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According to top intelligence sources, the growing engagement between Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and China will have significant impact on regional politics and diplomacy
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Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh, is engaging with various international organisations and foreign dignitaries to promote its ideology and interests, as part of a global outreach.
The party’s Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman recently met Chinese Ambassador HE Yao Wen. The Jamaat-e-Islami, according to reports, is working like a delegation of diplomats.
In the meeting with China, it sought support for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
According to top intelligence sources, the growing engagement between Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and China will have significant impact on regional politics and diplomacy.
JAMAAT & MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
The Muslim Brotherhood, an international organisation promoting Islamist ideology, is the main source of funding for Jamaat, said sources.
“Both of them share Islamist ideology emphasising the implementation of Sharia law and the establishment of an Islamic state. Both are anti-secularism and have anti-Western sentiments. By funding the Jamaat, the Muslim Brotherhood aims to expand its Islamist influence in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh,” according to sources.
They added that the Brotherhood can also counter rival Islamist groups by funding Jamaat.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh HE Mr. Yao Wen meets Jamaat AmeerChinese Ambassador to Bangladesh HE Mr. Yao Wen paid a courtesy call to the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dr. Shafiqur Rahman at the central office of the organization on 2nd September, Monday. He led a… pic.twitter.com/vdkmTbjemI
— Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (@BJI_Official) September 2, 2024
“Promoting pan-Islamism by Muslim Brotherhood support for JIB reflects its commitment to promoting pan-Islamism, which emphasizes the unity and solidarity of Muslim communities worldwide,” said.
Bangladesh’s strategic location, bordering India and Myanmar, makes it crucial for Islamist organizations seeking to expand their influence in South Asia.
“The Brotherhood’s funding of Jamaat may also be intended to counterbalance China’s growing economic and strategic influence in Bangladesh and the broader region,” said sources.
INDIA-BANGLADESH TIES
The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India met Monday in Bangladesh’s capital to discuss relations between the neighbors, including growing tensions since the fall of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled into exile in India in August.
The tensions have grown over the recent arrest in Bangladesh of a Hindu spiritual leader under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Alleged attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh and on a Bangladesh diplomatic mission in India were expected to feature prominently in the talks. India stopped issuing visas for Bangladeshis except emergency medical visas after Hasina’s ouster.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misra was holding the daylong talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Mohammad Jashim Uddin, in the first high-level visit by an Indian official since massive protests ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.
With PTI Inputs
