Plain Talk

By Mursi Saad El-Din

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I'm often asked about the reason for my deep interest in Bangladesh. My answer is simple: I regard it as a country that has proven, in action, that Islam is a liberal religion which supports progress. It has also provided a glaring example that Islam does not support chauvinist negativity towards women and their place in society. Far from dehumanising women, Islam actually grants them status -- for what is more convincing than appointing a female prime minister? And for her part, Begum Khaleda Zia, the prime minister of Bangladesh, has proven herself to be an experienced politician with great ability for leadership.

The National Day of Bangladesh falls on Saturday, 26 March, and on this occasion the people of the country must remember the founder and architect of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman. He was the one who created the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) through which he spared no effort in his attempts at establishing a just and fair society. He firmly believed in democracy, which has now become the political system of his country. In fact Bangladesh is one of the few developing countries to enjoy democracy.

Victory came after a series of unfortunate events and the assassination in May 1981 of Ziaur Rahman. Finally elections were held in October 2001, under the supervision of a neutral government. The BNP won a landslide victory with a clear two-thirds majority in Parliament. Begum Khaleda Zia formed a four-party government, which has been working for the consolidation of democracy and the establishment of a transparent, accountable and dynamic administration.

The question is: has the government succeeded in the realisation of its rather optimistic and rosy programme? The programme of the BNP, and consequently of the current government, is rather ambitious, with a challenging list of criteria it has set for itself. Among those are the reduction of poverty levels, the recovery of illegal arms, the education and communications systems, the environment and economic development. Although the country is not necessarily rich with resources, experts maintain that it is moving towards the realisation of the above-mentioned goals.

The more I read about Bangladesh, the sharper I could perceive the resemblence it bears to my own country. Going through some official information, I came across an interesting -- actually a revealing -- sentence: "Bangladesh is a new state in an ancient land." And ancient it is. Islam spread to Bengal in the 11th century through missionaries, Muslim Sufis, Arab traders and Muslim conquests. By the 13th century, and for the next 500 years, the region was under the rule of Muslims. The Islamic rule of the region, with its ups and downs, lasted from 1204 until 1757, which witnessed the emergence of the centralised administration in Bengal within the framework of the Moguls' Empire.

Although my aim here is not the exploration of Bangladesh's rich and brave history, yet I would like to end with a statement from the official publication: "Bangladesh has been termed by world leaders as a moderate, non- communal, democratic state with a Muslim majority. It has been cited as a role model of religious harmony." And this is, perhaps, the main reason why Bangladesh holds such an esteemed place in my heart. Despite the clear racial and geographic distance between Egypt and Bangladesh, it is one of the rare countries which seem to have woven within its social matrix a psychological pattern resounding with elements otherwise endemic to our Middle Eastern, Arab, and Egyptian culture.