Dominica - Kerk In Nood

BANGLADESH
AREA
143,998 Km²
BANGLADESH
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
164,425,491
Legal and constitutional aspects
REFUGEES
29,669
Muslims 88.8%
Hindus 9.5%
Christians 0.5%
Catholics 0.2% / Protestants 0.3% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, the third largest in the world.
Following changes made by a caretaker government in 1988 to the 1972
Constitution, Islam is now the State’s official religion. However, the changes were
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2010.
The Constitution grants all citizens the right to profess, practise and promote
their religion1 .
Teaching religion is also allowed in private schools run by religious communities.
On December 29, 2008 the Awami League came to power, winning 263 in the
350-member parliament. The League is a secular party, founded in 1949, which
led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan under the leadership of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
Against those who wanted to restore the original secular Constitution in accordance
with the Supreme Court’s rulings of July 2010, which ruled unconstitutional
the changes of 2007, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (daughter of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) said she would maintain the 2007 amendments.
If the Supreme Court should prevail, religiously-based parties, which are exclusively
Islamic, would be declared illegal. Under the old Constitution, parties based
on religion were banned.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is against the introduction of Sharia, as the Islamic
Unity Front wants, but still wants to keep some Islamic elements in the Constitution2 .
On June 21 the government upheld the amendment that makes Islam
the State religion3 .
1 The Constitution of the Peple’s Republic of Bangladesh,
http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf_part.php?id=367&vol=15&search=1972
2 AsiaNews, June 8 th 2011
3 Agenzia Fides, June 22 nd 2011