Bangladesh Islamist Groups Eye Comeback in February Elections After Years of Repression

• Islamist groups in Bangladesh, led by Jamaat-e-Islami, are mobilizing for the February 12 elections, seeing their biggest opportunity in decades to gain government influence.
• This marks the first polls since the 2024 uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina's autocratic government, which had a tough stance against Islamist movements.
• During Hasina's 15-year rule, several top Islamist leaders were executed for war crimes related to supporting Pakistan in the 1971 independence war.
• Since Hasina fled, key Islamist leaders have been released, and groups like Hefazat-e-Islam, inspired by Deobandi teachings, have grown assertive, demanding restrictions on "anti-Islamic" cultural activities.
• The resurgence faces challenges from Bangladesh's significant Sufi population, whose mystical interpretation of the Koran is condemned as heretical by hardline Islamists.

Why It Matters: Bangladesh's Islamist groups are making a significant push for political power in the upcoming elections.