January 21, 2026 3:16 PM
How an Islamist party is gaining ground in Bangladesh, worrying moderates
Long vilified for opposing independence and barred from electoral politics for over a decade, Bangladesh's biggest Islamist party is reinventing itself and attracting new support ahead of parliamentary polls next month, unsettling moderates and minority communities. Jamaat-e-Islami began its overhaul soon after a youth-led uprising in the Muslim-majority nation of 175 million people toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. With Hasina’s Awami League banned, Jamaat is betting on it...