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Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 5, Number 3, 2004 13 Routledge § A Taylor & Franc is Cro i Islam in Bangladesh politics: the role of Ghulam Azam of Jamaat-I-Islami Ishtiaq HOSSAIN & Noore Alam SIDDIQUEE ABSTRACT In recent years, Islam has emerged dramatically in the politics and news headlines of the world. As elsewhere in the Muslim World, the impact of the Islamic resurgence movement is clearly visible in contemporary Bangladesh. Organized and led by Ghulam Azam until very recently, the Jamaat is now the largest and most active Islam-based political party in Bangladesh. This paper attempts to analyse the politics of Jamaat, with reference to Ghulam Azam and his political ideas and thought. First, this paper attempts to put }amaat-I-Islami within the context of Bangladesh politics. We then provide a short biographical sketch of Ghulam Azam, showing his exposure to both Western and Islamic educations and their impact on his political activities. This paper next focuses on some of his political ideas and contributions and analyses them in the light of contemporary socio-political realities in Bangladesh, demonstrating the significant and controversial impact of his political activism and strategies on contemporary Bangladesh politics and society. The paper concludes that neither Ghulam Azam nor his party has been able to change generally negative perception about Jamaat and thus significantly widen its acceptance among the masses. Rather, at times, comments of Jamaat leadership like 'we did no mistakes in 1971' have infuriated the nationalist and patriotic forces and w idened the gap between Jamaat and common people. It remains to be seen how Ghulam Azam and the new Jamaat leadership tackle these challenges in future. KE YWORDS: Ghulam Azam, Jamaat-I-Islami, Bangladesh politics and society, Islamic Chatra Shibir, Awami League, war of liberation, al-Badr, al-shams, B NP Introduction Since the late 1970s, Islam has emerged dramatically in the politics and news headlines of the Muslim World.^ Bangladesh, the third largest Muslim country in the world, is no exception to this trend. As elsewhere, the impact of the Islamic resurgence movement,^ which among others wants to see the establishment of a state based on the principles of Shari'rah, is clearly visible in contemporary Bangladesh. While there are a large number of political parties in Bangladesh which favour the adoption of Islamic principles in the society and polity, the Jamaat-I-Islami Bangladesh (henceforth, Jamaat) is undoubtedly the most important and well-founded. Orga- nized and led by Ghulam Azam until very recently, the Jarnaat is now the largest and most active Islam-based political party in Bangladesh. It has strong institutional networks and support throughout the country. With a considerable number of followers among the students, intelligentsia, civil servants, military and other strata of the society, Jamaat has already emerged as a force to be reckoned with in national politics. It has also attracted a sizeable portion of the votes cast in all recent national and local elections. The Islami Ghatra Shibir, the student wing of the Jamaat has gained ground steadily both among the students of traditional madrasas an d modern institutions. Much of the Jamaat's present success could be attributed to the personality and leadership of Ghulam Azam. ISSN 1464-9373 Print/ISSN 1469-844 7 Onlme/04/030384-15 © 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/1464937042000288688

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Islam in Bangladesh politics 38 5

This paper attempts to analyse the politics of jamaat, with reference to Ghulam Azam andhis political ideas and thought. The following section attempts to put jamaat-1-lslam within thecontext of Bangladesh p olitics. The section after prov ides a short biographical sketch of GhulamAzam, showing his exposure to both Western and Islamic education and their impact on hispolitical activities; he was involved in the 1952 language movement and later moved towardsthe political views of Ma wd udi. We then focus on some of his political ideas and contributions

and analyse them in the light of contemporary socio-political realities in Bangladesh, demon-strating the significant and controversial impact of his political activism and strategies oncontemporary Bangladesh politics and society.

Jamaat-I-Islami and Bangladesh politics

Ghulam Azam and the jamaat hav e been at the centre of controversy since 1971 for their allegedcollaboration with the Pakistani military junta during Bangladesh's war of liberation. As such,for much of his political career Ghulam Azam has been the subject of fierce criticism from thesuccessive governments, mainstream opposition and the secular intelligentsia. Nevertheless, hehas been the most influential figure in the jamaat-I-Islami movement and his followers generallyhave a very high regard for him and his contributions to Islam and the nation, seeing him not

only as a legendary hero of Islam, but also as a great philosopher-cum-social reformer(Kamruzzaman 1989, Nu ruzza ma n 1992) in contem porary times. On the other ha nd, his radicalcritics see him as a fanatic on the one extreme and as an enemy of the nation on the other. Manyof the Islamists in Bangladesh are critical of him and h is party, a phenom enon that underm ineshis personal credibility and the vision for realizing the S/zfln"ra/i-based administration in thecountry. Thus, he remains a highly controversial political figure in contemporary Bangladesh.

Despite such controversies and a generally hostile environment, Ghulam Azam and thejamaat have been able to make considerable inroads in Bangladesh politics over the pastdecades. A party that was banned for nearly eight years following the country's independencehas subsequently managed to reorganize itself to become a powerful force with growingpolitical influence. With its extensive organizational networks throughout the country, a hugefollowing among the students, and a strong cadre of dedicated workers in all strata of the

society and administration, jamaat now stands as the third largest political party in Bangladesh.^It has also been able to translate its popular support into electoral victory, jamaat won 18parliam entary seats in the 1991 parliam entary elections and its sup po rt was crucial for theBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to form the government. It did not fare very well in the1996 parliamentary elections, managing to win only three parliamentary seats, and most of itscandidates lost their depo sits. In 2001, howev er, jamaat had a better show, winning 17 out of31 seats they were allotted by the coalition, with marginal losses in some of the 14 constituen-cies they contested (Karim 2004: 93). In 2001, jamaat's alliance with the BNP had proved sosuccessful that the ruling coalition was able to gain an absolute majority in the presentparliament. Given all this, jamaat has to be considered as a considerable force in Bangladeshpolitics. It is generally believed that all this has been possible because of the dedication andhard work of the jamaat leadership, especially Ghulam Azam, who has been steering the partydirectly or indirectly since the mid-1960s. He is also seen by the jamaat followers as a visionaryleader and an ideologue.

Ghulam Azam: a short sketch of his life and career

Bom in 1922 in a respected Muslim family, Ghulam Azam spent his childhood in Birgaonvillage of Comilla district located in the then Bengal province of British India. He received hisearly education at the village where he attended several institutions vmtil he sat for the JuniorMadrasa examination in 1937. Having obtained a first division, he moved to Dhaka to join the

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Govenunent Islamia Intermediate College for better education. He passed his High Madrasaexamination (equivalent to Secondary School Certificate examination) in 1942 and Intermediateor Higher Secondary Certificate examination in 1944 with distinction.

Although he had special interests^ in studying Islam, he did n ot purs ue studies in theologyor Islamic studies. Instead, upon completion of the higher secondary examination he joined theUniversity of Dhaka. He earned his BA degree in 1946 and MA in Political Science from the

same institution in 1950. At university he became active in student politics;^ he was elected asthe General Secretary of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) for twoconsecutive years, 1947-48 and 1948^9. This was the beginning of his long political career.

With the partition of India in 1947, the eastern part of the Bengal province became one ofthe provinces of the newly formed Pakistan. In the name of fostering national unity, thegovernment of Pakistan sought to impose Urdu as the state language on the people of theeastern part, as in the rest. As the General Secretary of DUCSU, Ghulam Azam played a crucialrole in the movement against such an attempt. He was among the early leaders who rejectedthe government's intention and submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister LiaquatAli Khan demanding that Bangla be made a state language along with Urdu. Though subse-quently he had to leave Dhaka University to start a teaching career at a government college, hecontinued to m aintain strong suppo rt for the movemen t. By 1952, the mov ement entered a new

phase with massive support from people of all walks of life. The Pakistan government, unableto put dow n the movem ent, responded with violence. On 21 February 1952, scores of studentswere killed. Since then, 21 February is celebrated as the Language Martyrs' Day. As a mark ofrespect to this date, UNESCO has declared 21 February as the International Language Day andis celebrated throughout the world.

Ghulam Azam spent 5 years (1950-55) in Rang pur, a district town in northern Bangladesh.While his principal occupation Wfas teaching Political Science at the Government CarmichaelCollege, he was able to spare time for da'wah activities. First, he joined the Tabligh Jamaatmovement and travelled to different parts of the country along with its Ameer Maulana AbdulAziz, to convey the message of the movem ent to the people across the country. He acted as theAmeer of Tabligh Jamaat, Rangpur district during the period 1952-1954. His interest in Islam andquest for implementing Islamic principles encouraged him to be associated with Tamuddun

Majlish, a contemporary politico-religious movement and he became the head of its Rangpurbranch until 1954. He shouldered the responsibilities of both organizations, they being comple-mentary to one another.

It was through association with Tamaddun Majlis that Ghulam Azam came to know aboutthe writings of Maulana Mawdudi. His interest in Mawdudi drove him to learn Urdu, whichsubsequently opened up the door to huge Islamic literature written in Urdu. While there werea number of individuals* and organizations that had significant bearing on his thinking, it wasMawdudi who had the most profound influence on his personality, political ideas andphilosophies. He was much inspired by Mawdudi's writings and especially the latter's'scientific approach to polities', and decided to join Mawdudi's Jamaat-I-Islami Pakistan in 1954.He became a full m ember in the following year while he was im prisoned. M eanwhile, he gaveup his teaching position in order to be more actively involved in the p arty activities, and withintwo years was elected as the Secretary General of }amaat-I-Islami, East Pakistan.

In 1964, when the military government of General Ayub Khan banned the politics of Jamaat,

Ghulam Azam was arrested and kept behind bars for eight months without trial. He waselected as the Am eer of Jamaat in East Pakistan in 1969 and remained in the same position untilthe emergen ce of Bangladesh in 1971. He co ntested in the 1970 elections as a can didate of theJamaat. The results came as a surprise to many: the Awami League (AL) won an absolutemajority in the Eastern wing, winning 167 out of 169 seats of the provincial assembly. GhulamAzam accepted the popular verdict and congratulated the AL for its victory.

The period between 1971 and 1991 was a difficult time for Ghulam Azam as he had to face

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a series of traumatic experiences v^^ith regard to his nationality, and trial at 'citizen's court' forwar crimes. The single most important factor that put him an d Jamaat into controversy is theirrole during Bangladesh's liberation movement in 1971, Jamaat was sympathetic to the idea ofa united Pakistan because of religion. Therefore, it sided with Pakistan, With arms and weaponssupplied by the Pakistan army, the Jamaat organized the Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars andfought pitched battles against the Mukti Bahini (freedom-fighter) guerrillas (Marty and Appleby

1991: 501; Has hm i 1994: 102), and acted closely with th e Pa kistan army in carrying out one ofthe largest genocides in recent history. Although Ghulam Azam and his associates deny anywrong doing or having any involvement in the mass killing in 1971, Jamaat is generally seen asa collaborator of the Pakistan army. There have been accusations that Ghulam Azam had adirect hand in the massacres carried out by the Pakistani military and that the members of theal-Badr were involved in kidnapping and killing of Bengali intellectuals on 15 December, 1971,just one day before the surrender of Pakistani forces in Dhaka, Strong deruals from GhulamAzam and Jamaat in this regard did not remove the clouds of doubt from the minds of people.The government of Bangladesh, soon after the independence (in April 1973), stripped him andmany others of their citizenship for their alleged collaboration with Pakistan,

The political developments in Bangladesh in the early 1970s took him to London where helived for eight years. Following the political changes in Bangladesh in the mid 1970s, Ghulam

Azam w as allowed to return hom e in 1978, How ever, he had to wait until 1991'' to become theAmeer of Jamaat-l-lslami Bangladesh and fought a lengthy legal battle to restore his citizenship in1994, The activities of the Jamaat and other Islam-based parties were banned by the newgovernment that took over following the independence of Bangladesh, The Jamaat's rehabili-tation began with the rise of General Ziaur Rahman to power in 1975 following the assassin-ation of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members. One of Ziaur Rahman's earlyacts was to lift the ban, imposed by the Awami League government in 1972, on participationof religious parties, including Jamaat' s in politics of the country. This cleared the way for theJamaat to take part in the politics of the state, whose establishment in 1971 it had vehementlyopposed as a further division of South Asia's Muslim Community, Jamaat and Islam-basedpolitical parties gained further ground in 1977 when General Ziaur Rahman replaced secular-ism with 'absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah' as one of the cornerstones of the

constitution. Following the death of Zia and short rule by Justice Sattar, Ershad came to powerin 1982 and continued to pursue the Islamization process. He emphasized the Islamic characterof the state, brought about the eighth amendment to the constitution, giving Islam the statusof a state religion. Rather than welcoming this step, the Jamaat, in fact, criticized this move byErshad, The Jamaat saw this move as a ploy to prevent the establishment of an Islamic Republicbased on the principles of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Nevertheless, Zia's decision to allow theIslamic parties to participate in politics was a major gain for parties interested in turningBangladesh into an Islamic state (Evans 2001: 69-87),*

Ghulam Azam's election to the post of Ameer in 1991 had ignited the political landscape anda group of intellectuals and relatives of the victims of the 1971 genocide launched a movementunder the banner of Ghatak Dalai Nirmul Committee to try Ghulam Azam for war crimes. Thegovernment arrested him for formally assuming party portfolio while his nationality remainedunresolved and, the 'People's Court' in its verdict gave him a life sentence. He remained firmin his ow n conviction and faced all the challenges an d difficulties until the verdic t of the high estcourt concerning his nationality came out in his favour. He continued as the Ameer of the Jamaatuntil December 2002 when he voluntarily resigned from the position in order to spend moretime for Islami Chaira Shibir - the student wing of the Jamaat - and complete the tafsir of theQur'an, Although he decided to step down from the highest position of the party, after steeringthe party for a period of three decades, he continues to be the main source of inspiration andguidance to thousands of Jamaat followers. As such, he can rightly be seen as the de facto Ameeras far as the Jamaat's politics is concerned.

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While leading the Islamic Movement of Bangladesh, which also stands as one of the largestpolitical parties in Bangladesh, Ghulam Azam realized that the Islamic movement he wasleading could hardly be successful without adequate literature and publications of variouskinds. This, he believes, is crucial for promoting the intellectual, moral and spiritual develop-ment of jamaat workers who would ultimately make tbe movement successful. Tberefore, bebas committed bimself for tbe task and continued to support tbe movement tbrougb bis

writings. He focused on translating works of Mawdudi, writing tbe tafsir of Al Qur'an andwriting books on a variety of issues witb tbe aim of guiding tbe jamaat workers. He bas provedbimself as a prolific writer. His writings bave captured mostly issues relating to Islam andIslamic movements, tbe Qur'an, tbe life of tbe Propbet Muhammad (p.b.u.b), tbe Muslimsociety and culture, jamaat-I-Islami and tbe Bangladesb politics. He bas also written on a varietyof other issues such as family planning, secularism as an ideology and democracy versussocialism. As of now, be bas publisbed over 70 books, booklets and monograpbs of differentsizes and lengtb.'

Ghulam Azam's political ideals and other contributions

Ibrabim A. Karawan (1997: 14) points out tbat Islamists commonly believe tbat Islam encom-passes tbree 'Ds ' - din (religion), dunya (Ufe) and wa dawla (state) - tbat bave to be implementedin its entirety. As an Islamist, tberefore, Gbulam Azam believes tbat individual adberence to tbefaitb is not sufficient to bring ab out a n Islamic society. His political career has been devo ted toaccomplishing the three goals in Bangladesh. However, he is neither an ideologue nor areformist in the conventional sense of the term. Instead, one may consider him as a followerand imitator of Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, tbe foremost Islamic tbinker and pbilosopber of tbeIndian subcontinent. In fact, be considers Mawdudi tbe leading Islamic tbinker of tbe 20tbcentury (Azam 1997: 26-36) and a mentor wbo bad tbe most profound influence on bis tbinkingand political life. As noted earlier, Mawdudi's writings bad so mucb impact tbat Gbulam Azamdecided immediately not only to join tbe movement Mawdudi bas launcbed, but also to quitbis government job to become a full-time worker of tbe jamaat. In 1964, wben tbe military

government of Ayub Kban outlawed tbe jamaat-I-Islami Pakistan and arrested almost all its keyleaders, be was placed in Labore jail along witb M awd udi for two m ontbs, during wbicb tbeyworked togetber. Gbulam Azam was to claim tbat be benefited tremendously from tbeexperience and was given tbe responsibility to continue tbe mission in tbe tben Eastern part ofPakistan (now Bangladesb). Tberefore, one would find striking similarities between wbatMawdudi proposed and wbat Gbulam Azam asserts.

The Islamic state

Gbulam Azam's views of tbe Islamic state can be better understood from bis reflections on tbedifferences betw een Islamic political pbilosopby and western secular democracy, particularly intbe context of bis insigbts on tbe sovereignty of AUab, wbich is in fact a leading theme of

Mawdudi's political thought. Ghulam Azam argues that Islamic political philosophy is antithet-ical to secular western democracy. Tbe pbilosopbical foundation of Western democracy is tbesovereignty of tbe people. Islam repudiates tbe tbeory of popular sovereignty and rears itspolity on tbe foundations of sovereignty of Allah and tbe supremacy of tbe Qur'anic laws astbe foundation of sucb an Islamic state. It signifies tbat tbe Muslim community as a wboleenjoys political power as a trust of AUab, under tbe limitations imposed by the Shari'rah. Islamthus provides 'theo-democracy''" where the Muslims can elect a legislature consisting of pious.God-fearing men who would enact new legislation in tbe spirit of tbe Qur'an and Sunnah only.In Western democracy tbe state enjoys tbe rigbt of absolute autbority, in Islam tbe government

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is bound to keep within the limits prescribed by the divine code (Banu 1994: 80-99; Ahamedand Nazneen 1990: 795-808; HamiduUah 1968; and Vatikiotis 1987).

In Islamic political order, Ghulam Azam contends that the Muslims are required to obeyfellow Muslims in authority; an authority that is in turn subordinate to the obedience of Allahand His messenger. An Islamic polity is, therefore, different from other political systems as itrecognizes the Qur'an and Sunnah as the primary sources of law. All matters of disputebetween the goverrtment and g overned m ust be resolved in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnahand the parties involved must be prepared to accept the judgement sincerely. In other words,the injunctions of Allah and the ways of the Prophet constitute the basic law and paramountauthority in all matters of the state and society. There is no scope whatsoever for thegovernment in an Islamic state to be autocratic or authoritarian as its power is strictly restrictedby the Holy Qur'an and the practices of the Prophet. People also reserve the right to raiseobjections if the government/administration violates the injunctions of the Shari'rah. GulumAzam ma intains that it is this type of Islamic state that Jamaat strives to establish in B angladesh.

The whole purpose of the Islamic state, for Ghulam Azam, is to enforce the Islamicprinciples of morality and ethics, in political, economic and social policies and penal laws.According to him, the specific objective of the government in an Islamic state is twofold: toestablish al-Din (faith) and to secure and protect the interests of the ruled. Although the

establishment of the faith as a purpose of the government is of vital importance, an even morecrucial aim is the implementation of social justice. Following Mawdudi, he argues that anIslamic state aims not merely to prevent people from exploiting each other, but it also seeks tosafeguard their liberty. More importantly, it aims at developing a system that upholds theprinciples of fairness, equity and social justice. In the Islamic state, political power is used toeradicate all forms of evil and to encourage and promote all virtues mentioned by Allah in HisHoly book. In this connection, Gulum Azam (2000: 20-34) has identified four broad areas ofgovernmental activities: development of morality and ethical behaviour at all levels of thesociety, establishment of a fair and just financial system, promotion of welfare programmes andprevention and elimination of harmful activities in the society. Since an Islamic state is basedon a specific ideology, some of the highest positions in such a state can only be eligible to, andbe occupied by, Muslims. Non-MusUms, however, are also entitled to some eminent if not the

top positions, for sonte ideological reasons. The most important point to note here is that thenon-Muslims would be given full state protection in terms of preserving and maintaining theirlives, honour, property, religions and cultures. Thus, he asserts that like the sun and moon, theIslamic state and political and economic guidelines and the codes of administration as revealedby Allah would benefit Muslims and non-Muslims alike. He argues that, in Bangladesh, the fateof Muslims and people of other religions is linked. Therefore, what is beneficial for the countryis beneficial to all classes of people irrespective of their religious beliefs.

Implementation of the Islamic State: methods and tools

How to establish such an Islamic state? Ghulam Azam (2002: 16-18) is of the opinion that themethods of bringing about the Islamic socio-political change were delineated by the Prophet

himself. The Prophet presented and propagated the message revealed to him by Allah,organized those who believed in the message, trained the believers in their responsibilities forestablishing the divinely prescribed order of human society and ultimately placed them at theleadership positions for the fulfilment of his mission. Since it is impossible to deve lop a nd runa state, government or society based on divine rules without any institutional means and agroup of well-organized and highly committed workers, he attaches special importance to theorganizational matters. Therefore, the Jamaat is seen by him as a vehicle to recruit, organize andprepare the workers for an Islamic movement, workers who would eventually catalyse thetransformation of the society along the lines stated above.

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It is through Jamaat that Ghulam Azam wants to materialize his vision of the Islamic state.

It is an organization and movement that he has steered, guided and nurtured, bears much of

the testimony of the applied aspects of his political ideas and thoughts, and has the ultimate

aim of establishing an Islamic state in Bangladesh. A fundamental difference with other Islamic

groups and organizations active in Bangladesh today, is that Jamaat may rightly be regarded as

a revivalist movement that seeks total transformation of the society in accordance with the

tenets of Islam as understood and interpreted by Maulana Abul Ala Mawdudi. According toGhulam Azam, Jamaat is not a religious political party in the conventional sense of the term, but

an ideological movement for transforming the society on Islamic principles:

The Jamaat is simply neither a political party nor merely a religious organization. It has

embraced Islam without any reservation and it considers Islam to be a complete and

balanced code of conduct. So the Jamaat is both political and religious. It is political to

the extent Islam is political, it is neither more nor less political than what Islam wanted

to be. (Azam 1968: 62-63)

In order to achieve its goals and objectives, a four-point program of activities has been

adopted by Jamaat:

(1) Da'wah and Tabligh (call and propagation)

This essentially means presenting the teachings of Islam and inviting people towards its

right path. This involves at least three main objectives, namely (i) to reconstruct Islamic

thought on the basis of the Qur'an and Sunnah while looking into the contemporary

problems and making use of ijtihad whenever necessary; (ii) to present Islamic solutions

to various problems of the modem age and to show the deficiencies of the prevailing

concepts and ideologies; and (iii) to widen the people's knowledge of Islam so that they

are encouraged to actively join the Islamic movements.

(2) Tanzeem and Tarbiah (organization and training)

This component includes among other things, (i) identifying and organizing people who

are honest. God-fearing and Islamic-minded, (ii) training them through various practical

activities to become true-Muslims and competent khadim-e-deen, and finally (iii) facilitat-

ing honest leadership in the society through the development of a cadre of workers with

high ethical and moral character.

(3) Islah-al-Maosharah (social reform and welfare)

This involves an extensive involvement of workers in social services and welfare

activities. While the ultimate aim is to motivate the people to strive for implementing

an Islamic state, the immediate objectives of such activities are to eliminate immoral and

anti-social activities from the community and to uplift the condition of the people and

the society as a whole.

(4) Islah-al-Hukumat (reforms in government and administration)

The people prepared, as outlined above, are expected to strive to capture power in order

to replace the existing 'un-Islamic' system of government and administration with the

Islamic one. Ghulam Azam (1978: 42-43) considers that Jamaat and its workers should

(i) advise the government in power in terms of internal administration, law and foreign

policy, health, education and other developmental matters, and (ii) assist and support

the election of honest and competent people in positions of leadership at all levels.

The active role played by dedicated and trained workers and leaders with regard to the

above has been supported by the huge amount of literature produced on various aspects of the

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movement. Thus, Jamaat has been able to bring under its fold people from all walks of life. Ithas also created separate platforms for various occupational and professional groups, v^^hichhave mobilized a large nunnber of people thus giving further strength to its organization.Despite this, the leadership is of the opinion that there is also a need for collaboration andcoordination among other Islamic parties and groups. Thus, Ghulam Azam stresses that, inorder to ensure the victory of Islam, Jamaat's policy is to cooperate actively with all other

political parties and groups, especially those based on Islamic ideology and principles,

Islam and democracy

In contrast to the democratic order that was developed in the West, the moderate Islamicmovement has come up with its plan of democratization, which may be dubbed as 'Islamicdemocracy'. The central feature of the latter recognizes the binding and normative nature ofdivine law and revelation as a guide to public policy, Iran's President, Mohammad Khatami,and Islamic thinkers such as Tunisia's Rached Ghannouchi argue that a pragmatic interpret-ation of the sacred texts and reliance on Islam's democratic ideals is the most stable path forthe Muslims, Other features of this movement are the following: an emphasis on Islam'simportance to equality and justice, which empowers the individual to disobey a tyrannical

ruler, and the Qur'anic designation of human beings as Allah's agents, responsible for themanagement of His domain, and respecting individual liberty.

Traditional Islamic doctrines such as the notion of shura (consultation) and ijma (consensus)are being interpreted to reflect a democratic perspective. The notion of shura is seen asmandating popular participation in public affairs and establishes the foundation for a govern-ment, which is accountable. The concept of ijma has been reinterpreted to serve as the basis ofmajority rule, A society resting on a larger consensus is bound to produce a more just andequitable polity. Through these progressive re-evaluations of Islamic doctrines and symbols,moderate Islamists have suggested that popular participation is the only legitimate basis ofgovernm ent. For many Muslims, democratic principles are not only compatible with Islam butrepresent its ultimate objective: the conception of an ideal Islamic society can only be achievedthrough democratic institutions and in making sure that the rulers are accountable for their

actions to the people,A brief analysis of this concept would demonstrate that Ghulam Azam's 'theo-democracy'

is not different from 'Islamic democracy'. His views on politics as a process through which thegoverrunent is formed and changed, people are organized and the qualities of leadership areinculcated among them. According to him, the sole objective of politics should not be to grabpower but to conduct the affairs of the government in a well-organized manner with the fullconsent of the people (Azam 1978: 6-7), In his book Bangladesher Rajniti {Politics in Bangladesh)he briefly outlined his views, among others, on the nature of politics in Bangladesh, and therelationship between Islam and democracy in the country. For him, democracy is the system inwhich the government is formed through free and fair elections. He identifies the followingprinciples of democracy:

• Representatives elected by the majority of the popula tion are entitled to be in pow er;• Free and fair elections are to be ensu red so that the opposition p olitical parties accept the

validity of the election results;• In order to ensure the well-being of the nation, people m ust enjoy the right to point out the

mistakes of the government. This principle is to be made into an essential part of thedemocratic order so that political parties may play their role constructively within the boundsof the law of the land;

• The capture of power by any means other than through the support of the government iscontrary to the democratic principles; and.

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• The principles pertaining to the formation, change, and ru nnin g of the governm ent are to beenshrined in the constitution. (Azam 1993a: 40-41)

He emphatically maintains that the above-mentioned principles of democracy do not in anyway contradict an Islamic political order which does not support authoritarianism or any otherforms of government that do not rest on popular will. While he refers to the importance ofequality and justice, which empower the individual to disobey a tyrannical ruler, he alsoemphasizes that it is the sacred duty of the people to point out the mistakes of the government.As in Islamic democracy, the traditional Islamic doctrines such as shura (consultation) are be inginterpreted to reflect a democratic perspective, and popular participation is the only legitimatebasis of government. However, he also warns that there is a fundamental difference betweendemocracy an d the Islamic polity. While the central them e of democracy is pop ular sovereigntyor parliamentary sovereignty that has the absolute authority to frame laws on all matters, Islammaintains that sovereignty belongs to Allah. Neither the people nor the popularly electedparliament has the right to enact any law contrary to the divine codes (Azam 1995: 180-182).

Freedom

Ghulam Azam considers freedom as one of the most fundamental and inalienable humanrights. He asserts that people are bom free. He argues that the conventional understanding offreedom as freeing a nation from the clutches of foreign domination/alien rule is not freedomin the real sense of the term. Political freedom becomes m eaningless if there is an autho ritarianregime whereby people are vmable to enjoy their democratic rights. Therefore, mere indepen-dence either from alien rule or the government of indigenous people, does not guaranteeanything. In this connection, he stresses individual liberty. He says that the real freedom liesin the realization of basic human needs that include, among other things, one's opportunity tolead life with honour and dignity, to observe religious beliefs and traditions, to earn andpossess property etc. He asks the question: what is the use of political freedom if the peoplefail to enjoy such liberties that are so fundamental to human life? As such, he suggests tliatpeople can enjoy the taste of freedom when the divine laws are enforced and governing power

is in the hands of right kind of people (Azam 1995: 14-16).

Muslim unity

Since the beginning of his political career, Ghulam Azam has been unequivocal about Muslimunity. During the days of British India and Pakistan, he used to keep close contacts with theIslamic intellectuals and learned people in the country and abroad. It was this sense of unitythat, he claims, encouraged him to oppose the break u p of Pakistan in 1971. In the liberatedBangladesh, he has been appalled to see that while there are plenty of Islamic groups withinthe country and despite their potentials, they have failed to advance the cause of Islam becausethey remain fragmented and much of their energy is invested in discrediting each other.

He felt that with numerous institutions and groups devoted to the cause of Islam e.g.

political pa rties, Tabligh Jamaat, madrasas and mosqu es, socio-cultural organizations an d shrinesacross the country, Bangladesh offered a tremendous prospect for Islam. Thus, on return fromhis sojourn in London, he felt strongly the importance of the need to bridge the distancebetween and among various Islamic groups and organizations within the country. This hasprompted him to write and publish a booklet in 1978 entitled Islamic Unity and IslamicMovement. He has identified all major players in the Islamic movement and outlined a detailedframework as to how unity and coordination among them can be achieved. He received afavourable response from different quarters and his framework served as a basis for thedevelopment of Ittehadul Ummah in December 1981. Althou gh later he could no t do m uch to

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achieve the much desired tinity among the Islamic groups, he has continued to highlight theimportance of unity through his writings, issuance of statemen ts, and holdings of parleys withlearned societies. He initiated fresh proposals for unity among the regional and internationalorganizations of Islam, sent delegates to the heads of different leading Islamic institutions andparties, had meetings and dialog-«es with various stakeholders discussing the practical aspectsof unity. In 1998, he pu blished another book let with the chronology of events and d evelop-

ments since 1978. Although the proposed unity among the Islamic groups and organizations isyet to take any concrete shape, he remains optimistic on this issue.

Nationalism

The basis of nationalism shapes the identity of a nation. According to Ghulam Azam, Muslimnationalism is the basis of Bangladesh (Azam 1990: 6) because the division of India was on thebasis of the independence of Bangladesh. This argument is used by Jamaat to legitimize itsdemands for the establishment of an Islamic state in Bangladesh. It is, however, challenged bythose who believe that the Bangladesh state was based on secularism. The immed iate cause forthe emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 was sudden - the inevitable aftermath of genocideperpetrated by the West-Pakistan dominated military 'junta' in 'defence of its decision not to

share power or resources with East Pakistan' (Murshid 2001: 161). The struggle of the Bengalisin 1971 was one of sheer survival and a self-conscious attempt to build a secular polity, eventhough inspiration was sought in slogans such as ]ai Bangla (Victory to Bengal) which had noreligious connotations. However, there are some other important factors that had led to anindependent Bangladesh, including Islamabad's political, social, and economic discriminatorypolicies towards the Bengalis of East Pakistan. One of the factors was the Bengali languagemovement of 1950-52. The language movement, which originally sought the recognition ofBengali as the state language of Pakistan and subsequently took a form of protest of politicalgrievances of the people against the Pakistani rulers, formed the basis of the independencemov emen t of Bangladesh. As mentioned earlier, Ghu lam A zam played an importan t role in themovement, yet he did not participate in the armed struggle of the country. At the time of thewar of liberation, he was in Pakistan an d only return ed to Bangladesh in 1978, wh en Lt. General

Ziaur Rahman was in power. In his writings, he glosses over the period of war of liberation ofthe country as if this period were not important in the history of Bangladesh.

Resistance to authoritarianism

Ghulam Azam has not only disliked undemocratic and fascist tendencies of the ruling elites, hehas always played a key role in all mass movements against authoritarian and dictatorial rulesince the early 1960s. As a leader of the Jamaat-I-lslami (East Pakistan), he was among thefront-ranking leaders who opposed the military rule of Ayub Khan and organized masssupport for the restoration of democratic systems. He played a prominent role as the generalsecretary of the Pakistan Democratic Movement formed in 1967 and later as a member of

Democratic Action Committee formed in 1969 to transform the anti-Ayub movement into apopular uprising. He was also among the participants of the Round Table Conference held inRawalpindi to solve the prevailing political impasse in Pakistan. One of the achievements of theround-table was the elections of 1970, usually seen as a precursor of independent Bangladesh.Although the Awami League emerged as the dominant party, with 167 out of 169 seats in thethen East Pakistan, the reluctance of the Yahya regime to hand over power to the AwamiLeague culminated in liberation war and eventually the emergence of Bangladesh as a newnation.

Even in liberated Bangladesh, despite controversies surrounding his alleged personalinvolvement in war crimes and that of other Jamaat leadership, Ghulam Azam's role has been

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significant. As already noted, the political situation in the aftermath of Bangladesh's liberationforced Ghulam Azam to be in exile, while the Jamaat faced a ban from the government inpower. But this did little to deter Ghulam Azam from the pursuit of his mission. He maintainedregular contacts with like-minded people and never gave up hope for making his missionsuccessful. Like many o thers within the country, Ghulam Azam was concerned with the chaoticsituation the coxmtry had witnessed in the initial years and the process of secularization

initiated by the Awami League government. He also saw the growing influence of India onBangladesh as a threat to the country's sovereignty and Islamic identity. He, therefore, wrotea booklet urging Bengalis to unite on the basis of Islamic values to fight the Indian hegemonyin order to make Bangladesh truly independent and sovereign. He emphasized, among otherthings, that the fruits of independence should be conveyed to every citizen in the form ofdecent living, honour and dignity. He further maintained that rule of law must be establishedand democratic and peaceful order must be restored. The mass movement must be continuedin order to establish a non-communist and real democratic government (Azam 1973).

Although Ghulam Azam and the Jamaat have shown some indifference" towards themilitary government of General Ziaur Rahman, they were particularly critical of the militaryrule of General Ershad, who seized power in 1982 in a bloodless military coup, forcingPresident Justice Sattar'̂ - wh o had been elected Presiden t in 1981, following the d eath of

General Ziaur Rahman - to quit. Throughout the 1980s, Jamaat had fought the military rulealongside the other political parties. Through mass meetings, demonstrations and strikes calledand enforced by Jamaat and the two other major political alliances (one led by the AwamiLeague and the other by the BNP) the opposition was able to galvanize public support andweaken the authority of the military ruler, and eventually compelled Ershad to hand overpower to a caretaker government in 1990, which paved the way to democratic governance.Although Ghulam Azam was personally unable to attend pub lic rallies for legal (his nationalityissue w as still pending and unresolved) an d security reasons, he was the principal architect ofJamaat's policies and strategies throughout this period.

Contemporary socio-political issues

The Jamaat supporters and activists see Ghulam Azam as a socio-political reformer inBangladesh who has always expressed serious concerns on the prevailing social and politicalorder, which is characterized by corruption, injustice, moral decadence, violence and lawless-ness. Much of his writings discuss in great length such maladies from which Muslim societiesin general and Bangladesh in particular suffer. As for Bangladesh, he argues, all other problemsare rooted in the lack of political stability, ethical and moral degradation of the society, lack ofeconomic safety and the aimless system of education (Azam 1992:15-21). He maintains that thereal solution lies in the implementation of divine codes in society and administration. Accord-ing to him, there is a need for d eveloping and prepa ring the people so that they are able to fightsuch malice in the society. As such, he considers that it is extremely important to develop theyouth of the country as good and honest individuals who would shoulder the responsibilities

of an ideological state in future.He has also observes that, for too long, women have been deprived of their real Islamicteachings. This is why the wom en are not aw are of their rights granted in Islam. Since wom enconstitute 50% of the population, it is impossible to bring about desired social change withoutinvolving them in the process. He therefore stresses the need for equipping them withknowledge on Islam and practice so that they can enhance the cause of the Islamic movementam ong fellow w om en (Azam 1992: 17).

Ghulam A zam has proven himself as a man of ideas and innovative solutions to contempor-ary socio-poHtical problems. In the 1980s, when Bangladesh was imder the military rule ofGeneral Ershad, as already noted, the opposition political parties mounted pressures for its

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return to civilian rule. He came up with a formula to hand over the power to a caretakergovernment. Although initially there was a debate concerning the viability of the proposedstructure and the major political parties were reluctant to give credence to Ghulam Azam,eventually it was accepted by all parties. The innovative method proposed by Ghulam Azamfor the transfer of power and holding of free and fair elections under the caretaker governmenthas been followed in Bangladesh since 1990 and has already received acclaim both locally and

internationally.

Concluding remarks

It is obvious from the above discussions that Ghulam Azam has been a key and influentialfigure in Bangladesh politics. Since his return home, he has been relentlessly struggling to makeBangladesh an Islamic welfare state. He has been active in extending his da'wah to all andworking to make Islamic ideology victorious for the complete emancipation of humanity.Although during much of his political career, he has remained out of the public domain, andhis status remained undeclared, he nevertheless, served as a think-tank, ideologue, and the defacto leader as far as the politics of ]amaat was concerned. He may personally remaincontroversial for his alleged role in Bangladesh's liberation movement, but his influence in

Bangladesh politics is quite obvious. Recent events in Bangladesh politics and the results ofnational elections indicate the growing impact of Ghulam Azam and his Jamaat on the society.In the 2000 elections, ]amaat received 17 parliamentary seats. While it is impossible to determinehow much support the Jamaat actually had as it was part of an alliance against the AwamiLeagu e, its 17 parliam entary seats - and two m inisters - sugg est a dramatic increase in itspolitical influence in the country (Lintner 2002). This is an unprecedented success for a partythat had been in the wilderness of Bangladesh politics for a long time.

Such electoral successes aside, under Ghulam Azam's leadership, Jamaat has also shown asignificant maturity and organizational strength. It has emerged as the most well-disciplinedand cohesive political party in the country. While all other political parties are plagued withinternecine conflicts and h ave suffered, in the recent past, splits and fractions w ith every ch angein the political context, Jamaat is the only party that has not experienced any such crisis so far.

While mass defection especially during the elections, appears to be a feature of Bangladeshipolitics, hardly any Jamaat leader or activist has defected to other parties. Instead, it has beenable to increase membership steadily over the years. What all this suggests is that GhulamAzam's approach to training and tarbiat has been effective in recruiting and preparing a cadreof highly committed workforce who would eventually implement the party ideals and pro-grammes in the society.

Notwithstanding all this, one may find a number of anomalies and contradictions inGhulam Azam's policy and practice. He strongly maintains that Jamaat is not a power-hungrypolitical party as it seeks to gain political power in order to materialize its vision of the Islamicstate. He further asserts that since Jamaat is working with a long term plan, it does not aspireto grab powe r or sha re power with the others as long as an ideologically com mitted workforcewith an Islamic mind, intellect and character is not fully in place (Azam 1990: 32). While thisremains the stated policy, soon after the last general elections, two of Jamaat's central leaders- i.e. the new Ameer Matiur R ahman N izami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan M ujahid - joinedthe government as cabinet ministers, thereby making Jamaat a partner of the BNP-led coalitiongovernment. Although BNP is neither an Islamic party nor has it committed to go along thelines Jamaat would prefer, Jamaat's decision to share power with BNP came as a surprise tomany political observers and analysts. There are reasons to believe that such a major decisionhas not been taken without any consultation with, or endorsement from, Ghulam Azam, giventhat still he is seen as the de facto leader of the Jamaat. W hat is more disturbing is that the Jamaatleaders in the government have failed to dissuade the BNP from pursuing undemocratic and

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immoral policies, e.g. various repressive acts, politicization of administration, ousting theelected president from the office to name only a few. Instead, they have actively abetted andaided the BNP in all these matters. They have also supported the government in terms ofenacting an undemocratic and bizarre legislation known as the indemnity bill (which deniesvictims the right to seek redress from courts) which provoked severe criticisms within thecountry and outside. Such a role on part of Jamaat leadership and blindly supporting the BNP's

line of actions has raised many questions about the sincerity of jamaat with regard to'promoting good and preventing evil' in the society. Clearly, in this case, Jamaat MPs in generaland the two ministers in particular, have failed to live up to popular expectations.

Secondly, in one of his recent writings, Ghulam Azam emphasized political reconciliationand democratic continuity. He has urged all political parties to abandon the culture of 'politicsof agitation' and thus contribute to the democratic consolidation process (Azam 1993b: 23-24).He further maintains that for the sake of democratic tradition, the government elected throughthe democratic process should be allowed to continue its full term in office. Although theopposition has a role to point out the mistakes of the ruling party/group, it must abandondestructive politics of hartal (strike), blockade and agitation. Yet it is interesting to note that itwas Jamaat that remained active with the BNP throughout 1996-2000 to dislodge the AwamiLeague government that came to power through free and fair elections in 1996. Earlier, Jamaat

launched a strong anti-goverrunent movement and enforced a series of hartals and demonstra-tions across the country, either alone or with the Awami League, to paralyse and force thedemocratically elected BNP-govemment (1991-1995) out of office. This shows the differencesbetween what Ghulam Azam has proposed and what his party has practised. Obviously, in theprevailing political climate, where anti-government sentiment became strong, it wa s unexpec-ted that Jamaat would remain indifferent. Furthermore, the repressive policies of the rulinggovernment and the alleged threats to 'Islam' were used by the Jamaat leadership as additionaljustifications for the party's involvement in the oust-govemment movement, even though itcame to power through the democratic process.

Thirdly, Ghulam Azam has presented his Jamaat as an ideal political party based onQur'anic principles. He asserts that since Jamaat wants to implement sharia-hased administra-tion through peaceful means, it does not support violence and or the use of force in its politics.

However, this is not corroborated by the evidence, as Jamaat's politics in the recent past hasbeen no less violent than the other political parties. This is also true of the activities of the IslamiChatra Shibir (ICS), the students' organization of the Jamaat. The ICS is a member of theInternational Islamic Federation of Student Organizations as well as the World Assembly of theMuslim Youth. The ICS is the main pillar of Jamaat's growing strength. The ICS has alreadyearned a bad name for its brutality and violent acts against students, teachers and otheropponents ia many universities. Since the 1980s, the ICS has allegedly been involved inkidnapping, amputation of limbs and severing ligaments and vital veins and even killinghundreds of opponents in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Rangpur and its other strongholds (Hashmi1994: 100-138). For ideological differences, the ICS rarely has a good relationship with otherstudent organizations especially those supporting the Awami League and left-leaning politicalparties. At times, they get locked into conflicts that end in violence and bloodshed. Althoughthe Jamaat or the ICS leaders deny the involvement of their workers in any such acts, theavailable evidence suggests that the student wings of all major political parties, includingJamaat, have their share of campus and political violence. In many cases, the ICS resorts toviolence to counter the violence of its opponents. It is beyond the scope of this paper to discusswhether or not this strategy is appropriate. Apparently this violence has earned a negativeimage for the ICS and the party it represents. Neither Ghulam Azam nor Jamaat has taken anyactions against those ICS leaders and activists involved in such activities. Rather they seem tohave condoned such events by simply brushing aside any such claims and labelling the mediareports as fabricated and untrue. Needless to say, the Jamaat's reluctance or failure to rein the

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militant ICS activists has also undermined Ghulam Azam's personal image and that of the

party.This explains in part, why despite all the gains, Ghulam Azam and the Jamaat's support base

remains narrow . In addition, they continue to face a plethora of challenges. On the one hand,they have yet to come out of the 1971 stigm a, on the other hand, the forces opposing Jamaat are

as strong as before. More significantly, Jamaat's 'fundamentalist ideology' appears to be

somewhat incongruent with the preference of the majority of the population in Bangladeshwho, according to a recent survey, want to see modem educated people in power. NeitherGhulam Azam nor his party has been able to change the generally negative perception aboutJamaat and thus significantly widen its acceptance among the masses. Rather, at times, the

comments of Jamaat leadership such as 'we did no mistakes in 1971' have infuriated the

nationalist and patriotic forces and widened the gap between Jamaat and the common people.It remains to be seen how Ghulam Azam and the new Jamaat leadership tackle these challengesin the future.

Author's note

The authors acknowledge the funds provided by the Research Centre, International Islamic

University Malaysia, for research.

Notes

1. 'The Muslin World' consists of those states where Muslims constitute the majority population.

2. This article does not purport to identify and analyse the causes, and the beliefs of the Islamic

Resurgence Movement. However, for a comprehensive understanding of the nature and implications

of contemporary Islamic resurgence movements, see Ahmad (1983).

3. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party are the two largest political parties in

Bangladesh.

4. Ghulam Azam's father, Maulana Ghulam Kabir, and grandfather, Maulana Abdus Sobhan, were

perennial sources of religious education and training. They had a great role in moulding his interest,

character and behaviour on Islamic values and principles from childhood. With their encouragement

he started reading Islamic literature when he was a student of class VII. He was a regular reader ofthe monthly Neyamat, a magazine devoted to promotion of Islamic values and culture in the then East

Pakistan.

5. He acted as General Secretary of Purba Bangla Sahitya Sangshad, a prestigious literary forum and was

elected General Secretary of Fazlul Huq Hall Student's Union.

6. In childhood, he was heavily influenced by his father and grandfather both of whom were highly

religious. Later, he came in close contact with the leading Islamic figures of the time. The writings of

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (RA), the life of Maulana Muhamn\ad Ilias, the founder of the Tabligh

Movement and his association with Maulana Abdul Aziz, the Ameer of Tabligh Jamaat in Bangladesh,

had a significant impact on his decision to devote himself to the Islamic movement.

7. janiaat elected an acting Ameer (Maulana Abbas Ali Khan) to carry out the day-to-day fimctions of the

party chief during the period of Professor Azam's absence and even after his return home, until 1990.

However, Professor Azam was seen as the real Ameer, even though it was not given much publicity,

for obvious reasons, as there was much controversy surrounding his nationality.

8. For a brief discussion on the rise of the jamaat during 1977-1982, see Evans (2001).

9. Some of his prominen t works inc lude : A Guide to the Islamic Movement (1968), Bangladesh and

jamaat-i-lslami (1979), Islamic Unity and Islamic Movement (1978), Seerat-un-Nabi ( l986) . An Easy Under-standing of the Qura'n (1998), Politics in the Life of the Prophet (2000), Ikamat-e-Deen (1997), From Pallaseyto Bangladesh (1988), Politics of Bangladesh (1990), Democratic Movement and jamaat-i-lslami (1992), The

Future of Bangladesh and jam aa-i-lslami (1990), My Bangladesh (1995), Democracy versus Socialism, Thoughtsof Abul Ala Mawdudi (2002), Islam in the Modern Context, As I Saw Maulana Mawdudi (1997) and All ThatI Saw in Life (2002).

10. Theo-democracy is a term coined by M a w d u d i . But he himself did not insist on promoting this term.H e has only used this term and others, l ike Democ rat ic Khi lafah, to differentiate between Islamic formsof gove rnment and democracy .

11 . This was possibly due to the fact that Ghulam Azam was still in the UK and the jamaat operat ion s st i ll

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3 9 8 Ishtiaq Hossain and Noore Alam Siddiquee

remained suspended. There were additional reasons for the Jamaat supporters and sympathizers to behappy with Zia's rule, as he reversed the Awami League's policy, dropped secularism as a stateprinciple and initiated Islamization processes, no matter how limited.

12. justice A. Sattar served as Vice President under General Ziaur Rahman. As required under theConstitution, Justice Sattar took over as the President following the death of Ziaur Rahman on 30 May1981 in an attempted military coup.

ReferencesAhamed, Emajuddin and Nazneen, D. R. J. A. (1990) 'Islam in Bangladesh', Asian Survey (30)8: 795-808.Ahmad, Khurshid (1983) 'The nature of Islamic resurgence'. In John L. Esposito (ed.) Voices of Resurgent

Islam, New York, Oxford University Press.Azam, Ghulam (1968) A Guide to the Islamic Movement, Dhaka: Azam Publications.Azam, Ghulam (1973) Bangali Musalman Kon Pathe, Pamphlet.Azam, Ghulam (1978) Islamic Unity and Islamic Movement. Pamphlet.Azam, Ghulam (1990) The Future of Bangladesh an d Jamaat-I-Islami (Bangladesher Bhabhishat and Jamaat-I-Is-

lami), Dhaka: Jamaat-I-Islam, Publications Division.Azam, Ghulam (1990) Work Principles of Jamaat-I-Islami, Pamphlet (June).Azam, Ghulam (1992) Bangladesh an d Jamaat-I-Islami, Dhaka: Jamaat-I-Islam Publication Division.Azam, Ghulam (1993b) The Call for National Reconstruction (Desh Goral Dak), Dhaka. Pamphlet.Azam, Ghulam (1993a) Politics in Bangladesh (Bangladesher Rajniti), Dhaka: al Azami Publications.Azam, Ghulam (1995) My Bangladesh (Amar Bangladesh), Dhaka: Adhunik Prokashani.

Azam, Ghulam (1997) As I Saw Maulana Mawdudi, Dhaka: Adhunik Prakashan.Azam, Ghulam (2000) The Four-Point Program for Muslim Rulers as Declared in the Quran, Dhaka: Adhunik

Prokashan.Azam, Ghulam (2002) Methods of Establishing the Khilafat of Allah, Dhaka: Kamiab Publications.Banu, U. A. B. Razia Akhter (1994) 'Jamaat-I-Islami in Bangladesh politics: challenges and prospects'. In

Hussin Mutalib and T. I. Hasmi (eds) Islam, Muslims and the Modern State, London: Macmillan, 80-99.Evans, D. Hugh (2001) 'Bangladesh: an imsteady demo cracy'. In Shastri, Amita and Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam

(eds) Th e Post-Colonial States of South Asia: Dem ocracy, Identity, Development and Security, Richmond,Surrey: Curzon, 69-87.

Hamidullah, M. (1968) Introduction to Islam, Lahore: Sh. Muhamad Ashraf Publishers.Hashmi, Tajul Islam (1994) 'Islam in Bangladesh polities'. In Mutalib, Hussin and Hashmi, Tajul Islam (eds)

Islam, Muslims and the Modern State, London: Macmillan, 100-138.Kamruzzaman, Muhammad (1989) Revolutionary Life of Professor Ghulam Azam, Dhaka, publisher not

mentioned.Karawan, Ibrahim A. (1997) The Islamist Impasse, Adelphi Paper 314, London: International Institute for

Strategic Studies.Karim, Waresul (2004) Eleetion Under A Caretaker Government: An Empirical Analysis of the October 2001

Parliamentary Election in Bangladesh, Dhaka: University Press Limited.Lintner, Bertil (2002) 'Religious extremism and nationalism in Bangladesh', Paper presented in an inter-

national workshop on Religion and Security in South Asia at the Asia Pacific Gentre for SecurityStudies. Honolulu, Hawaii, 19-22 August.

Marty, Martin E. and Appleby, R. Scott (eds) (1991) Fundamentalisms Observed, Chicago, 111.: University ofChicago Press.

Murshid, Tazeeen M. (2001) 'State, nation, identity: the quest for legitimacy in Bangladesh'. In Shastri,Amita and Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (eds) The Post-Colonial States of South Asia: Dem ocracy, Identity,Development and Security, London: Curzon.

Nuruzzaman, N. (1992) Professor Ghulam Azam: A Profile of Struggle in the Cause of Allah, Dhaka: publishernot mentioned.

Vatikiotis, P. J. (1987) Islam and the State, London: Croom Helm.

Authors' biographies

Dr Ishtiaq Hossain is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, International Islamic UniversityMalaysia. He served as a Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore.He was a Visiting Professor at George Washington University and a Visiting Lecturer at WaikatoUruversity. Contact address: Department of Political Science, International Islamic University Malaysia,Jalan Gombak, 53100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail address: [email protected]

Dr Noore Alam Siddiquee is Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Policy and Administration, Universiti

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Islam in Bangladesh politics 399

Brunei Darussalam, Brunei. He served as Associate Professor and Head, Department of Political Science,International Islamic University Malaysia.

Contact address: Department of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Business, Economics andPolicy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tunku Link, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei. E-mail address:[email protected].

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