US EditionIslamist leader rises from obscurity to challenge for Bangladesh’s top job
Shafiqur Rahman rose from obscurity to lead Jamaat-e-Islami, aiming to form Bangladesh’s first Islamist-led government after legal and political shifts post-2024 uprising.
- Ahead of the February 12, 2026 election, Shafiqur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami party chief and prime minister contender, has risen from near-obscurity with posters across Dhaka urging votes.
- Capitalising on a political vacuum, Rahman and Jamaat benefited from the 2024 Gen Z-led uprising, a Yunus-led interim government, and a 2025 court decision lifting Jamaat's ban.
- Jamaat-E-Islami's ground campaign combined campaign posters `Dadu is coming`, flood-relief outreach, and a December alliance with the Gen Z National Citizen Party, boosting appeal among youth.
- A Jamaat coalition now threatens a close fight against Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Rahman's recent social media post calling modernity-driven exclusion a `form of prostitution` sparked university protests.
- With decades in politics and a political family, Rahman's rise reflects deep institutional roots, including his 2022 arrest and Jamaat leadership since 2020, amid ongoing repression under Hasina's government.
7 Articles
7 Articles
Jamaat-e-Islami leader rises from obscurity to challenge for Bangladesh’s top job
Shafiqur Rahman has long been on the margins of Bangladeshi politics, but his bearded face now appears on posters and billboards across Dhaka, urging voters to elect the country’s first Islamist-led government in a general election on Thursday. The 67-year-old doctor and Jamaat-e-Islami party chief has risen from near obscurity to be a serious contender for prime minister after decades of being mostly known in Islamist circles. A Jamaat coalitio…
Will A Rightwing Victory Transform Bangladesh? Jamaat's Rise Raises Uncomfortable Questions
If Jamaat comes to power it will likely begin with populist moves such as anti-corruption drives, predicts Ahmedur Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi writer and editor who has been living in Norway since surviving a 2015 attack. He says he fears mobilisation of religious groups to push for declaring Bangladesh an Islamic republic and enforce Sharia law. The result would be shrinking freedoms for women, curbs on cultural life, and serious threats to freed…
‘Women’s freedoms are at stake’: concern at rise of Islamist party before Bangladesh election
Jamaat e-Islami, oppressed under Sheikh Hasina’s rule, could take unprecedented share of the vote on Thursday Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Redwan Ahmed in DhakaWed 11 Feb 2026 02.00 GMTShare As the clock hit midnight, the women held their flame torches aloft and marched into the Dhaka night. “The people have given their blood, now we want equality,” they shouted…
Bangladesh Islamist Leader Eyes Premiership in Landmark Election
Feb 8 – The leader of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Shafiqur Rahman, is hoping that his fourth attempt at electoral victory will finally deliver him the country’s top office. Voters in the Muslim-majority nation head to the polls on Thursday for the first time since a 2024 uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who ruled for 15 years and cracked down heavily on Islamist movements. Rahman, a 67-year-old doctor and preacher, …
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