Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh a political party advocating for incorporating Islamic ideology into state system. From the early 1930s an attempt was made to float a political party under the leadership of Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi with an object of launching Islamic movement in India. Activities to that end began from 1932 through a monthly journal Tarjuman al-Quran. Maulana Maududi expressed his difference of opinion with the Muslim League's ideology in his lecture on 'Way to Establish Islamic Hukumat' delivered at Aligarh University in September 1940. In February 1941, a programme was undertaken to hold a convention for launching a new political party. Accordingly, in a meeting held in Lahore on 25 August 1941, the Jamaat-e-Islami was established with Maulana Maududi as its ameer or chairman.

The first convention of the party on all-India basis was held on 19-21 April 1945 at Pathankot in the Punjab. After the partition of India in 1947 the party was divided into Jamaat-e-Islami Hind with headquarters in Delhi and Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan with its central office in Lahore. The central leadership of the All Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami was vested upon Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, the founder-ameer of the party.

Names of Ameer-E-Jamaat (1947-2000)

After the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 Jamaat-e-Islami was banned in view of the adoption of secularism as state policy. In 1976, when the Islamic Democratic League (IDL) led by Mawlana Abdur Rahim obtained permission from the government, the Jamaat activists began to operate under the banner of IDL. Some Jamaat leaders even contested in the general elections of 1979 as nominees of the Democratic League, and six of them were elected. In 1979, the ban on religion-based political parties was withdrawn, and thus Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was revived. Maulana Abbas Ali Khan was elected as acting ameer of Jamaat. The objectives of Jamaat-e-Islami, as per its constitution, is to establish peace in Bangladesh and in the world; to achieve grace of the Almighty Allah through efforts to establish Islamic way of life for the greater well being of mankind.

Jamaat-e-Islami has been continuing its activities in Bangladesh from 1979. The party secured 10 seats in the jatiya sangsad elections held in 1986. During the movement against autocratic rule of hussain muhammad ershad the Jamaat members in the Sangsad resigned on 3 December 1987.

The 8-party alliance led by awami league, 7-party alliance led by BNP, 5-party alliance and the Jamaat-e-Islami participated in anti-Ershad movement. The movement of the alliances turned into mass upsurge at the end of 1990. General Ershad was compelled to resign from the presidency, and hand over power to the caretaker government headed by Justice shahabuddin ahmed.

In the Jatiya Sangsad elections of 1991, Jamaat contested in 35 constituencies and secured 18 seats in the Sangsad. The party rendered its support to BNP in forming the government, and thereby secured two out of 30 reserved seats for women in the Sangsad. In December 1991, Professor Golam Azam was elected ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami following his citizenship declared valid by the High Court. Gholam Azam continued to hold this office till December 2000.

The Awami League could enlist support of the Jamaat-e-Islami in their movement for introducing caretaker government system. To intensify the movement the Jamaat members of the Sangsad resigned in December 1994. In the Jatiya Sangsad elections held on 12 June 1996, the Jamaat could secure only 3 seats. In December 2000, Professor Gholam Azam resigned and Mawlana Matiur Rahman Nizami became ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.

In the general elections held on 1 October 2001, the 4-party alliance led by BNP secured more than two-thirds of the seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, and the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, a partner of the alliance, secured 17 seats. As a member of the alliance, Jamaat has been included in the government of begum khaleda zia with two of its members in the cabinet. [F M Mostafizur Rahman]