The Islamic Resurgence Why Bangladesh is a Case Apart Moinul Khan A thesis submitted for the ...

300 Pages·2014·2.19 MB·English

by  Moinul Khan

The Islamic Resurgence
Why Bangladesh is a Case Apart

Moinul Khan

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Center for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (PICT), Faculty of Arts
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

November 2013

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Acknowledgement
This thesis has become an exciting intellectual exercise on my part. The work has drawn many
ideas and much encouragement from many people and institutions. I can mention a few of them to
acknowledge their contribution.

My first and foremost debt goes to my supervisor, Dr Peter W. Searle, for his support during the
last three and a half years. He has been a great source of inspiration in shaping this thesis. I offer
my sincere gratitude to him for his responsible and personal intervention throughout that period.
At the same time, I would like to express my heartiest thanks to my co-supervisor, and later my
principal supervisor Dr Julian Droogan, who has also given me academic support. On many
occasions, he gave valuable feedback and critical food for thought for the completion of this thesis.

The Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (PICT) and its faculty and staff members
were particularly helpful all through my PhD candidature. Particularly, I am very grateful for the
active encouragement from Professor Peter Anderson, Director of PICT, who has shown keen
interest in my thesis. Professor Anderson also organized tutoring for me at PICT to help develop my
teaching skills while giving financial support. I also owe thanks to other staff members of PICT,
particularly Andrew McNeil, Annabel Vosey, Louise Hutchence and Matt Weddis for their
departmental support. I would also pay high regard to Associate Dean (Higher Degree Research)
and her/his staff members of the Arts Faculty. At the same time, I am also indebted to other
members of the university including the Higher Degree Research Office (HDRO) and the scholarship
unit for organizing the tuition fees and stipends.

With the support of PICT, I paid a field trip to Bangladesh for data collection. During that trip, I
interviewed many people including some prominent personalities who have expertise and
professional experiences in my area of study. I like to extend special thanks for their valuable time
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and contribution to my work. I also received support from persons who were in charge of different
libraries and people whom I interviewed while I was in Bangladesh in 2011.

In the course of my research, I contributed a number of articles to the Journal of Policing,
Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (JPICT), the BIISSS Journal and other media. In all these I
acknowledge the active support of my supervisor and co-supervisor and would like to thank the
anonymous peer-reviewers who made valuable comments on my articles. I also attended two
conferences, one in Adelaide and the other in Dunedin (New Zealand), and received support from
the university that facilitated valuable exchange of views.

Last, but not least, I would particularly refer to the support of my family members. My wife
Farhana Rahman (Tusi) and two beloved little daughters, Joanna Khan and Oydan Khan, offered me
personal encouragement and made sacrifices for the timely completion of the thesis. I would only
state that it would not have been possible for me to reach this stage without their terrific
cooperation and good cheer.

Moinul Khan
Sydney, November 2013

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Abstract
From 1999 to 2005 Bangladesh, the world’s third largest Muslim country, was swept by a wave of
Islamic militancy that triggered an outpouring of media and academic analysis that Bangladesh
would likely soon fall prey to Islamists. This thesis argues that the Islamist extremism that
Bangladesh experienced during those years was largely the result of an ideology and tactics
brought back to Bangladesh by some returnees of the Afghan war against the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan in the 1980s and by a few individuals and groups in Bangladesh who surfaced in
response to very specific issues and circumstances. The former believed that the radical ideology
they encountered (and imbibed) in Afghanistan could be transplanted to the Muslim community of
Bangladesh. But the relative ease by which the Bangladesh Government’s anti-terrorism campaign
contained the outbreak of that militancy demonstrated how seriously the radical groups had
misunderstood Islam in the Bengali context, a context in which Islam is intimately woven with
deeper traditions of tolerance and secularism in Bengali culture, nationalism and identity.
Secondly, and further in this vein, the thesis argues that there was no direct linkage between that
outbreak of Islamic militancy and the higher profile of Islam in the Bengali polity from 1975 to 1990
or that that development was a manifestation of the Islamic revival in the context of Bangladesh. A
third argument of this thesis is that factors which have contributed to the Islamic resurgence
elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, including the national character of Islam, the role of
nationalism and identity, culture and modernization, and the role of religion in contemporary
politics, have, in the case of Bangladesh, produced a quite different outcome, which prompts the
central question that frames this thesis: What is the explanation for the ‘Bangladesh paradox’ – i.e.
that while an Islamic agenda has become more apparent or prominent elsewhere in the region, not
only has a more conservative Islamic agenda not taken root in Bangladesh but, on the contrary, the
secular state and civil society has retained its strength and resilience vis-à-vis Islam-based politics?
Broadly, the research provides an insight in that regard in reconstructing perceptions of Islam and
Muslim countries, particularly Bangladesh.
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Research output from this thesis
1. “Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh: Why it failed to take root”, Journal of Policing,
Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (JPICT), vol. 6, no. 1, 2011. pp. 54–61.
2. “Low Profile of Islamist Politics in Indonesia: Explaining the ‘Demographic Paradox’”,
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Journal, vol. 34, no. 2,
April, 2013, pp. 128–44.
3. “Political Islam in Malaysia: Context Precedes Ideology”, paper accepted for publication in
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Journal, 2013.
4. “Reinforcement of Secularism in Bangladesh”, Asian Conflicts Report, Issue 13, September–
October, 2011.
5. “Explaining the Removal of Professor Yunus from Grameen Bank”, Asian Conflicts Report,
issue 17, May–June, 2011.
6. “Future of Political Islam in Bangladesh”, Uttarayan, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012.

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Conference presentations
1. Paper presented on “Syncretistism and Containment of Islamist Extremism in Bangladesh”
at a conference on Re-orienting Colonialities and Islam held at the Muslim and Non-Muslim
(MnM) Centre, University of South Australia, from November 22–24, 2011.
2. Paper presented on “Cultural Tolerance and the Defeat of Islamist Extremism in
Bangladesh” at a conference on Citizenship in an Era of Global Crisis, held at the University
of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, from November 28–30, 2011.

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Table of conents

Contents Page
Declaration 2
Acknowledgement 3
Abstract 5
Research output from this thesis 6
Conference presentations 7
Table of contents 8
Abbreviations 12
List of Appendices 14
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Introducing the thesis 15
- Research issues 16
- Research methodology 17
- Structure: The chapters 19

Chapter 2: Literature Review
- Introduction 22
- Islamic resurgence and its manifestations 23
- Factors contributing to the Islamic resurgence 28
o Ideological dimensions 28
o Importance of context 34
o Crisis of Islam: Nationalism and disillusionment 35
o Cultural factors: Modernization 37
o Economic and social dimension 38
o Disillusionment with the West 41
- Catalyst events of Islamic resurgence 41
o The Arab oil crisis of 1973 41
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o The Iranian revolution of 1979 42
o The Afghan victory over the Soviets in 1989 43
o Conclusion 44
- The Islamic resurgence in South and Southeast Asia 45
o Pakistan
 The implications of context: Implications for the 45
character of Islam and contemporary politics
 Crisis of identity: Nationalism 48
 Cultural factors and modernization 50
 Economic and social dimension 51
o Malaysia
 Plural society and the implications for character 53
of Islam
 Plural society, religion and identity 54
 Crisis of identity, economic and social factors, 54
nationalism
 Contemporary politics: implications for Islam 56
In Malaysia
 Cultural factors and modernization 59
o Indonesia
 The low profile of Islam: A ‘demographic paradox’ 61
 Cultural plurality and identity 61
 The syncretic character of Islam 63
 Contemporary politics: Suppression of Islam-based 65
politics
 Social and economic dimension and the upsurge 67
of Islamic plurality
 Diversity of Islamist groups and modernization 71
- Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia: The ideological dimensions 74
- Conclusion 76

Chapter 3: Islam in Bangladesh: Cultural Dimensions
- Introduction 80
- Pre-Muslim rule: Diversity and tolerance 80
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- Muslim rule (1205-1757): Continuity of religious tolerance 84
o The Mughal period: Reinforcing religious tolerance 86
and secularism
- The British colonial period (1757-1947): Infusion of Western 90
secular and liberal ideals
o The Wesern and liberal impact on reconstructing Islamic 94
thought
- The Pakistan period: Deviation of secular values 103
- Conclusion 111
Chapter 4: Islam in Bangladesh: Bengalized Character
- Introduction 112
- Bengal: The setting 113
- The spread of Islam 113
o Significance of Sufi saints 119
o Syncretistic explanation 120
o Entrepreneurial ‘frontier theory’ 121
o Open village theory and Islam in Bengal 122
o Regional personality character theory and Benglaized Islam 124
- Bengalization of Islam 124
o Influence of mysticism 127
o Bengalized Islam in literature 132
 The impact of Lalon’s thought 138
 The Impact of Nazrul’s thought 142
- Conclusion 146

Chapter 5: Islam in Bangladesh: Socio-economic Dimensions
- Introduction 148
- First phase: The colonial period 149
o Responses of the Muslims to colonial policies 154
o The 1905 Bengal partition and the Hindu–Muslim divide 158
o Formation of Muslim League and Muslim demands 160
- Second phase: Muslim nationalism (1911–47) 161
o Articulation of Muslim rights 163
o Lahore Resolution and Muslim separatism 167
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