MS. Judith A McHale, US Under
Secretary of State for Public Affairs, who was recently in Dhaka,
is the senior most ranking US Government official to visit Bangladesh
since President Obama took office in USA
and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh.
During her public engagements, she made some remarks that are very encouraging
for Bangladesh.
In DhakaUniversity
she said that US would take 20,000 students every year from Bangladesh
where at the moment, the intake is far fewer.
The Under Secretary made more encouraging remarks when she addressed Madrassah
students of Uttar Badda Islamia Kamil Madrassah. When a student informed her
that Madrassah educated students are seldom given US
visa for education, she said categorically that US doors are open to Madrassah
educated students of Banagladesh. She also said that the US Embassy is providing
teachers for teaching English in Madrassahs and her Government “is proud to be
working with the Madrassah.” She also said that religious leadership is a key
to the success of socio-economic development efforts. Her most positive remark
was her belief that Bangladesh
could assist the US
to bridge its gap with the Muslim world.
The Under Secretary however did not say how many Madrassah students who would
be given visa annually as she did for the general students. This
notwithstanding, the fact that a senior Obama administration official has
publicly made positive remarks for the Madrassah educated students and role of
Islam in society is very significant. Her statement came on the back of a
number of other initiatives that the US Government has taken in Bangladesh
to work with the Madrasahs. The US Government is working with a number of NGOs
to sensitize Madrassah students on democracy, information and communication
technology, etc.
This is a significant change in US
stance on Bangladesh.
Not very long ago, the US
Ambassador to Bangladesh Harry Thomas was crying hoarse about religious
fundamentalism in Bangladesh;
that was dismissed by the BNP Government. The Awami League went overboard to
spread the news that Bangladesh
was seething with religious fundamentalism, even labeling the BNP Government as
“Taliban”. Early in 2006, the US Assistant Secretary for South Asia, Ms.
Christina Rocco, on an official visit to Bangladesh, strongly advised the
Government that it had no choice but to rein in the religious fundamentalists,
that later led to the arrests of Bangla Bhai and the JMB terrorists. The BNP
Government arrested religious terrorists in a make believe manner that was a
far cry from the dangerous portrayal about them in the media and by the
opposition, when they were at the height of their criminal activities.
The meekness of their surrender and their execution under the Caretaker
Government without any repercussion from their cadres who were supposed to on
the verge of capturing power by force left no doubt that the case of religious
extremists in Bangladesh was over politicised and overstated. They raised their
ugly face in no uncertain terms because the BNP Government indulged and
encouraged them. The national elections in December 2008, in which over 20
million first time voters entered the election process further sealed the
nation's contempt for political parties in Bangladesh
that use religion for achieving their ends. In fact, even the BNP found the
religion based parties a political liability in the last elections when the
biggest of the religion based parties in Bangladesh,
the Jamat-e-Islami could manage just 2 seats.
Although the parties that have used religion for politics have been
historically rejected by voters in Bangladesh,
interestingly Islam as a religion has made significant inroads into the lives
of the overwhelming majority of its people since independence. There are many
reasons for this that is outside the scope of this writing. This spread of
Islam, unlike in many other countries, is still tampered by liberal traditions
embedded in the history of the religion in this part of the world where Sufism
has played a major role. Nevertheless, the resurgence of Islam in Bangladesh
also faces the dangers of evolving in the opposition direction. It is an issue
that must be dealt with the utmost caution to deter Bangladesh
from following Algeria
or Afghanistan.
Soon after the Awami League came to power early last year, a vested group was
busy spreading distorted information to create public opinion against the Qoami
Madrasahs (QM) and calling for restoration of secularism by removing Islam from
public life. A World Bank Report later trashed the propaganda against QM, one
that suggested that under BNP Government 35% soldiers recruited were from QM.
There was a period of lull in the campaign of this group against Islam based
political parties and the Madrasahs after the WB report, although the report
may not have been alone responsible for the lull. . The annulment of the fifth
amendment of the constitution, the war trial criminals that would involve
mostly the Jamat; and the recent activities of Jamat's student cadre in the
universities have re-activated the move. A section is claiming the restoration
of the 1972 constitution to ban the Jamat.
Ms Judith McHale's visit is very significant in the present context of Bangladesh's
politics. Unlike Ms Christina Rocco's visit in early 2006, she did not sound
any alarm bells for Bangladesh
on the issue of religious fundamentalism. To the contrary, her visit to the
Madrassah, together with the initiatives of her Government to work with the
Madrasahs of Bangladesh by providing them with modern educational tools are
positive signs that US is not worried about 'religious fundamentalism' in
Bangladesh and that it even visualises a role for Bangladesh to help it reach
out more towards the Muslim world. Some months ago, the US Government dropped
the name of Bangladesh
from the watch list of countries where religious freedom is at stake. This is
another indication that religious fundamentalism in Bangladesh
is on the decline in US perception.
The author is the Director,
Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies and Former Ambassador to Japan.
