The Curious Case of Secularism in Bangladesh: What is the Relevance For The Muslim Majority Democracies?

Abstract Bangladesh, the second largest Muslim democracy in the world, presents an interesting case study of a secular state for Muslim majority countries in other parts of the world. Bangladesh presents the hope that, in theory, a Muslim majority developing country can have a functional democracy. Nevertheless, the temptation of using religion for political ends remains ever present. Secularism was one of the four tenets in Bangladesh's Constitution of 1972. However, with a changing political situation at home and the appearance of political Islam abroad, the secular basis became increasingly problematic. The article examines tensions between secularist and Islamist forces in Bangladesh over time. It asks the question to what extent, if at all, the ‘Bangladesh model’ is relevant for other Muslim majority countries trying to democratise.