Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami facts for kids

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (often called 'Jamaat' for short) is the largest Islamic political party in Bangladesh. It is also one of the biggest Islamic parties in South Asia. This party started when Bengal was part of British India.

How the Party Started

The Jamaat-e-Islami party was first formed in 1941. At that time, the area we now call Bangladesh was part of British India. After India became independent in 1947, the party split into different groups. One part became the Jamaat-e-Islami in India, and another part became the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan.

Jamaat and Bangladesh's Independence

In 1947, the area that is now Bangladesh became part of Pakistan. It was called East Pakistan. The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party came from the East Pakistani group.

The Jamaat party did not want Bangladesh to become independent from Pakistan. They believed it went against their Islamic beliefs to split from Pakistan. However, the Jamaat party could not stop Bangladesh from becoming an independent country in 1971.

Jamaat in Independent Bangladesh

After Bangladesh became independent, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party was banned. This was because they had opposed Bangladesh's independence during the war. They wanted Pakistan to stay united.

Many top leaders of Jamaat moved to West Pakistan after Bangladesh became independent. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the first president of Bangladesh, also took away the citizenship of Golam Azam. Golam Azam was a leader of Jamaat. He then moved to London, and other leaders went to the Middle East.

However, in 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated. After this, the army chief Ziaur Rahman took control. Ziaur Rahman allowed the Jamaat to become a political party again. He also let Golam Azam return to Bangladesh to lead the party once more.