Banning of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was added to the accumulated list of demands from Shahbagh and popular social media a few months back. It has generated renewed interest after the International Crime Tribunal commented on the possibility of trying Jamaat as a party for committing war crimes. In light of this, 20 imminent members of civil society again demanded the banning of the party ( Dhaka Tribune, July 21 2013). However, it is time to also recognize that banning a political party is entirely against the notion of democracy that has been established in Bangladesh through much turmoil. Is not democracy by its definition, supposed to be the platform whereupon anyone and everyone in the state can contest with their views and beliefs for public support with broader welfare as the ultimate goal?
I oppose the call for banning Jamaat not simply because it poses structural problems, but for other reasons, and the underlying fear that the ban will prove useless in the long run. For one, Jamaat will still have the option of organizing another political party under another name. If it is a clause in their constitution that will enable the judiciary in banning them, what is to stop them from omitting that clause or simply re-phrasing it to legitimize the party? After all, we have already seen them changing wordings of their party charter when “establishing the rule of Islam in the country through organized efforts,” was replaced by “establishing a society based on justice and equality through the democratic process in Bangladesh and to get the contentment of Allah, the Benevolent,” last December when faced with Election Commission threatening to cancel the party’s registration. (The Daily Independent, Dec 4 2012)
If the banning is due to the fact that Jamaat leaders are convicted or soon to be convicted war criminals, it still does not justify the banning of a party of a few thousand members (including its student wings), all of who surely cannot be convicted of these crimes. But most importantly of all, banning them could result in the dispersion of its members among the other major parties and thus provide a renewed opportunity to participate in national politics while maintaining their current ideologies. It is rather recommended and far less dangerous to let people express their views in public and under the banner of an organized institution giving the electorate a better chance of knowing the parties vying for their support.
There is also no denying that it is of utmost importance to ensure Jamaat does not get to hold office ever in the same country that their leaders have so violently conspired against. This holds true for anyone else from any other parties with similar diction. Besides this, in my personal view, the polarization of society and spreading religious extremism should be reason enough to not support Jamaat. The recent tirade over religious beliefs and the significant demonstration of intolerance after the brutal murders do not paint a rosy picture of the current state of our society. However, if anyone decides to vote for them come election time, a democracy should guarantee them the right to do so.
What then is the solution? In my view, it has a simple answer that will be difficult to realize. The only democratic way is to boycott the party altogether. And I do not just mean a boycott by the people. The boycott I propose should rather come from all the other major parties. At the end of the day, the two major parties both claim to have the good of the people in their hearts. Such a party should distance themselves ideologically, philosophically, and politically from anyone who would blatantly spread the seed of intolerance and may hamper the country’s development process in the long run. They should at the same time take it up as a part of their agenda to inform the mass electorate about the impending harm that might be caused by these forces. Sadly though, our two major parties have time and again sided with parties and individuals who will ensure they are the majority seat-winners in elections. The BNP-Jamaat or Awami League–Jatiya Party coalition all stands as proof to this claim.
If all major parties can commit to their ideologies and in doing so even welcome the chances of defeat in elections as opposed to being in power through a coalition with Jamaat and other questionable forces, it may be possible to root out these negative elements from having direct influence over our national life. It is high time for political parties to consider such long term plans in their manifestos than the short term ones based simply on greed for power.
