This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Muslims long have had a history of exercising incredible influence in societies where they live, even when they are minorities. Just look at the "no-go" zones created throughout the United Kingdom by Islamists who have taken over neighborhoods and made certain anyone from another religious group is unwelcome.
Now a new report contends they are working toward an Islamic caliphate in Bangladesh, where they already are in the majority with some 90% of the population, to replace the secular government.
The report from Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, an editor of the publication Blitz, was posted at Gatestone Institute.
He said it's Jamaat-e-Islami — the Bangladeshi ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood — that now is imposing a jizya tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims.
The move is seen as an open declaration of their intent to replace the country's democratic framework with Islamic Shariah law.
"Backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, and linked to global jihadist networks, including al-Qaida, Jamaat-e-Islami's move comes just months after a coup that brought Muhammad Yunus to power, triggering a rapid rise in radical Islamic influence," the report said.
The result is a new and significant threat to Bangladesh's fragile democracy but also the strategic security in South Asia.
Media there confirmed that Shafiqur Rahman, president of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, announced that now Hindus and other non-Muslims must pay the tax Shariah demands.
One media outlet explained, "Non-Muslims living in Bangladesh should be made to pay the 'Jizya tax.'. Since Muslims pay 'Zakat' (A portion of their wealth donated for religious purposes), if equal rights are desired, then Hindus should pay the Jizya. This is what is correct as per Shariah law, said a leader of the political party Jamaat-e-Islami in a public gathering."
The jizya is considered symbolic of being subjugated by Islamists.
"Its collection in present-day Bangladesh marks a dangerous shift from the country's secular founding principles toward a theocratic order," the Gatestone report explained.
It continued, "The imposition of the jizya tax by Jamaat-e-Islami is not an isolated incident. It is a clear signal that Bangladesh's religious minorities are being systematically targeted under a creeping Shariah-based agenda. This action not only violates the secular principles enshrined in Bangladesh's 1972 Constitution, but also undermines international human rights norms."
And the silence from the current government could be a warning sign.
"Is this the beginning of state-sanctioned religious persecution in Bangladesh? And if so, how far will it go before the international community intervenes? If the jizya tax collection is allowed to continue unchecked, Bangladesh risks sliding into a medieval-style religious apartheid, where Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other non-Muslim minorities are reduced to second-class citizens in their own country. This development is not just a domestic issue — it is a warning to the world about the resurgence of militant Islamism in South Asia.
"The international community, particularly democratic nations that value religious freedom, must act decisively before Bangladesh becomes yet another cautionary tale of a secular state devoured by theocratic extremists."
Further, the report notes the troubling links between Jamaat-e-Islami and American organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Circle of North America.
"According to the Observer Research Foundation, these organizations have succeeded in securing funding from U.S. federal agencies — particularly USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)," the report said. "In 2020, Sam Westrop documented in the Middle East Quarterly that millions of federal taxpayer dollars have flowed to US-based Islamist groups with alleged terror connections … ."
