In 2010, Hifazat-e-Islam was formed to transform Bangladesh from a secular to an Islamic state. While Jamaat-e-Islami was banned to contest general elections by the then regime of Sheikh Hasina in 2013, Hifazat tried to fill the vacuum and launched a movement for adoption of Sharia law.

Following the regime change in Bangladesh on August 6, 2004, Hifazat-e-Islam has got a new lease of life and its leaders are openly calling for disbanding secular identity which was given a constitutional cover by the Awami League regime.

Hifazat's Vice President Muhyiddin Rabbani has, in an interview given to Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, called for Bangladesh to be governed according to Islamic principles rather than the existing legal and constitutional norms. "We want Bangladesh to remain under an Islamic regime," he asserted while making it clear that Islamic order in Bangladesh will be peacefully established in which minorities will have legitimate rights. If Jamaat is unbanned and Hifazat gets more space in post-August 6 political scenario in Bangladesh, one can expect a rise of Islamic forces that remained neutralised during the 15 years of Sheikh Hasina's rule.

Rising anti-Hindu attacks in Bangladesh after August 6 embarrassed the interim government and Hifazat Vice President Rabbani also opposed targeting minorities terming it against Islamic principles. Some circles dubbed it as an eyewash, alleging that the real aim of Islamists, whether Hifazat or Jamaat, is to neutralise and curb the Hindu minority.

Can Bangladesh, having an 88% Muslim population, focus on its Islamic identity instead of a secular mode of governance which was enforced during the AL regime? What is the contradiction........

© The Express Tribune