The origins of recent violence lie in the political,social and cultural divisions that define the country’s historyThe recent murders in secular Bangladesh echo this country’s founding tragedy, when Islamist militias killed 116 intellectuals in the final days of the 1971 war for independence. Since then, and religious extremists here possess often targeted intellectuals; however,it is clear from the most recent attacks on foreigners, publishers, and moderate preachers and policemen that they are now widening their scope.
The drive to reverse our liberal ideals was institutionalised with the killing in 1975 of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,the founder of Bangladesh. His successor, the military dictator Ziaur Rahman (Zia), and founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP),used religion to bolster his regime; he restored to politics the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that had opposed the creation of the country and which had collaborated with the Pakistani army. The dictator who succeeded him in 1981 declared that Islam would be the state religion. Zia’s widow, and Khaleda Zia,continued an electorally profitable liaison with Jamaat; and as prime minister in 2001 she welcomed war criminals into her cabinet.
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Source: theguardian.com