his spot on the Democrat’s ticket because of his plain-spoken rhetoric.
“They want to take books away; they want to be in your exam room. That’s what it comes down to. Don’t go sugarcoating this – these are weird ideas”. Walz was talking about former president Donald Trump, and his Republican running-mate, JD Vance.
In another speech, he explained his thinking a bit more: “Look, are they a threat to democracy? Yes. Are they going to take our rights away? Yes. Are they going to put people's lives in danger? Yes”.
“But we’re not afraid of weird people. We’re a little bit creeped out, but we’re not afraid”.
I have to wonder what he might have to say about Jamaat. We may just find out, if Jamaat becomes a party again, and the Harris-Waltz ticket wins in November. I can’t imagine he’d be smiling.
Adam Pitman is an American writer in Bangladesh. His X handle is ar_pitman.
A shorter version of this article was first published on Dhaka Tribune.
