Our Men in Sathia

Secularism, Gangnam Style
There is no denying that classical secularism, born in the womb of European Renaissance with a call for the separation of state and religion, does not exist any more. Like any ideological belief, it has evolved and matured. At the same time, in practice, secularism differs from nation to nation. Ordinary Indians might have flirted with a party that believes in Hindu supremacy, but its democratic institutions have time and again shown its non-communal credentials. The pressure and reach of Christian lobbies in US politics is well known, yet, the country has remained a shining example of an egalitarian society, a country where you can become what you want to be, all you need is hard work and perseverance.
Things are a little different in Bangladesh. It has secularism as a guiding principle, and along with it stands Islam as the state religion. Use of religion in politics is heavy, so much so that the Awami League (AL), the country's largest secular political party had once promised to legalise fatwa, knowing some might even be in conflict with the country's secular judicial system. The recent blow has come when the government that it heads has suddenly decided to give approval to private kawmi madrasas certificates, which will make kawmi degrees equivalent to its secular counterpart. The move has clearly been aimed at appeasing some members of Hefazat-e-Islam (HI), which hogged the headlines by holding two mammoth gatherings in Dhaka's business district last summer.
Strange it may sound, the AL has its fair share in the rise of the HI. The party has on numerous occasions offered the HI inducements, the extent of which has even included some parliamentary seats. It has emboldened the group, which saw it as an example of its growing muscle in the country's politics.
Recent comments made by some senior AL leaders mean that even though the government has been successful in wiping out religious extremism from the country, religiosity in Bangladesh is increasing rapidly, so much so that the party in power has had to resort to religion (read Islam) to win votes. The Prime Minister in her last few speeches has not forgotten to mention that she is a practising Muslim, her days start with the morning prayers and she diligently recites from the Quran at every crack of dawn. It is indeed true that Sheikh Hasina is religious and seems to be well versed in Islamic jurisprudence. But, invoking Islam in a public meeting is not befitting of the chief of a secular political party, especially when she is the daughter of a great leader, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that is.
There is no denying the fact that religion gets a strong foothold in politics when politicians use it indiscriminately and a time comes when one fuels the other.
But make no mistake; HI is no Al-Qaeda. Its Hanafi strand of Islam is quite far away from the Salafi interpretation of the religion that works as Osama bin Laden and Co's ideological backbone. Having said that, Bangladesh badly needs a strong buffer that will stand between the moderate Islam that its citizens practise and violent ideologies. We should never mix half-hearted secularism with election-time Islamism. It helps no-one.

Mithus across the Country
It has been front page news last week. The junior minister for Home was seen in his constituency in Sathia with a known criminal who only a few moons ago was allegedly seen attacking Hindus. This is sad.
We know the kind of oppression that the religious minority in this country had to go through during the last BNP's government's term in office. We only hoped that under the AL, things would be different. But with a heavy heart we have noticed that things have hardly changed. From the attack on Buddhist temples in Ramu to the incident in Sathia, Pabna, on many such disturbing occasions, AL leaders have allegedly joined hands with its BNP and Jamaat counterparts to attack homes and places of worship of religious minorities. What are we left with, then? Which party will we vote for to keep our Hindu, Buddhist and Christian brothers and sisters safe?
It is true that in most of the cases the attacks are criminals in nature, and they are given a religious flavour to drum up support in favour of such dastardly acts. But when goons like Mithu become ministers' shadow companion, how and who are we to seek justice?

twitter: @ahmedehussain