Religious Influences in Bangladesh Politics .

Religious Influences in Bangladesh Politics.

Many nations world-wide struggle maintaining a balance between religion and politics. When Bangladesh gained independence from the Islamic nation of Pakistan, the nation supported a secular view on politics, focusing more on social liberties than religious fundamentalism. However, Bangladesh citizens are largely Muslim and since the signing of the constitution, laws have been enacted that encourage Islamic viewpoints.
Following the Indian partition of 1947, the Islamic nation of Pakistan consisted of modern day Pakistan and Bangladesh. The boundary lines were drawn this way because of the large populations of Islamic citizens. When Pakistan began pushing Muslim policy, such as naming Urdu the national language, Bangladesh citizens fought to retain their cultural identity. Islamic politics did not suit the future Bangladesh nation and they soon after pushed for their independence.

The makeup of Bangladesh helps explain their gradual shift to more religious-based politics in recent years. Nearly ninety percent of Bangladesh citizens are Muslim with smaller percentages of Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists. After separating from Pakistan–a nation based on Islamic principles–Bangladesh supported more secular politics. Since that time the largely Islamic population of Bangladesh has pushed national politics towards more Islamic principles.

Unlike many Islamic nations, Bangladesh politics maintain a strong focus on religious tolerance. The constitution protects religious observances of all faiths but some still claim social discrimination in national politics. Bangladesh law offers religious protection in all matters of life; marriage, employment, and politics. The gradual shift towards Islamic law came when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party took the mantle of conservative politics. Although the constitution specifies specific religious freedom, many individuals face pressure to convert or quell their religion practice by local politics and officials. Since the central government lacks infrastructure in many parts of Bangladesh, they struggle in delivering on the constitutional guarantees.
An interesting component to the religious politics of Bangladesh is the unique nature of their form of Islam. Since it evolved regionally, influenced by regional variation and Hinduism, the Bangladesh form of Islam differs and sometimes contradicts common views of Islamic orthodoxy.

Religion influences politics in every nation regardless of legal guarantees or separation. Even though Bangladesh offers equal protection to observe religious practices, the overwhelming majority of Muslim-based citizens creates a natural lean towards Islamic principles. The recent inauguration of the secular Awami League will likely change this recent shift in coming years to focus again of social liberties rather than religious observance.