Jamaat Continues to Use Religious Rhetoric to Mobilise Voters
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is facing widespread allegations of exploiting religious sentiment to mobilise voters ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections scheduled for February 12 next year.
According to multiple reports from different regions, grassroots leaders and activists of the party have been telling voters that supporting Jamaat in the election is a religious obligation. They claim that failure to vote for Jamaat would endanger one’s faith, while voting for the party would ensure divine reward and entry into heaven.
Several such campaign speeches and videos have gone viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism and raising concerns over the misuse of religion in electoral politics. Political analysts, rights activists and civil society leaders warn that such practices could undermine democratic norms, create fear and coercion among voters, and fuel social and communal polarisation.
Observers allege that Jamaat’s voter mobilisation strategy relies heavily on invoking religious identity, deliberately exploiting faith and emotion to consolidate support while deflecting scrutiny of its political agenda and historical record.
There are growing claims that Jamaat supporters are telling voters that casting ballots for Jamaat candidates will guarantee jannat (heaven), while voting against the party would put one’s iman (faith) at risk. At a rally in Kutubdia, Cox’s Bazar, Jamaat leader and madrasa principal Mohammad Abu Musa openly defended such rhetoric, claiming that Islam permits “selling heaven” in exchange for sacrifice and asking rhetorically who else could offer such “tickets” if Jamaat did not.
In Comilla-5 constituency, a Jamaat supporter urged voters to back the party’s candidate, warning that their faith would not survive if they failed to vote “in favour of Islam.”
Former Jahangirnagar University teacher and rights activist Professor Anu Muhammad said Jamaat has historically used religion as a political instrument and continues to do so systematically. He argued that the party lacks meaningful political or economic programmes and uses religion to obscure its role during the 1971 Liberation War.
He further said that Jamaat’s portrayal of Islam gives it a fascist character, as rejecting Jamaat politics is framed as rejecting Islam itself. According to him, the party promotes a rigid and exclusionary interpretation of religion to serve its political and corporate interests, sustaining discriminatory politics whose consequences were evident in 1971 and remain visible today.
Former Communist Party of Bangladesh president Mujahidul Islam Selim said the election code of conduct clearly prohibits the use of religious sentiment in campaigning. He urged the Election Commission to take decisive action against violations involving money, muscle power, administrative influence and communal provocation.
Selim also stated that Jamaat lost its moral and political legitimacy on December 16, 1971, when Pakistan surrendered along with its auxiliary forces, which he said included Jamaat. He added that both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party later facilitated Jamaat’s return to mainstream politics.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said money, muscle and religion have long been used as tools of political capital in Bangladesh. He described the exploitation of religious sentiment through misleading interpretations as unethical and a form of religious sacrilege. He added that such practices violate the spirit of the July Charter, which affirms Bangladesh as a multi-religious country with full religious freedom for all citizens.
Bangladesh Rashtra Songskar Andolon president Hasnat Kayum warned that Jamaat’s strategy of alternating between religious rhetoric, coercion and association with the July uprising could destabilise the political environment and push the country toward a serious future crisis.
Reports from Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Sylhet indicate that Jamaat candidates are openly campaigning on promises of establishing Islamic governance. In Rajshahi, a Jamaat candidate urged voters to support the party symbol to implement Qur’anic law through state power, declaring that rejecting Qur’anic guidance equated to disbelief and injustice. He also warned that voters would be questioned on the Day of Judgement about whether they supported divine law or man-made law.
In Chapainawabganj, a Jamaat leader claimed that corruption and inequality could be eliminated if the state were governed by Islamic principles and said the party would soon publish an election manifesto centred on honesty and accountability.
In Sylhet, local residents reported being repeatedly told by Jamaat and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists that voting for Jamaat was a religious duty and that Islamic law would be introduced if the party came to power.
Among other examples circulating online, a Jamaat candidate from Pabna described choosing the leader of a Muslim state as a religious obligation greater than prayer, fasting, Hajj or Zakat. Another Jamaat candidate from Kushtia claimed that casting a vote would earn spiritual rewards equivalent to the prayers of 180 million people.
When contacted, Jamaat assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair denied that the party allows the use of religion in election campaigning. He said the leadership was monitoring the issue centrally and warned that strict action would be taken against anyone found violating party policy.
