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Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is the largest and most influential Islamic political party in Bangladesh. In the last general election (2001) it secured 18 seats (among 300 seats) in the parliament and awarded 2 ministries for its role in the formation of the four-party alliance that gained a landslide victory in the 2001 Parliamentary Election. Today the BNP-Jamaat alliance enjoys a two-third majority in the Parliament. Jamaat (as it is often called) currently has 18 MPs and two ministers, which might be compared to the situation in 1996 when the party only had two MPs.
Jamaat is basically an ideological party that advocates for greater role of Islam in public life. The accoring to the party itself, the main objective of Jamaat is the establishment of Deen or Islamic social order through ethical, peaceful, constructive, democratic, and constitutional means. Jamaat claims that it lives up to its standards since its inception in 1941.
History of the party
The Jamaat-e-Islami was founded in pre-partition India by Syed Ab'ul Ala Maududi in 1941. Maulana Maududi moved to Pakistan after independence and the current party in Bangladesh originated out of the East Pakistan wing of the party. However, Jamaat had opposed the creation of a separate state for the Muslims of India.
After mass killing operation of the Pakistani army begin on March 25 1971, one of the bloodiest genocides of history, Jamaat created groups in order to help the Pakistani army in operations against the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Army). The victims of the terror of Jamaat were in many cases innocent Bengalis. These groups were named Rajakar, Al-Badr, Al-Shams etc. The names of these groups were taken from Islamic history. Jamaat was also the mastermind of the kiling of intellectual Bengali university professors, musicians and writers on December 14 1971. The day is today known in Bangladesh as 'Bhuddijibi Dibos', and occured just before the surrender of Pakistani army. Before the surrender of the Pakistani army, several Jamaat leaders fled to West Pakistan. After the end of the war, many of its party members were attacked in Bangladesh.
Jamaat was banned by post-war Bangladesh government and citizenship of Golam Azam, leader of Jamaat, was cancelled . But when Ziaur Rahman came to power in 1977, he allowed the party carry out political activities in the country. Ziaur Rahman also appointed a former 'Rajakar' named Shah Azizur Rahman as the prime minister of his presidential government. He also allowed Golam Azam to return to Bangladesh from Pakistan. Golam Azam came back with a Pakistani passport and retook the position as the leader of Jamaat.
In the 1990's, protests began against Golam Azam and Jamaat because of their war-crimes. But the then BNP government gave Azam Bangladeshi citizenship and allowed the party to continue political activity. Frightened by protestors like Jahanara Imam, a people's court (Gano Adalot), the '71 war-criminal protest committe, etc., the party minimzed its acitivties for a certain time in 1990's. Later it named another former Rajakar Motiur Rahman Nizami as its leader.
Although it participates in the national government, the Jamaat' is still politically stigmatized amongst large sections of Bangladeshi society, because of their role as active colaborators with the Pakistani regime during the Liberation War. The word rajakar today carries the meaning 'traitor' in common Bangladeshi parlance (similar to the usage of the word Quisling after the Second World War).
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