Dhaka, Sep 19 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League party accused Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government of aligning with Islamist hardliners in a calculated manner warning that such moves are dragging the country into the abyss of religious fundamentalism.
Slamming Yunus, the party alleged that “under his watch, banned outfits like Hizb ut-Tahrir have resurfaced, convicted militants have been released, and extremist leaders are being welcomed into the political and administrative mainstream,”
“Shrines have been desecrated, minorities terrorized, women’s rights dismantled, and secularism itself is being erased from textbooks and constitutional language. This isn’t a failure of governance; it’s the deliberate empowerment of radicalism,” it further stated.
According to the Awami League, by giving space to fundamentalists, Yunus has weaponised religion as a political tool to strengthen his “shaky grip” on power.
Asserting that under Yunus regime Bangladesh now faces not just political instability, but an existential crisis, the party said that the country’s secular identity, social fabric, and very future are being held hostage to the ambitions of “one man”.
“By placing extremists inside key institutions, tolerating their return to campuses, and allowing groups like Jamaat-e-Islami to re-enter the political stage, Yunus has done more than just tolerate radicalism; he has mainstreamed it. What should have been a firewall between the state and militancy has been dismantled, leaving ordinary citizens, minorities, and secular voices more vulnerable than ever,” the Awami League emphasised.
Raising concern, the party stated that as Islamist forces reclaim space under the Yunus regime, Bangladesh’s minority communities, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, have found themselves once again living in fear.
For decades, the Awami League said these minority groups have been part of the nation’s cultural mosaic, yet today they face renewed threats of violence, intimidation, and forced displacement.
“In village after village, reports have surfaced of temples vandalized, churches attacked, and homes belonging to minority families torched. Many have fled ancestral lands after receiving threats, while others live in hiding, uncertain of whether the state will protect them. The exodus has been quiet but devastating, as families abandon livelihoods built over generations,” the party noted.
The Awami League stressed that the resurgence of radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir is not coincidental nor is the newfound influence of Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam over campus and cultural life in Bangladesh.
“Every concession to Islamist demands, whether sidelining secular voices in constitutional reform, ignoring attacks on minorities, or downplaying campus militancy, further entrenches extremism. By treating these groups as legitimate stakeholders, Yunus has opened the gates for their ideology to once again seep into the state machinery,” the party highlighted.
–IANS
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