Answer to a Question
Question:
On 5/8/2024, it was announced that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh had resigned and fled the country following protests against the quota system for public sector jobs that began early last month. The protests turned bloody since the middle of last month when followers of the ruling party clashed with protesters. The army announced it had taken over, and the President announced the dissolution of Parliament and the appointment of an interim government. Were these protests planned? Was the military intervention by agreement? And does this matter relate to the international conflict over the country?
Answer:
In order to clarify the answer to the above questions, we review the following matters:
1- Bangladesh is an Islamic land. During the early years of the thirteenth century CE, Muslims opened Bengal during the campaign of Muhammad Ghori in late 1192 CE, which extended across northern India. Bangladesh, the eighth most populous country in the world with about 171 million people, is located in South Asia and bordered by Myanmar and India. More than 90% of the population are Muslims, and the official religion of the country is Islam. As part of Britain's "divide and rule" policy, the Awami League, based in East Pakistan and led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—a British agent supported by the British—declared independence from Pakistan after the war in 1971.
2- Prime Minister Hasina inherited subservience to Britain, the country's former colonialist, from her father, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Mujibur Rahman, head of the Awami League. He and his family members were executed in 1975 by officers who carried out a coup against him; she survived because she was abroad during the coup. She lived in India until she was allowed to return to her country and engage in political activity in 1981. She first took office as Prime Minister between 1996 and 2001 and has held the government since 2009 until today. She was accused of rigging the elections held at the beginning of this year, where her party, the Awami League, won an overwhelming majority in the Parliament, securing 233 out of 300 seats, in addition to 9 seats from an allied party. Other parties rejected the results, considering them sham elections, and America also criticized them. However, Hasina's regime officially declared her victory!
3- During her periods of rule, Hasina worked to strike at American agents and consolidate British influence in the military, political circles, the judiciary, and other centers. She competed with the leader of the opposition party, the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Khaleda Zia, who inherited subservience to America from her husband, General Ziaur Rahman. He came to power in 1977 and was assassinated in 1981 by British agents. His wife, Khaleda Zia, headed the government in two terms between 1991–1996 and 2001–2006. She was later sentenced on charges of corruption and abuse of power. She and those detained during the recent demonstrations were released after Hasina fled on 5/8/2024. Therefore, there is an international conflict in Bangladesh between the old colonialist, Britain, which possesses strong influence, and its peer, the new colonialist, America. America established influence by gaining agents in the military since its agent, General Ziaur Rahman, seized power in 1977, as well as finding agents in the political medium, particularly the wife of General Zia and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Nevertheless, the dominant influence remains British influence.
4- Hasina and her government worked to fight those seeking the return of Islam to governance because she and her party are secular nationalists. Politically, she is a follower of the Western colonialist who fights Islam and its return to power. Thus, she banned Hizb ut-Tahrir on 22/10/2009 because it calls for the return of Islam to governance through the establishment of the Righteous Khilafah (Caliphate) state. It should be noted that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party whose ideology is Islam, and it does not adopt material (physical) actions as its method; rather, it carries out political struggle and intellectual conflict. She also banned four other Islamic groups. She threw many of the youth of Hizb ut-Tahrir and other groups into prisons and executed some Islamic leaders. Hasina Wajid began her political liquidations against the Jamaat-e-Islami since 2013 under the pretext that they were war criminals who rejected the independence of Bangladesh, while the goal was to get rid of the Islamic movement. Among the most prominent figures from the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami who were arrested, executed, or died in prison so far are seven senior scholars—five were executed by hanging, and two died in prison before their death sentences were carried out. (6/8/2024, alestiklal.net). Hasina was intensely hostile to Islam and to those calling for its return to governance and the unity of Muslims in one state. She headed a secular party founded by her father, who committed high treason by separating East Pakistan (Bangladesh) from West Pakistan with the support of Britain and its agents in India in 1971.
5- Bangladesh suffers from chronic economic crises due to the lack of real progress and its dependency on foreign political and economic powers. Estimates indicate that about 18 million young Bangladeshis are looking for jobs, and university graduates face striking unemployment rates! More than 40% of the Bangladeshi population aged between 15 and 24 are neither working nor receiving education. On 5/8/2024, the BBC broadcasted interviews regarding the economic situation in Bangladesh; Lutfey Siddiqi, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, stated, "Regime change in Bangladesh is economically inevitable, and what happened was a matter of time. Hasina's government lost the right and power to rule, and the resources needed for it will also run out. Bangladesh is on the verge of economic collapse." Note that Hasina's government mortgaged the country's economy and resources to foreign companies, especially British, American, Chinese, and Indian ones. It began to rely on interest-based loans under harsh conditions from the IMF and the World Bank—both institutions dominated by America—alongside the Chinese-led Asian Development Bank. This means the situation in Bangladesh was strained and on the verge of explosion.
6- Bangladesh began to witness a wave of student protests since the beginning of last month, on 1/7/2024, against the employment system. The protests aimed to abolish the quota system in the public sector, which allocated about 56% of jobs to specific groups. The Prime Minister and her entourage exploited this to employ their relatives and supporters while depriving opponents. Among these specified groups included in the jobs "were those who participated with her father and their children" in the high treason during the secession war between East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and West Pakistan, supported by Britain and its agents in India in 1971. This was the employment system that the protests began against, as students demanded that employment be based on merit rather than other considerations. These protests succeeded in abolishing this system; the Supreme Court of Bangladesh announced on 21/7/2024 that the decision to reintroduce job quotas was illegal. However, this did not help silence the protesters. The day 16/7/2024 saw the first deaths in these protests when students from Hasina's party followers confronted the protesters in Dhaka with sticks and threw stones at each other.
7- To stop these protests, Hasina's government ordered the closure of schools and universities nationwide. Hasina made statements calling for students to be calm and pledged to punish every murder in the protests. But the protesters rejected her statements and began targeting her specifically, chanting the slogan "Down with the Dictator" and burning the headquarters of the state broadcaster in Bangladesh and dozens of other government buildings. The government cut off internet services. The protests began to flare up more and more, with the number of dead and wounded increasing daily. A 24-hour curfew was announced, and soldiers were deployed. The police fired bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators, and the curfew was declared nationwide with army forces deployed to maintain security. On the evening of 19/7/2024, the death of 105 people was announced. Naeemul Islam Khan, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office, said, "The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the army to assist the civil authorities" (AFP, 19/7/2024). Communications, news broadcasts, and some mobile phone services were cut off in an attempt to suppress the protests. Protesters stormed a prison and released hundreds of its inmates on 19/7/2024 before setting fire to the building. The total death toll of the protests in Bangladesh reached about 409 people, according to AFP, based on data from police, government officials, and doctors. It appears the events erupted as spontaneous student protests against the job system where the majority were deprived of employment. The protests were not limited to students; people from all walks of life began to join them in numbers reaching about 400,000 people. These demonstrations were considered an unprecedented challenge and threat to Hasina's 15-year authoritarian rule.
8- The Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh, General Waker-uz-Zaman, announced on 5/8/2024 that he would take full responsibility after Hasina's resignation and flight, and would form an interim government. He said via state television, "I promise you that all grievances will be dealt with," and "The country has suffered much, the economy has been damaged, and a large number of people have been killed; it is time to stop the violence" (AFP, 5/8/2024). General Waker-uz-Zaman was an infantry officer, appointed last June as Chief of Army Staff. Hasina trusted him due to their distant kinship, and he served as her advisor in her office. His father-in-law was the Chief of Army Staff during Hasina's first term from 1996 to 2001. Waker-uz-Zaman received military training in Britain and holds a Master's degree in Defense Studies from the National University of Bangladesh and from the British King’s College London. This confirms that he is of the same mold as Hasina's regime, loyal to Britain, which instructed him to step in and maintain its influence in Bangladesh by seizing power. He agreed with Hasina that she should leave to preserve her life, as her staying would exacerbate the crisis and lead to more bloodshed. After that, the army tried to approach the protesters to calm the situation; thus, on the penultimate day before seizing power, the army allowed the protests and prohibited firing at any of the protesters as a way to win them over for stabilization.
9- When the Chief of Army Staff, General Waker-uz-Zaman, announced his takeover of the country's affairs, he promised to form an interim government as soon as possible and that he would hold talks with major opposition parties and members of civil society, but without the Awami League, Hasina's party. To appease America and block its path—out of British political cunning—the Presidency in Bangladesh announced on 7/8/2024 that Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, would head the transitional government. The presidential statement said, "The decision to form a transitional government headed by Yunus was taken during a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, senior army officers, and leaders of the 'Students Against Discrimination' group." The statement added, "The President asked the people to help him overcome the crisis. The rapid formation of a transitional government was necessary to overcome the crisis" (AFP, 7/8/2024). Following this, Muhammad Yunus, who was in Europe and is 84 years old, announced his readiness to head the transitional government. Thus, the British worked to save themselves from falling and to maintain their influence when their agent fled to India by military helicopter under the pressure of the protests. The government and Parliament were dissolved, the Army Chief took control, and an elderly American agent like Muhammad Yunus was appointed to head the interim government until future parliamentary elections and the formation of a new elected government. By this, they worked to silence the protesters by removing Hasina and to appease America by appointing Muhammad Yunus, who is loyal to it. Former US President Bill Clinton had previously praised him, saying he deserved the Nobel Prize: "Professor Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 jointly with Grameen Bank... and US President Bill Clinton was an advocate for granting the Nobel Prize to Muhammad Yunus. During a speech in 2002, President Clinton described Yunus as the man who should have won the Nobel Prize a long time ago." (Al-Jumhur, Tuesday 6/8/2024). Note that Hasina was fighting him; a Bangladeshi court sentenced him on 1/1/2024 to 6 months in prison on charges of violating labor laws in the capital, Dhaka. "Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was convicted of violating labor laws in Bangladesh... in a case his supporters say is politically motivated... Alam Khan told AFP that Yunus and his colleagues were convicted under labor laws and sentenced to six months in prison... 160 international figures, including former US President Obama and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, published a joint open letter denouncing the continuous judicial harassment Yunus faces and expressing concerns for his security and freedom" (Asharq Al-Awsat, 1 January 2024). Thus, Muhammad Yunus was favored by America, and British cunning managed to remove the protests by distancing Hasina... and to appease America by appointing an elderly loyalist... while Britain remains in control of governance in Bangladesh through the Chief of Army Staff, much as it was before Hasina's flight!
10- Accordingly, the international conflict in Bangladesh is still ongoing. The agents who adopt the viewpoint of the colonialist, this one or that one, and seek to serve the interests of the colonialist disbelievers, are among the losers in this world and the Hereafter. As for this world, humiliation surrounds their necks because of their sins. And as for the Hereafter, there is a painful punishment:
سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَمْكُرُونَ
"Those who have committed crimes will be afflicted with humiliation before Allah and a severe punishment for what they used to plot." (Surah Al-An'am [6]: 124)
If only they had sense, they would take heed from what has afflicted their fellow agents in every country, especially in the Islamic lands; they are either imprisoned, killed, or flee the country in humiliation! They do not learn from those who preceded them but continue blindly in their transgression! Why do they not return to their Lord to hold fast to His Deen and support those working to establish the Deen, embodied in its state, the Righteous Khilafah on the method of Prophethood, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave glad tidings of in his noble hadith reported by Ahmad and At-Tayalisi:
ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ
"Then there will be Khilafah on the method of Prophethood."
Would those people not return to their Lord if they had any sense?!
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ
"Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind]." (Surah Qaf [50]: 37)
11 Safar 1446 AH 16/8/2024 CE