No place for Islamic extremism in Bangladesh

Islamic extremism will never find a place in Bangladesh again, said Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus recently.

“I can assure that’s not taking place at all. These are very enthusiastic young people — they are very neutral about their religion,” Yunus told the weekly British magazine The Economist’s foreign editor Patrick Foulis in an interview recently.

Yunus’s response came when Foulis mentioned both American and Indian officials have warned that there is some risk of Islamic extremism coming back in Bangladesh.

The interview was taken on the occasion of Bangladesh being selected as The Economist’s country of the year for 2024, an accolade that the influential magazine hands out every year to a country it deems to be the most improved country in the world.

“But for toppling a despot and taking strides towards a more liberal government, Bangladesh is our country of the year,” The Economist said.

In response, Yunus said: “Oh, we are delighted. We feel very proud that we made a big change because of the student uprising that took place. And from then on, we are saying we are creating a new Bangladesh.”

The youth want to build a new Bangladesh, he said.

“Young people can change the whole world. It’s not about changing one country or another country. What Bangladesh has done is one example of how powerful this young generation is. Let’s pay attention to the young people.”

He said particular attention must be given to the young women.

“Young girls played a very important role in the Bangladeshi uprising. They were on the frontline just like any other young person in the country. We should be paying attention to the young girls, young boys and make sure they can fulfil their dreams. If they have the opportunity, they have the capacity to do that.”

He cited the case of the “three of the young people who led the uprising” and are in his cabinet.

“They are doing an excellent job. They are capable. They are not the young people of the previous centuries — they are young people of this century. They are as capable as anybody else.”

Asked what he would do after the “election is held in 2025 elections”, Yunus said: “I was actually taken away from my job. I was forced into this work. I was doing my job. I was enjoying it — that’s why I was in Paris. I was dragged out of Paris to do something else. So I’ll be happy to go back to my work that I always did and enjoyed all my life — the young people love it. So I go back to that team and that movement that I tried to generate around the world.”