US Ambassador Moriarty, in a submission before the International Commisison for Religious Freedom in Washington, said that the next elections in Bangladesh will be a watershed. It could launch Bangladesh as “a model of a relatively prosperous Muslim majority country” or it could return to the “winner-take-all obstructionist politics of previous years”. He said the stakes of USA in the 29th December elections are enormous.
There is a great deal in Ambassador Moriarty's submission that both the mainstream parties of Bangladesh should focus on for the future of the country. In a part of his submission, the Ambassador said that Bangladesh's Islamic fundamentalism is largely home grown and that they have no known links to international terrorist groups, particularly, the dangerous Al Qaeda. He nevertheless warned that if the next elections lead to a breakdown in law and order, Bangladesh could become a breeding ground for terrorists and groups wishing to operate in South and Southeast Asia.
Bangladesh is now at such a point in its history where, given the right politics and political leadership, it could become a success story within a very short time with support of its development partners led by the USA. It had such a chance not too long ago but squandered that largely as a result of the failure of politics. In 2001, the BNP had come to power right after 9/11 when USA and her allies were seeking a Muslim country to show the world that Islam is not a religion of the terrorists; that a Muslim country can have a liberal democracy. Bangladesh was ideally placed to be that nation, given its history of communal harmony where Islam, under the influence of the Sufis, had influenced its people to a degree of communal tolerance that made it stand out among the nations of South Asia. Bangladesh lost that chance because of BNP's indulgence with the Islamist forces in the country. The rise of forces such as JMB and terrorists such as Bangla Bhai that the BNP Government tolerated till it was too late damaged Bangladesh's liberal traditions to such an extent that in 2005 on a visit to New Delhi, Condolizza Rice referred to Bangladesh “as the next Afghanistan”. The AL, on its part, went abroad with that indulgence, labeling the BNP as Taliban Government. Thus Bangladesh's rightful pride as the most tolerant part of South Asia was sacrificed at the altar of politics.
The election of Barak Obama as the next President of the United States could give Bangladesh a second chance to regain its position as a Muslim majority country with a working liberal democracy if it tries really hard. It is very important that Bangladesh does so. The President-elect has put into place a foreign affairs team that suggests very clearly that he intends to send a very strong message to the rest of the world that his administration would try and regain the confidence that was lost as a consequence of President Bush's foreign policy initiatives such as the right of pre-emptive strikes and “you are either with us or against us” attitude. The new administration is clearly set to make a paradigm shift in fighting the war on terrorism where it will encourage Muslim countries such as Bangladesh to contain the rise of Islamic terrorism in their countries by projecting Islam as a religion of peace.
To be on the right side of the new US administration, the two mainstream parties must first show that they are serious about establishing democracy by participating in the elections and then accepting its verdict. The Caretaker Government must also play its part by taking an impartial role so that neither the AL nor the BNP would have any reason to accuse it of interference. Once power is transferred, the government and the opposition must cooperate for the sake of the country, make parliament functional and withdraw totally from street agitation and 'hartals'. They could begin such cooperation with a bipartisan approach on the agenda of economic development and foreign affairs.
The issue of handling the Islamist forces in Bangladesh is important for two reasons. First, it is fundamental to establishing Bangladesh's undoubted liberal traditions as a Muslim majority country in order to increase and consolidate US stakes in Bangladesh, as hinted by Ambassador Moriarty. Second, as Islamic terrorists are cornered in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, they would be attracted to Bangladesh in case politics here is ruled by conflict and agitation, with a government and opposition as loggerheads as they had been before 1/11. Unless Bangladesh wakes up to this prospect immediately, Rice's prediction about the country becoming the next Afghanistan could as well be prophetic.
Senator Obama's election is a historical phenomenon. There is hope everywhere that he would bring back sunshine to the troubled world after eight harsh winters under President Bush. Among so many positives that President-elect Obama has brought into politics, the one that is absolutely crucial for Bangladesh to take lesson from is the hand of friendship he has extended to his critics in the spirit of another American legend, President Abraham Lincoln who gave critical cabinet posts to his former critics and enemies by putting interest of his country first. Bangladesh is at a cross roads like US was under President Lincoln and now under President-elect Obama. Bangladesh's future would be assured if the BNP and the AL follows the example of Barak Obama in dealing with political opposition by putting the country foremost.
Bangladesh's Islamic basis must not be taken lightly. In fact it is the Islamic basis that gives the country hope that it could be as Ambassador Moriarty has predicted - a model of a relatively prosperous Muslim majority state for its Islamic basis has been influenced by liberal traditions of Sufism. Ignoring this Islamic basis or showing insensitivity towards it would help the cause of the Islamic fundamentalists. If the AL wins the elections, it should be careful that in dealing with Islamic fundamentalism, Islam is respected. If BNP wins, its task should be not to repeat the mistakes it made by the indulgence it gave to the Islamic forces while in power the last time. Both parties should take heed that US and Bangladesh can have a meaningful partnership if they help in moving Bangladesh “towards development, democracy and denial of space to terrorism” to quote from Ambassador Moriarty's submission.
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