Islamic parties, including the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Andolan Bangladesh, are allegedly using religious sentiment as a political tool to attract voters ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election on February 12.
Leaders of these parties have been campaigning among voters, claiming that it is a religious duty to vote for their parties and doing so would ensure salvation in hereafter and entry into heaven after death.
In several instances, leaders of religion-based political parties have allegedly distorted Islamic teachings and presented misleading interpretations of the religion at election rallies to influence voters.
Despite such apparent violations of the electoral code of conduct, the Election Commission has so far failed to take any visible or effective action against candidates or their supporters for using religion as a political tool, according to critics.
Asked about the issue, EC secretary Akhtar Ahmed told New Age on Saturday that the commission was receiving allegations against political parties for using religion in election campaigns.
He said that Electoral Enquiry and Adjudication Committees had been formed in every constituency to deal with all types of code of conduct breaches adding that the committees were taking action whenever allegations were found to be valid.
The EC secretary also urged individuals to submit allegations directly to the respective EEA committees at the constituency level, instead of lodging complaints with the EC headquarters.
Rule 16 of the Code of Conduct 2025 for political parties and candidates says, ‘No person shall engage in any activity that exploits religious or ethnic sentiments for the purpose of securing electoral advantage.’
Rule 15 of the code also prohibits the use of obscene or aggressive language and statements that hurt gender dignity, communal harmony, or religious sentiments.
However, candidates of Islamic parties have continued to seek votes by exploiting religious beliefs in favour of their parties.
Many such campaign contents have gone viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism and raising concerns over the misuse of religion in the election.
Political analysts, rights activists, and civil society leaders warned that such practices could undermine democratic norms and fuel social polarisation.
They said that voter mobilisation strategies of Islamic parties, including the Jamaat, heavily relied on invoking religious identity, which could destabilise the pre-election environment by creating fear, coercion, and communal tension.
Critics further alleged that Islamic parties were deliberately exploiting faith and religious emotion to consolidate their voter base while using religion as a shield to deflect criticism of their political agenda and historical record.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said, ‘When people’s religious sentiments are exploited through deceptive interpretations of religion, it is not only unethical but also a form of religious sacrilege.’
He said that such practices contradicted the July National Charter, which commits Bangladesh to being a multi-religious country where all citizens enjoy full religious freedom.
Noting that money, muscle, and religion had long been used as dark tools of political capital in Bangladesh, he said that creating fear and intimidation by playing the religious card for political gain was blatantly deceitful.
Bangladesh Rashtra Songskar Andolon president Hasnat Kayum said that Islamic parties, mainly the Jamaat, were exploiting religion by switching between faith, coercion, and the July movement whenever it suited their interests.
He warned that the use of religion in elections could create instability and uncertainty and push Bangladesh towards a serious future crisis.
There are growing allegations that Jamaat candidates and supporters are telling voters that voting for the Jamaat candidates would ensure entry into jannat (heaven), while failure to vote ‘in favour of Islam’ would put their iman (faith) at risk.
Among recent examples, Jamaat-nominated candidate for the Lakshmipur–2 constituency Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan said at a rally, ‘There will be no symbols in the field of Hashr; there will only be the scales. If people vote for this symbol of justice, justice will be established in the country.’
Islami Andolan Bangladesh chief Mufti Rezaul Karim at an election rally on January 28 for the party-nominated candidate Md Nur Bakth in Kurigram-2 said, ‘In the upcoming election, there is only one symbol that represents Islam, and that is the hand fan.’
Calling on the voters, he added that those who loved Islam and the country and wished to see Islamic rule established should vote for the hand fan symbol ‘for peace in this world and salvation in the hereafter.’
At another rally, Syed Rezaul Karim sought votes for party-nominated candidate Sultan Ahmed Khan in the Dhaka-3 constituency, again linking voting with worldly peace and salvation in the hereafter.
According to IAB publicity and Dawah secretary Sheikh Fazlul Karim Maruf, Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country where people’s life is deeply connected with Islam, making the practice of religion during elections a natural matter.
He questioned how people who conduct their everyday life guided by religion could be expected to separate themselves from religious values during elections, asking why voters or political actors should be required to be secular at the time of polls.
In Kutubdia of Cox’s Bazar, Jamaat leader and Kutubdia Samadia Alim Madrassah principal Mohammad Abu Musa defended the controversial claim that the Jamaat was ‘selling tickets to heaven’.
Citing religious scripture, he said that Allah had spoken of selling jannat in exchange for sacrifice and asked rhetorically, ‘If the Jamaat does not sell the ticket to heaven, then who will?’
At another rally in Comilla-5, local Jamaat leader Mohammad Hafijur Rahman urged voters to support Jamaat-nominated candidate Mubarak Hossain, warning that the failure to vote ‘in favour of Islam’ would endanger their faith.
At a campaign meeting in Godagari upazila, Jamaat Rajshahi-1 candidate Mujibur Rahman urged the voters to support the party’s ‘scale’ symbol, claiming that Qur’anic law could only be implemented through the state power.
He reportedly labelled those who rejected Qur’anic guidance as kafir, zalim, and fasiq, saying that the ‘light of the Qur’an’ must enter parliament so that no ‘man-made law’ could operate.
He also urged the supporters to mobilise neighbours and women voters, saying that people would be questioned on the Day of Judgement about whether they voted for ‘Allah’s law or man-made law.’
Jamaat assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said that the party did not allow the use of religion in election campaigning while the party was centrally monitoring the issue.
Former Jahangirnagar University professor Anu Muhammad said that the way the Jamaat presented religion gave it a fascist character by portraying the rejection of Jamaat politics as the rejection of Islam itself.
‘They promote the idea that Islam must be practised only in the way they define, which is a fascist mindset,’ he said, adding that the Jamaat used religion as a shield to pursue its core political interests.
He further said that the Jamaat had pursued discriminatory politics by using religion, the consequences of which were seen in 1971 and remained visible today.
Rights activist Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir said that the use of religion in electoral campaigning was a clear violation of the electoral code of conduct and the Representation of the People Order.
‘Despite being fully aware of these legal restrictions, some political parties continue to allow their leaders and activists to engage in religion-based campaigning, both publicly and on social media platforms,’ he said.
Such practices risk deepening social divisions and undermining electoral fairness and neutrality, he said, adding that no effective or visible enforcement measures had yet been taken by the Election Commission.
‘The Commission must act promptly and decisively to enforce the law and put an immediate end to such practices in order to safeguard the credibility of the electoral process,’ he added.
