ABSTRACT
Bangladesh was founded in 1971 on the basis of secularist principles. The nationalist movement which led to its secession from Pakistan grew over decades from opposition to the Pakistani rulers’ use of religion in politics. The Pakistani military junta attempted to justify the genocidal war it unleashed against the Bengali population on 25 March 1971 by claiming that it was saving the Islamic ideals of the country. The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state was, therefore, seen by the protagonists as a victory over the abominable use of religion. In its early days of independence, Bangladesh succeeded in circumventing the explosive mix of religion and politics, giving rise to the hope that secular Bengali nationalism had done away with this phenomenon for good. But within less than three and a half years, the founding leaders were assassinated and the country changed its course under the military rulers who usurped power through a violent coup d’état. These events initiated a dramatic transformation in the country’s political landscape and discursive practices. Secularism as the state principle was deleted from the constitution and the state actively encouraged the role of Islam in public life. Constitutional restrictions on the establishment of religion-based political parties were removed by the military rulers and political parties with Islamist objectives re-emerged, including those who opposed the independence movement. In 1988, Islam was declared the state religion, but already from 1977 Islamists of various shades were emerging from oblivion onto the political scene. Over the following three decades, these parties carved out a significant space in the political landscape of the country. In 2001, the largest Islamist party and some smaller groups became partners of a ruling coalition with a right-of-center mainstream party.
