Bangladesh: Jamaat's 'vague apology' for collaborating with Pakistan in 1971 genocide just an election stunt

Dhaka, Nov 4 Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman's recent unconditional apology for the party's past mistakes - the Islamist party had collaborated with Pakistan in genocide during the 1971 Liberation War - merits being called a "blanket apology" as there is no specificity of the crime committed and also a lack of taking responsibility, a report cited on Tuesday.

"From 1947 to today (October 22), whoever has suffered because of us, we seek their forgiveness, unconditionally," Rahman reportedly told the media in New York last month.

However, analysts reckon that the apology was vague as Rahman failed to state explicitly what he was apologising for.

"The Jamaat has much to apologise for. It played a controversial role in the 1971 Liberation War. Not only did it collaborate with Pakistan in the war, but it also participated in the genocide. The shadow of that history still weighs heavily on the party’s shoulders," Siam Sarower Jamil, a journalist and researcher born in Dhaka, wrote in premier international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, The Diplomat.

The writer mentions that, with Bangladesh getting ready for elections in February 2026, the Jamaat has stepped up efforts to woo voters.

"In addition to forming an alliance with other Islamic parties, it is seeking to project a more progressive face. It has set up a committee to form a Hindu wing to draw minorities, and has sought to project interest in women’s issues. Recently, it held a campaign to create awareness about breast cancer," the report details.

Jamil wrote that the radical outfit has also proposed to change the party's logo.

"The new design features a rising sun, a pen, and a balance scale placed on an open book against a green background. Previously, the logo was explicitly Islamic. It carried the word 'Allah' in calligraphy and the Arabic word 'Aakimuddin', which means 'establish Islam' along with the Jamaat’s election symbol, a scale," he wrote in The Diplomat.

"But no matter how new the cover, the Jamaat’s content seems to be the same so long as it cannot free itself of the horrific crimes it engaged in during the Liberation War. It is for this reason that Rahman sought to distance his party from its past by offering an unconditional apology," he added.

The report emphasises that such specific crimes on the massive scale they happened require a specific, unambiguous, and sincere apology, not vague calls for forgiveness.

"So, what is the point of this apology drama? Is it an admission of responsibility for the Liberation War, or a tactic to deal with public opinion about the party’s past? Is this a tactic to win the next election?" questions Jamil while mentioning that the entire episode has made people more skeptical about the Jamaat-e-Islami party — "are they really repentant, or are they just showing the magic of language under the pressure of time?"

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