Bengali culture and Islam are not natural adversaries -- or at least, this is what I knew to be true. Across varying income groups, families, and generations, we have, with time and practice, discovered our version of Islam. As such, Bengali language, culture, literature, and what it represented cumulatively, became a principal theme in the sustained demands for emancipation. Following the assassination of Bangabandhu, statutory efforts were made to transition a People’s Republic to the Islamic Republic of Bangladesh. Generals Zia and Ershad did not think twice before leveraging anti-Awami League forces to form their respective political parties.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 05, 2020 20:03 UTC