Bangladesh – HeI: Resurgent islamism

On October 29, 2025, Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) Khagrachari District branch formed a human chain to protest and demand a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), claiming that it was an extremist Hindutva organisation.

On October 24, 2025, HeI staged a protest rally in Chittagong District, demanding a ban on ISKCON, describing it as an extremist Hindutva organisation and an Indian agent.

On October 18, 2025, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan announced that a memorial will be built at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka to honour those killed during HeI’s demonstration on May 5, 2013, while addressing a programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka. At the event, financial grants were also distributed among the families of 58 people killed in the May 5, 2013, Shapla Chattar incident, as well as 19 others who died during the anti-Modi protest in 2021.

On October 13, 2025, Mamunul Haque, Joint Secretary General of HeI, stated that HeI is a pure religion-based apolitical organisation, and conducting political activities and forming any alliance or coalition with any political party was against its basic principle.

On October 13, 2025, Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain stated that the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education was currently reviewing HeI’s demand to appoint religious teachers in place of music teachers in primary schools.

On October 3, 2025, HeI Chief Shah Muhibullah Babunagari delivered the keynote address at the Shane Resalat Conference held on the grounds of the Hathazari Parbati Model Government High School in Chittagong, where he urged people not to vote for Jamaat-e-Islam (JeI) in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Babunagari stated, “To prevent kufr from establishing itself, we cannot vote in the upcoming elections. Those who say worship and fasting are the same, are they Islam?… We must follow the straight path shown by the Prophets and Messengers. Then the world and the hereafter will be right. The Companions are the measure of truth. The path shown by them is the straight path.”

On September 21, 2025, HeI criticised the Interim Government’s decision to appoint music teachers in all government primary schools across Bangladesh. HeI has repeatedly described the Government’s move as part of an anti-Islam agenda.

On September 17, 2025, seven leading scholars of Bangladesh, including the Chief of the Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Maulana Mamunul Haque, and HeI Deputy Chief Maulana Abdul Hamid (Pir of Modhupur), visited Afghanistan at the invitation of the Emirate of Islam (the Taliban government).

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Formation and Objectives

Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), a Qaumi Madrassa-based Islamist organisation in Bangladesh, was formed in January 2010 in Chittagong under the leadership of Ahmad Shafi. The group’s inception was fuelled by the 2009 Women Development Policy draft, which proposed giving equal inheritance rights to women. The group is comprised of Sunni Islamists and their vast madrassa network.

Although HeI is not a political party, but a pressure group, its leaders have openly lobbied for political and legal reforms. The group has publicly called for a revolution and the creation of an Islamic State in Bangladesh under Sharia Law.

On April 6, 2013, HeI came up with a 13-point agenda including reinstating the phrase “Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah” in the Constitution as one of the fundamental principles of state policy, and the scrapping of the ‘anti-Islam’ policy for women.

A key event that shaped the HeI narrative was the Shapla Chattar massacre of May 5, 2013, in which the group claimed many of its supporters were killed or went missing during a Government operation under the Awami League (AL) regime.

On May 5, 2025, HeI released a preliminary list, naming 93 individuals reportedly killed during the clash with law enforcement agencies at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka, on May 5, 2013.

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Political Engagement and Alliances

HeI has actively engaged with mainstream politics despite its refusal to affiliate with any party, particularly in the lead-up to the anticipated national elections in February 2026.

On September 9, 2025, Maulana Mamunul Haque, Chief of the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis and Central Joint Secretary General of HeI, expressed hopes for unity among Islamic parties to field single candidates and strengthen their position in the polls.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), on the other hand, has also sought HeI’s favour. On August 1, 2025, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, after meeting HeI Chief Maulana Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari, described the Shapla Chattar incident as “the most heinous massacre in the history of the world.”

However, on May 27, 2025, Haque criticised BNP for not supporting HeI during the 2013 crackdown, calling it a “historical mistake.”

HeI also interacted with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and other parties on September 2, 2025, reaffirming elections in early February 2026 amid a festive atmosphere.

On April 9, 2025, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and HeI agreed on demanding AL’s trial and suspension of its activities, and proposed declaring the AL a “criminal organisation.”

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Opposition to Reforms

HeI has staunchly opposed reforms perceived as anti-Islamic.

On May 3, 2025, HeI held a grand rally with thousands of activists at Suhrawardy Udyan, Dhaka, and announced a 12-point demand, including dissolution of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission (WARC) for its “anti-Quran and anti-Sunnah” report, and advocated a new commission with Islamic scholars.

On April 25, 2025, leaders of HeI warned Chief Adviser Yunus against implementing WARC proposals, warning of a fate similar to Sheikh Hasina’s.

Further, on May 23, 2025, at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka, HeI organised a protest, pressing four demands — cancellation of the proposed Women’s Reform Commission, trial of the killings at Shapla Chattar and July 2025 incidents, withdrawal of all ‘false cases’ against HeI members, and an end to killings of Muslims in Palestine and India.

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Minorities and Social Polarisation

HeI’s treatment of minorities has remained controversial.

On April 10, 2025, HeI denounced the traditional Mongol Shobhajatra as “rooted in Hindu traditions.” Three days later, on April 13, it urged authorities to act against the “neo-paganist culture” of the Poyla Boishakh, calling Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts a “factory” of such practices.

On August 5, 2025, Open Doors reported that over 100 Christian families were coerced to renounce their faith, and at least 36 attacks on Christians or their property occurred since Sheikh Hasina’s fall, linking the trend to Islamist groups, including HeI.

At least 40 Sufi shrine attacks involving vandalism and arson by mobs such as Tauhidi Janata were reported over preceding months. HeI was accused of mobilising people to attack shrines, opposing musical gatherings.

Babunagari also criticised the BDT 20 note on June 4, 2025, for excluding the image of a mosque and instead featuring a temple and Buddhist monastery.

Earlier, on February 12, 2025, a Lalon music festival in Madhupur was cancelled following HeI’s objections to its Sufi content.

On November 8, 2024, HeI staged protests in Chittagong demanding a ban on ISKCON, branding it a militant group.

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International Engagements and Ideological Position

HeI has engaged internationally while opposing foreign influence in Bangladesh.

On July 5, 2025, Babunagari voiced opposition to a proposed UN Human Rights Office in Bangladesh, claiming it could interfere with the country’s religious values.

On May 16, 2025, Babunagari expressed concern over a proposed humanitarian corridor for Myanmar’s Rakhine state and stated that HeI would not accept any government decision affecting national security or religious harmony without consensus.

On July 7, 2025, Palestinian Ambassador Yousuf S.Y. Ramadan met Babunagari, and they discussed issues concerning Islam and the Muslim Ummah.

HeI participated in a global strike against Israel on April 7, 2025, and organised protests demanding an end to killings in Palestine and India.

After Sheikh Hasina’s fall, HeI has emerged as a dominant force in Bangladesh’s transitional politics, influencing the Interim Government under Muhammad Yunus.

Drawing upon its vast madrassa network, HeI mobilised large-scale rallies, opposed women’s rights initiatives, and demanded justice for 2013’s Shapla Chattar incident, fueling anti-AL sentiment.

HeI’s resurgence includes actions against minorities and a foreign policy marked by anti-Western and anti-Indian rhetoric, pro-Palestine solidarity, and calls for Ummah unity — a combination that risks Bangladesh’s international isolation.

HeI’s rise threatens to redefine electoral dynamics, social values, and Bangladesh’s secular foundations.