The paper investigates the dynamics between madrasa education and party politics in Bangladesh us... more The paper investigates the dynamics between madrasa education and party politics in Bangladesh using data gathered through in-depth field interviews with madrasa students and teachers, and it examines the nature of madrasas’ political engagements, views and orientations. It argues against the conventional wisdom that madrasas in Bangladesh do not have political affiliations and, explicitly, do not organise activism with political parties. The survey supports the argument that the government Aliya madrasas are aligned with Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami politics, whereas the private Qaumi madrasas’ political alignments vary depending on the strength of the political party in the area in which the madrasa is located and the madrasa’s economic condition. However, Qaumi madrasas exhibit their political activism by controlling the ‘true’ meaning of Islam, by maintaining a monopoly of authority on Islam, and by mobilising for Bangladesh to become a Sharia-based Islamic state.
The US policy in Afghanistan in the context of 9/11, under the broader rubric of the War on Terro... more The US policy in Afghanistan in the context of 9/11, under the broader rubric of the War on Terror (WoT), primarily was to topple the Taliban regime. Because the regime disagreed to comply with the US administra-tion's demand to extradite Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack in the USA in 2001. However, the WoT project did not end with the collapse of the Taliban regime, but rather, it was transformed to a state-building project in Afghanistan. Why was the WoT project shifted to state-building, a project which has been in continuation for last 17 years? This article investigates the post-9/11 US policy in Afghanistan from the perspective of offensive realism. Particularly, it examines the causes behind the US policy shift in Afghanistan from the WoT to a state-building project and its continuity. The article argues that US state-building in Afghanistan has been driven by two major motivations: the first is to maximize security by securitizing itself from further terrorist attacks, and the second policy priority is to prevent other regional hegemons to emerge in South Asia. It further contends that through the Afghanistan policy, the US administration maintains an onshore balance against China and offshore balance against India.
The article examines the process of making an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh and identifies... more The article examines the process of making an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh and identifies the actors involved. It argues that Islamist social Islamization movements in the form of various da'wa (preaching) activities, madrassah activisms, and Islamist political parties' Islamization projects collectively contribute to the making of an Islamist public sphere. It shows how da'wa movements' everyday living experiences, madrassah's absolute authority over public Islam, and Islamist political parties' social welfare, and associated activities construct an Islamist imagination. A parallel counter Islamist discursive arena with secular discourse is in construction and circulation that formulates oppositional interpretations based on Islamist identities, interests, and needs. The article argues that instead of explicitly challenging the secular hegemonic discourse, Islamist social movements engage in a contested relationship with it, and gradually claim their separate position. It further maintains that although these Islamist movements differ ideologically, and vary the ways they perform and propagate Islam, they invariably contribute to the rise of an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh.
This paper attempts to investigate modernity in contemporary Bangladesh, going beyond the Secular... more This paper attempts to investigate modernity in contemporary Bangladesh, going beyond the Secularism– Islamism binary, and arguing that modernity in Bangladesh should be understood by considering the triangular confluence of the impact of the Bengal Renaissance, the rise of Islamism, and the consequences of globalization. Based on history, the paper describes the movements and mechanisms of liberalist and Islamist modernizing approaches and examines their impact on dominant modernization debates in present Bangladesh. This paper examines why secularism became so contested in Bangladesh, why the conservative branch of Islamic modernity became dominant, and the complexities that globalization has added to modernity in Bangladesh.
Good governance remains at quagmire in Bangladesh. Bad governance or mal-governance, is often sur... more Good governance remains at quagmire in Bangladesh. Bad governance or mal-governance, is often surfacing with heavy tolls on people's expectations. There lie multiple causes beneath such discouraging state. In this article, employing post-colonial standpoint, we argue that the machinery of public administration or governance in Bangladesh culturally and psychologically is not ready to adopt the essence of good governance. The colonial mind set of the government officials and shadow colonial administrative culture are antithesis to the fundamental elements of good governance such as participatory and consensus oriented governing system. Therefore, the article ventures to suggest that to ensure the responsible, pro-citizen governance, the internalization of colonial cultural has to be elucidated or in Ngugi wa Thiong's language, the mind has to be decolonized.
The paper investigates the dynamics between madrasa education and party politics in Bangladesh us... more The paper investigates the dynamics between madrasa education and party politics in Bangladesh using data gathered through in-depth field interviews with madrasa students and teachers, and it examines the nature of madrasas’ political engagements, views and orientations. It argues against the conventional wisdom that madrasas in Bangladesh do not have political affiliations and, explicitly, do not organise activism with political parties. The survey supports the argument that the government Aliya madrasas are aligned with Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami politics, whereas the private Qaumi madrasas’ political alignments vary depending on the strength of the political party in the area in which the madrasa is located and the madrasa’s economic condition. However, Qaumi madrasas exhibit their political activism by controlling the ‘true’ meaning of Islam, by maintaining a monopoly of authority on Islam, and by mobilising for Bangladesh to become a Sharia-based Islamic state.
The US policy in Afghanistan in the context of 9/11, under the broader rubric of the War on Terro... more The US policy in Afghanistan in the context of 9/11, under the broader rubric of the War on Terror (WoT), primarily was to topple the Taliban regime. Because the regime disagreed to comply with the US administra-tion's demand to extradite Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack in the USA in 2001. However, the WoT project did not end with the collapse of the Taliban regime, but rather, it was transformed to a state-building project in Afghanistan. Why was the WoT project shifted to state-building, a project which has been in continuation for last 17 years? This article investigates the post-9/11 US policy in Afghanistan from the perspective of offensive realism. Particularly, it examines the causes behind the US policy shift in Afghanistan from the WoT to a state-building project and its continuity. The article argues that US state-building in Afghanistan has been driven by two major motivations: the first is to maximize security by securitizing itself from further terrorist attacks, and the second policy priority is to prevent other regional hegemons to emerge in South Asia. It further contends that through the Afghanistan policy, the US administration maintains an onshore balance against China and offshore balance against India.
The article examines the process of making an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh and identifies... more The article examines the process of making an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh and identifies the actors involved. It argues that Islamist social Islamization movements in the form of various da'wa (preaching) activities, madrassah activisms, and Islamist political parties' Islamization projects collectively contribute to the making of an Islamist public sphere. It shows how da'wa movements' everyday living experiences, madrassah's absolute authority over public Islam, and Islamist political parties' social welfare, and associated activities construct an Islamist imagination. A parallel counter Islamist discursive arena with secular discourse is in construction and circulation that formulates oppositional interpretations based on Islamist identities, interests, and needs. The article argues that instead of explicitly challenging the secular hegemonic discourse, Islamist social movements engage in a contested relationship with it, and gradually claim their separate position. It further maintains that although these Islamist movements differ ideologically, and vary the ways they perform and propagate Islam, they invariably contribute to the rise of an Islamist public sphere in Bangladesh.
This paper attempts to investigate modernity in contemporary Bangladesh, going beyond the Secular... more This paper attempts to investigate modernity in contemporary Bangladesh, going beyond the Secularism– Islamism binary, and arguing that modernity in Bangladesh should be understood by considering the triangular confluence of the impact of the Bengal Renaissance, the rise of Islamism, and the consequences of globalization. Based on history, the paper describes the movements and mechanisms of liberalist and Islamist modernizing approaches and examines their impact on dominant modernization debates in present Bangladesh. This paper examines why secularism became so contested in Bangladesh, why the conservative branch of Islamic modernity became dominant, and the complexities that globalization has added to modernity in Bangladesh.
Good governance remains at quagmire in Bangladesh. Bad governance or mal-governance, is often sur... more Good governance remains at quagmire in Bangladesh. Bad governance or mal-governance, is often surfacing with heavy tolls on people's expectations. There lie multiple causes beneath such discouraging state. In this article, employing post-colonial standpoint, we argue that the machinery of public administration or governance in Bangladesh culturally and psychologically is not ready to adopt the essence of good governance. The colonial mind set of the government officials and shadow colonial administrative culture are antithesis to the fundamental elements of good governance such as participatory and consensus oriented governing system. Therefore, the article ventures to suggest that to ensure the responsible, pro-citizen governance, the internalization of colonial cultural has to be elucidated or in Ngugi wa Thiong's language, the mind has to be decolonized.
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