Dhaka, Feb 10 Bangladesh’s radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami has exposed its contradictory stance on the question of Sharia, a report highlighted on Tuesday. It mentioned that, for a long time, a significant segment of the party’s supporters voted for Jamaat mainly in the hope of creating an Islamic system of governance in Bangladesh.
According to a report in The Diplomat, in recent times, the party’s top leaders have avoided addressing the issue of Sharia implementation in their statements.
It stressed that the Jamaat has attempted to convince the international community that it will not impose Sharia if it comes to power.
Citing a recent report in an international media outlet, The Diplomat highlighted that the Jamaat’s top leadership assured American diplomats that they would not enforce Sharia.
Yet, domestically, Jammat openly discusses the establishment of Sharia in their grassroots campaigns, with party leaders reportedly describing voting as a religious duty, even linking it to the promise of attaining paradise. This dual message creates confusion among ordinary voters.
“While Jamaat leaders say they do not plan to implement Sharia, they continue to abide by what it says. They say that women cannot be the party’s Ameer (chief) because Sharia forbids it. Sharia continues to determine their position on issues, although they claim to be distancing themselves from it,” the report stated.
“There are other inconsistencies as well. For the first time, the Jamaat has nominated a non-Muslim candidate, which, while outwardly suggesting inclusivity, is clearly contradictory to the party’s constitution and ideology. Therefore, the question remains: What does the Jamaat stand for? What does it truly want? Is this ambiguity merely a tactic to gain power, or are there deeper political calculations at play?” it questioned.
According to the report, political analysts described such dual messaging as “strategic ambiguity”, meaning deliberate avoidance to take a clear stance on a key issue to convey different messages to different audiences.
“While this may yield short-term political benefits, it severely damages credibility in the long run. That is exactly what is happening in the case of Jamaat,” it noted.
Emphasising that these two contradictory paths by Jamaat cannot be pursued simultaneously, the report said, “If Jamaat truly wants to come to power as a political party within a democratic framework, they must clearly state what they want regarding the implementation of Sharia. And if establishing Islamic Sharia is their main goal, then that plan must be openly presented to the public.”
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