The Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, recently told The Economist that Islamic extremism will not dominate the country’s political landscape; rather, the youth of Bangladesh will create a new Bangladesh.
But the situation on the ground in Bangladesh tells a different story. Following the ousting of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Islamist factions have filled the power vacuum in Bangladesh, leading to a surge in anti-Hindu violence.
Jihadist propaganda and pro-Pakistan Islamist movements have resurged, framing India as an existential threat to Islamic identity in Bangladesh. The interim government’s inaction has emboldened extremists, deepening sectarian tensions and heightening the risk of regional destabilisation. The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh has ended the detention of extremist leaders under the alleged influence of Jamaat-e-Islami, a group outlawed by the erstwhile Sheikh Hasina government.
The Bangladeshi Hindu community comprises about 8 percent of the country’s population and has historically aligned with Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. The group has suffered from the political and sectarian unrest that has gripped Bangladesh.
On January 3 this year, a Hindu businessman was abducted and his shop looted in Patuakhali, followed by the robbery of another Hindu family’s home in Jessore the next day by Islamists posing as police. Heightened security concerns were subsequently evident in the run-up to the April 2025 Hindu festivals, such as Maha Ashtami and Basanti Puja, when military forces were deployed to protect worshippers. In spite of this, Hindu religious sites and symbols were desecrated with apparent impunity.
The interim government led by Mohammad Yunus has largely failed to stop the violence against the minorities and has also made matters worse by lifting bans on radical Islamist groups and releasing terror suspects from jail who rule the roost on the streets of Bangladesh. It is ironic that the current Bangladesh regime is hobnobbing with the same radicals it once sought to keep at bay. Bangladesh, which fought hard for its independence to escape from the shadows of Pakistan, is now starting to reflect as a mirror image of the same Pakistan.
The ongoing political vacuum in Bangladesh has created an opportunity for Islamist and jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS)-linked factions, to resurface and expand their influence. This includes the Ansarullah Bangla Team, Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and Hizbut Tahrir. Meanwhile, the al Qaeda-linked Ansarula Bangla Tigers, emboldened by the release of its chief Jashimuddin Rahmani from prison in August 2024, has issued threats against India, incited violence against Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, and called for an Islamist uprising.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has pursued a vigorous anti-India strategy and is building ties with other Islamist parties to consolidate power. Prominent pro-Pakistan hardline Islamist groups like JI, Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh have started denouncing some of the Yunus government’s reforms as “anti-Islamic”. Their opposition underscores the growing hold of Islamist groups in Bangladesh’s socio-political arena.
In what can be called ominous signs of the coming future in Bangladesh, Muhammad Mamunul Haque, joint secretary of Hefazat-e-Islam, an influential coalition of Islamic schools, has said that if his party comes to power in the upcoming general elections, then the group will push to implement sharia, or Islamic law in Bangladesh. “Radical Sharia law” refers to interpretations and applications of Islamic law, Sharia, that are considered extreme or fundamentalist. This often involves strict adherence to traditional interpretations, potentially leading to harsh punishments and limited personal freedoms, particularly for women.
It is clearly evident that once progressive Bangladesh has lost its way under the caretaker government. If Muhammad Yunus continues to be in power for long, fundamentalism will take centre stage in the country, dragging it back to medieval times.