Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামী
PresidentShafiqur Rahman
FounderAbbas Ali Khan
Founded1941 (1941)[1]
HeadquartersMogbazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Student wingBangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir
IdeologyIslamism
Social conservatism
Fascism[2]
Political positionFar-right[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Party flag
Website
jamaat-e-islami.org

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami[9] is the biggest Islamic political party in Bangladesh.[10][11][12]

The party started from Jamaat-e-Islami, made by Abul A'la Maududi in 1941. Before, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan did not want Bangladesh to be free from Pakistan.

When Bangladesh became free in 1971, the new government stopped Jamaat-e-Islami and all religion-based parties. After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed in 1975, the ban was removed. In 1979, Ziaur Rahman’s government allowed Jamaat-e-Islami to do politics again.[13]

In the 1980s, Jamaat joined a group of parties to bring back democracy against Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Later, it worked with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and its leaders became ministers in BNP governments (1991-1996 and 2001-2006). Awami League also worked with Jamaat in 1996 to get power.[14]

In 2008, Jamaat won two out of 300 seats in Parliament. In 2010, the Awami League government started trials for war crimes from the 1971 war. By 2012, two BNP leaders, one Jatiya Party leader, and eight Jamaat leaders were accused of war crimes. By March 2013, three Jamaat leaders were found guilty.

On 1 August 2013, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh said Jamaat-e-Islami cannot join elections. On 1 August 2024, Sheikh Hasina’s government fully banned the party.[15] But on 28 August 2024, after Sheikh Hasina’s government fell, the new government removed the ban.[16]

History

Hindustan Period (1941 - 1947)

:See Jamaat-e-Islami Hind

Pakistan Period (1948 - 1971)

: See: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan

In 1947 East Bengal became part of Pakistan (East Pakistan) - and the Jamaat-e-Islami was divided into separate Indian and Pakistani parties. The Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh originates from the East Pakistani party. The Jamaat were against Bangladesh becoming independent from Pakistan as they thought it was against Islam. However the Jamaat were unable to stop Bangladesh becoming independent of Pakistan.

Bangladesh Period (1978 - present)

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami was banned after independence of Bangladesh. Jamaat was banned in Bangladesh due to its opposite stand against independent Bangladesh during independence war. Jamaat wished to see united Pakistan. After independence of Bangladesh, the top leaders of Jamaat moved to West Pakistan where Jamaat-e-Islami was born. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, also cancelled the citizenship of Golam Azam, the leader of Jamaat. Azam then moved to London, and some other leaders moved to the Middle East. However Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975 and army chief Ziaur Rahman seized power. Rahman allowed the Jamaat to be a political party again. Rahman also allowed Azam to return to Bangladesh as the leader of Jamaat.

Election results

Election yearVotes% of PercentageSeats+/–
198613,14,0574.60%
10 / 300
Increase
1988Boycotted
19914,117,73712.2%
18 / 300
Increase 8
19963,653,0138.6
3 / 300
Decrease 15
20012,385,3614.28
17 / 300
Increase 14
20083,186,3844.6%
2 / 300
Decrease 15
2014Party banned in 2013
The Jamaat in parliamentary elections
YearResults
1973Party banned because of opposition to Bangladeshi independence, as it was an Islamist party and so was a threat to Secularism, and also collaboration of some of its members with the Pakistani army.
1979Party legalized under the name "Islamic Democratic League"
Together with larger Muslim League won 20 seats.
198610 seats.[17]
199118 seats.[17]
19963 seats.[17]
200117 seats. (took part by forming alliance with 3 other parties.)[17]
20082 seats.[18] (took part by forming alliance with 3 other parties.)
2013The Bangladesh Supreme Court declared the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami illegal,
ruling that the party is unfit to contest national polls.

References

  1. ↑ (in French) Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh ; Parti islamiste du Bangladesh (fondé en 1941) (interdit entre 1971 et 1978, puis en 2013 par la Cour suprême)
  2. ↑ "Newsfront". Pakistan Forum. 2 (1): 20–25. 1971. ISSN 0315-7725 – via JSTOR. The farcical "elections" in East Bengal are expected to produce an overwhelming "victory" for the "ideology and integrity" of Pakistan--i.e., a victory for the Jamaat-e-Islami and other fascist parties.
  3. ↑ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman (2026-02-12). "Voters in Bangladesh are asking the same question – where are the female candidates?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-15. The election is tightly fought between the Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP) and the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami party.
  4. ↑ Hasan, Mubashar (29 Dec 2025). "Why Mobs in Bangladesh Attacked the Offices of Daily Star and Prothom Alo". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 4 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-15. Bangladesh's ultra-nationalists, religious right and the far-right organizations, including the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
  5. ↑ Liton, Shakhawat (2026-02-14). "A verdict of the hour". The Business Standard. Archived from the original on 15 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-15. Yet the results also indicate a significant consolidation of far-right voters. Jamaat now emerges as the principal opposition force, a development that will reshape parliamentary dynamics.
  6. ↑ Shishir, Joynal Abedin (2022-12-22). "New coalition emerges as BNP looks to bury Jamaat ties". The Business Standard. Archived from the original on 22 Dec 2022. Retrieved 2026-02-15. The BNP has been widely criticised in recent years for its ties with the far-right Islamist organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.
  7. ↑ Marof, Mehedi Hasan (20 Jan 2026). "Bangladeshi Gen Z toppled ex-PM Hasina. Now they could decide next leader". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera Media Network. Archived from the original on 25 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-15. A far-right Islamist party, the Jamaat's opposition to Bangladesh's independence during the 1971 war has long limited its mainstream appeal.
  8. ↑ Purohit, Devadeep (29 Dec 2025). "How things have got worse for women of Bangladesh in Muhammad Yunus's regime". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 Dec 2025. Retrieved 15 Feb 2026. Not just a western educated liberal woman, the turn of events -- which can be linked to the rise of far-right political forces like the Jamaat-e-Islami and its associates -- has begun affecting ordinary women, many of whom had hit the streets against Hasina.
  9. ↑ Islam, Sirajul; Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, eds. (2003). Banglapedia: national encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-32-0576-6.
  10. ↑ "As Bangladesh Reinvents Itself, Islamist Hard-Liners See an Opening". The New York Times. 1 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Bangladesh's election: The tenacity of hope". The Economist. 30 December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2015. [The BNP] seems also to have been hurt by its alliance with Islamist parties, the largest of which, Jamaat-e-Islami, was reduced from 17 seats to just two.
  12. ↑ "Jamaat almost finalizes constitution of its new party". Dhaka Tribune. 17 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Why Jamaat-e-Islami banned?". Prothom Alo. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  14. ↑ "Then with AL, now with BNP". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  15. ↑ "Jamaat condemns ban on its activities, says govt wants to 'divert attention from student movement'". The Business Standard. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  16. ↑ "Govt issues gazette lifting ban on Jamaat, Shibir". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Rahman, FM Mostafizur (2012). "Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  18. ↑ "National Election Result 2008: Seat Wise Total Status". Archived from the original on 31 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2015.


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