Why Islamic parties are earning importance

Recently Islamist parties are becoming very important to the government. This phenomenon has come up following a meeting between Hefazat-E-Islam and head of the government on 11 April. Gazette has been in the meantime published recognizing higher degrees from Qawmi Madrasas equivalent to honors and masters qualifications. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has complained that the government is negotiating with Islamic clerics to secure votes for upcoming polls.

Hefazat-E-Islam is not a political organization. This organization comprises of all the Qawmi Madrasa of the entire country. Hefazat-E-Islam is mainly based on Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi who is Principal of Darul Ulum Mardasa of Hathajari, Chittagong. Allama Shafi is highly respected by thousands of teachers and students of all Qawmi Madrasa of the whole country.

For this reason Allama Shafi holds high influence on all these mardasas countrywide. Hefazat-E-Islam organized a mass gathering on 5th May 2013 at Motijheel in Dhaka. Thousands of mardasa students arrived in Dhaka that day to participate in the rally. That day a massive clash took place between Hefazat activists and law and order forces. This occurrence raised a great controversy later on. Allama Shafi also became all the more prominent after this clash.

Allama Shafi received criticism for some of his speeches. He came to be called "tamarind hujur" by some people. It is quite normal that questions have come up regarding the government's recent meeting with Hefazat-E-Islam. Several ministers and some parties allied with the government have expressed astonishment at the government's negotiation with this controversial party

. BNP supported Hefazat's activities including its mass rally of 2013. Khaleda Zia did not attend Hefazat's mass gathering on 5th May 2013 but leaders from her party participated in the gathering and conveyed their support to Hefazat's programs. Awami League, being a secular party, is not supposed to sit for negotiation with a radical party like Hefazat-E-Islam. Moreover, a picture showing Allama Shafi and the head of government has meanwhile gone viral on social networks.

 Now the question is why Hefazat is earning so much importance from the government? Is it just for giving recognition to mardasa degrees or is there any ulterior political motive behind it? Hefazat-E-Islam is not a political party. Neither it's registered with Election Commission (EC). Islamic parties don't have public base in our country. Jamaat-E-Islami has some public support but it is no longer registered with EC. Islamic parties registered with EC include Jaker Party, Bangladesh Tariquat Federation, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, Jamiat-E-Ulamay Bangladesh, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Islami Oikkojot, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Front and Khelafat Majlish.

Former President HM Ershad formed a national alliance with some Islamic parties during the election of 2001. Recently Ershad has formed an alliance with a few nominal Islamic parties. Islamic parties allied with BNP include Jamaat-E-Islami, Islami Oikkojot, Khelafat Majlish, Jamiat E Ulamay Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islamic Party. On the other hand, Awami League is allied with no Islamic party except Tariquat Federation.

There are some questions about the education system of Qwaumi mardasas. The government has no control over these mardasas. Nobody knows what is taught in these mardasas. Alia mardasas are controlled by Mardasa Education Board. Currently there are fifteen thousand registered Qawmi Madrasa in the country. But some sources have informed that there are around sixty thousand Qawmi Madrasaacross the country. Qawmi Madrasas are run by a handful of people some of whom are involved in politics. An initiative was taken to modernize education of Qawmi Madrasain 2006 but it came to a halt due to change of government afterwards.

Later on another committee was formed in 2012. As far as we know, this committee proposed to reform Qwaumi mardasas' education system in six steps-primary, junior certificate, SSC, HSC, honors and masters equivalents. At the same time this committee proposed to incorporate Bengali, English, sociology, science and technology in the curriculum of Qwaumi mardasas. At present students of Qawmi Madrasas don't have enough ideas about general or modern education. So, there are doubts that making their degrees equivalent to honors or masters may not be much fruitful.

Higher education in Bangladesh is already facing some questions. Thousands of students are passing with masters from 37 public universities and almost one hundred private universities. On top of that there is National University where getting certificates is the main aim in a student's life. Now Qawmi Madrasas have been added to all these institutions and degrees.

 As a result there is likely to be an explosion of higher educational certificates in our country. These certificates will not be able to make any contribution to our social life or state mechanism. University Grants Commission (UGC) was not consulted before announcing Qwaumi mardasas' degrees equivalent to honors and masters whereas UGC plays very important roles in enhancement of higher education. Actually the latest decision about degrees from Qawmi Madrasa has been formulated to secure support from the teachers and pupils of these mardasas and to form an alliance with Hefazat-E-Islam.

 The government should have consulted educationists whether making religious degrees equivalent to masters is logical or not. Giving recognition to such degrees will not lead to any benefits for higher education. Rather such degrees will cause various complications.

It would be wrong to get closer to Hefazat on the basis on electoral calculation. Islamic parties have very weak footholds in the electoral culture of Bangladesh. Let's look at some statistical figures. No Islamic party contested in the election of 1973. Gonotantrik Islamic Front got 10.07% votes (20 seats) in the election of 1979. Khan A Sabur's Muslim League and Mawlana Abdur Rahim's Islamic Democratic League came together and launched Gonotantrik Islamic Front. Hafezzi Hujur from Ulama Front got 1.79% votes in the presidential election of 1981 whereas BNP candidate Abdus Sattar obtained 65.80% votes. In the parliamentary election of 1986 Jamaate-E-Islami got 10 seats (4.61% votes). BNP abstained from that election. A

wami League secured 76 seats and 26.15% votes in the election of 1986. In the election of 1988 no big party contested. Jamaat-E-Islami gained 18 seats (12.13% votes) in the election of 1991. Jamaat got only 3 seats and Islami Oikkojot got only 1 seat in the election of 1996. Jamaat gained 17 seats (4.28% votes) in the polls of 2001 and Islami Oikkojot secured only 2 seats. In the polls of 2008 Jamaat attained only 2 seats and Islami Oikkojot got only 0.16% votes. On the other hand, Tariquat Federation got 2 seats only in the election of 2014.

 It means that Jamaat has some organizational premises in our country but no other Islamic party has any public base. Under the current circumstances, Jamaat-E-Islami is in trouble. This party is now suffering from organizational weakness and has also lost its registration. So, choosing Hefazat as an alternative for Jamaat is not out of place but Hefazat-E-Islam is not a political party though their 13-point demands have political underpinnings. All concerned will be observing what happens if Hefazat appears as a political front in near future and participates in next polls. It would not be any surprise if Hefazat-E-Islam emerges in the country's political arena as a substitute for Jamaat.

The writer is a Professor of International Relations at Jahangirnagar University