ABSTRACT
While both international and domestic events since September 2001 have thrust the issue of Islamist politics in Bangladesh to the forefront of media and policy discourses, Islamist politics is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Islamists have been gaining strength over the last three decades, and had positioned themselves as a formidable political force in Bangladeshi politics by the mid-1980s. Over the last two decades Bangladesh has seen a phenomenal rise of political parties and organizations with an Islamist agenda. According to one account, in 1970 the number of Islamist parties was 11, while the number stood at 100 in 2006. 1 The exact number of Islamist parties is difficult to discern; but Election Commission (EC) records and intelligence reports provide some estimates. Islamist parties participating in the elections show a steady growth since 1979, the year when Islamists were first allowed to participate in elections in Bangladesh. This came after the constitutional provision prohibiting religion-based parties was rescinded by the then military ruler Ziaur Rahman. In 1979, only two Islamist political parties contested the election, the number stayed the same in 1986, but increased to 17 in 1991 and to 18 in 1996. The number declined slightly in 2001, to 11. 2 Election commission records show that at least 35 political parties bearing names suggestive of an Islamist agenda participated in elections between 1979 and 2001.
