https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21876/bangladesh-toward-caliphate
In an unprecedented escalation of Islamist persecution, Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — has begun imposing the jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims, openly declaring its intent to replace the country’s secular democratic framework with Islamic sharia law.
Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including Al Qaeda, Jamaat-e-Islami’s move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence. This development threatens not only Bangladesh’s fragile democracy but also poses a strategic security risk to South Asia and the wider free world.
In the United States, Jamaat-e-Islami maintains deep ties with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). According to the Observer Research Foundation, these organizations have succeeded in securing funding from U.S. federal agencies — particularly USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In 2020, Sam Westrop documented in the Middle East Quarterly that millions of federal taxpayer dollars have flowed to US-based Islamist groups with alleged terror connections — a trend that continued even during the first Trump administration: “A variety of other dangerous Islamist groups continue to enjoy government approval and partnership. USAID openly urges Americans to donate to terror-linked charities such as LIFE for Relief and Development…”
Under interim head of government Muhammad Yunus, radical Islamist groups have grown emboldened, openly pushing for the transformation of the country into a theocratic state.
This vacuum has allowed ISIS and Al-Qaeda to expand their regional presence. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, seeing a “golden opportunity”, has intensified its subversive operations in both Bangladesh and other neighboring countries.
This development is not just a domestic issue — it is a warning to the world about the resurgence of militant Islamism in South Asia.
In an unprecedented escalation of Islamist persecution, Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — has begun imposing the jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims, openly declaring its intent to replace the country’s secular democratic framework with Islamic sharia law.
Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including Al Qaeda, Jamaat-e-Islami’s move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence. This development threatens not only Bangladesh’s fragile democracy but also poses a strategic security risk to South Asia and the wider free world.
