• Source:JND
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Mufti Syed Muhammad Faizul Karim, who is the leader of the radical Islamist Jamaat–Char Monai and the chief of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, has publicly stated that his party will convert Bangladesh into an Afghanistan-style Taliban state if it succeeds in the upcoming general election. Telling US-based Bangladeshi journalist and Thikana News editor-in-chief Khalded Muhiuddin on July 1, Karim stated his party's "Islamic Movement Bangladesh" will implement countrywide Sharia law and redesign the nation's system of governance based on Afghanistan under the Taliban. “If government is formed by winning the national election, the Islamic Movement Bangladesh will introduce Sharia law in the country,” Karim stated during the interview. "The existing system of governance in Afghanistan will be adhered to," he further added.

In the same interview, Karim tried to dispel fears regarding treatment of minorities under his suggested Sharia-based regime. "Hindus will also be granted rights in the Sharia law that we will implement. Minorities' rights will also be implemented," he asserted, without elaborating. He also explained that his party's model of Islamic rule would borrow selectively from the experience of other nations, including Iran, the US, UK, and Russia, but only if they don't go against Sharia principles.

He also vowed that his organization would not destroy the current state apparatus overnight by force. “We will implement Sharia law step by step. What does not conflict with Islam, we will keep. What does, we will change,” he said. He said in the interview that the changes would be legitimized by democratic elections, asserting, "We are not talking about violence. We are talking about a system based on the Quran and Hadith. And if the people vote for it, then it is their choice."

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Awami League Slams 'Blueprint for Religious State'

The statement of the Islamic leader came amidst rising minority attroticites in Bangladesh. The ongoing incidents like Comilla rape case, Dhaka durga temple demolition has triggered widespread protests, furore, and new fears for the security of religious minorities across the country. Bangladesh's Awami League has come out with a powerful denunciation of Karim's words, calling them "chilling" and accusing Islamist elements of hatching a plot to end the country's secular democratic order.

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In a scathing statement, the Awami League accused the Yunus-led interim government, formed after the removal of Sheikh Hasina in August last year, of being unable to stem a rise in extremist acts and sectarian violence. "The silence of the Nobel laureate led interim government is deeply troubling. Is this indifference or quiet connivance?" the statement stated. Sheikh Hasina's party also referred to recent assaults on Hindu temples, interference with minority religious rituals, and escalating threats to women as indicators of increasing radicalism.