Freedom of religion in Bangladesh

In the Constitution of Bangladesh, Islam is referred to twice in the introduction and Part I of the constitution. The document begins with the Islamic phrase Basmala (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ) which in English is translated as “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful” and article (2A) declares that :"Islam is the state religion of the republic".[3] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stated that Bangladesh will be governed in line with the spirit of the Constitution of Medina. But at the same time, Constitution of Bangladesh pays lip service to secularism as it is one of the four fundamental principles of the original Constitution of Bangladesh.

Quotes

• This statement connects, Tawhid, or the oneness of Allah, to the BNP's idea of Bangladeshi nationalism and reinforces the idea that freedom of religion in Bangladesh was conceived in an Islamic way, not a liberal secular way
  • Islam and Politics in Bangladesh: The Followers of Ummah Mubashar Hasan · 2020

• In May, President Hasina stated that there is indeed freedom of religion in Bangladesh but in the same breath she spoke against speech which spread “filth” against religion,
  • Societies Emerging from Conflict: The Aftermath of Atrocity Dennis B. Klein · 2018 page 21

• While technically there is freedom of religion in Bangladesh, intimidation and discrimination are often used to corral the gospel witness. Pray that Christians would be fearless in their testimony of Christ, ....
  • An Insider's Guide to Praying for the World: · ... Brian C. Stiller · 2016

• Bangladesh had emerged as a secular state on the grave of Pakistani religious ideals [but] pro-Pakistanis captured power after the 1975 assassination of Bangladesh's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman [and inserted] discriminatory clause(s) between Muslim and non-Muslim [that were not included] in the original constitution of Bangladesh. ...After the assassination of Bangabandhu, two military rulers. General Ziaur Rahman and General H.M. Ershad removed the roots of the country's secular, non-communal and humane ideals. They changed the constitution to serve a vested quarter and thus eliminated the clause of equal rights for the Hindus, Christians and Buddhists along with Indigenous ethnic communities like Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Maug, Hajong, etc. In the original constitution, which was written in 1972, Article 12 in Part II enshrined 'secularism and freedom of Religion' in the section called Fundamental Principle of State Policy. General Ziaur Rahman's military government totally erased this part of the constitution and that was how the religious and ethnic minority groups became second- class citizens to suffer state discrimination.’
  • Shahriar Kabir quoted in Y Rosser, Indoctrinating Minds: Politics of Education in Bangladesh. 2004 page 69ff
  • Kabir, Shahriar. “Human Rights in Bangladesh : Focus on Communal Persecution”, Conference on Human Rights in Bangladesh, held on 17 August 2002, at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

• But the problem is that the Islamist extremists do not want our right to. That I would not practice religion, they don’t tolerate this. They want to kill us. If we say anything against religious fanaticism, then they come to kill us. So this is a problem. They don’t believe in freedom of expression. I believe in freedom of expression. I believe not only my freedom of expression, I believe my enemy’s freedom of expression… But most of the time, we find that extremists do not believe in freedom of expression of other people who do not accept their ideas.
  • Taslima Nasrin, 2025, Jamaat-e-Islami has taken over Bangladesh: Taslima Nasreen