There is an old rule in politics and an older one in propaganda: if you want to weaken an idea, don’t argue against it—degrade it. Make it sound coarse. Make it look angry. Make it appear incapable of self-restraint. Over time, people will recoil not because the idea is wrong, but because it has been made unappealing. That is precisely what appears to be happening to Islam today, not only through the work of its external critics, but—far more dangerously—through the conduct of some of its loudest self-appointed defenders.

In recent months in Bangladesh, a troubling pattern has emerged within segments of Generation Z activism and among figures associated, directly or indirectly, with so-called Islamic political groups. Vulgar language, crude slogans, and indecent expressions are being normalized and even celebrated as markers of boldness, authenticity, or revolutionary spirit. What makes this trend alarming is not merely its tone, but its consequence: it inflicts reputational damage on Islam globally, often without the speakers realizing—or perhaps caring—about the cost.

Among young leaders, particularly those with madrasa backgrounds or affiliations with Islamist student wings, such language is increasingly framed as “fearless truth-telling.” Videos circulate. Slogans echo. Shock becomes currency. The more outrageous the statement, the wider the reach. This may appear to be a cultural rebellion or political bravado, but in reality it is a gift to those who have long sought to portray Islam as inherently crude, intolerant, or incompatible with civility.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, at the beginning of his tenure, remarked that Sheikh Hasina’s fall was the result of a meticulously designed plan. That comment, intended or not, reinforced a sense that politics in Bangladesh had entered an era of calculated engineering rather than organic democratic evolution.........

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