After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in the movement of the students and the people, the interim government has formed six reform commissions. One of these commissions is the Constitution Reform Commission. On January 5, the commission's interim government chief adviser said. Muhammad submitted a report to Yunus. The Commission has recommended that the Prime Minister does not have the opportunity to practice the centralized power and should not return to dictatorship in Bangladesh.
In the Constitution proposal, the Commission has recommended the inclusion of equality, human dignity, social justice and pluralism by maintaining democracy as a basic principle. As well as suggested to exclude three policies. One of the recommendations of the Commission was to exclude 'secularism' from the list of basic principles. This issue has raised concerns in some places.
The head of the Constitution Reform Commission recently spoke to the Diplomat, a magazine on Japan -based international relations. Ali Riaz. He was interviewed by South Asia editor of The Diplomat Sudha Ramachandran. In the interview, Ali Riyaz argued that the secularism of Sheikh Hasina's government was limited to the tolerance of religious diversity only. According to him, the magnitude of the pluralism that the Commission has recommended is much wider and wider.
Ali Riyaz was asked that in the current constitution, 'secularism' and 'state religion Islam' are coefficient. The commission's proposal has been excluded and Islam has been kept in the previous place. So what will the relationship of religion be with the state?
Ali Riyaz said, “Islam was included in the constitution as a state religion in the 5th. Since then the Awami League and the BNP have come to power multiple times and amended the constitution five times, but they never took the initiative to cancel it. In April 2021, a High Court verdict said that keeping Islam did not create constitutional contradictions. When we consulted with different parties in the society, a large number of people have voted for Islam as a state religion. Our website has received more than 3,000 views, out of which a large number of Islam were in favor of maintaining Islam as a state religion. '
He added, “We have reviewed the constitution of 120 countries as part of our review process, including the constitution of Bangladesh. From this review we have seen that there are state religions in 5 countries and the constitution of 5 countries mentions “Faith in God”. In many Western countries, there is also a state religion or single religion government recognition. '
At that time, he mentioned a study conducted on the position of the state religion around the world, saying, “On the 21st, the Washington -based research firm Pew Research Center said that more than 5 countries support a particular religion, which gives priority to a government -approved religion or one religion compared to another religion. The According to the survey, they found that 22 percent of the countries have a state religion in the country and 20 percent of the country give priority to a religion. So, Bangladesh is not unique in any way. '
Ali Riaz said the relations between the state and the religion could be different even if the state was approved, “said Jonathan Fox, based on the data of Iralan University's religion and state (RSS), saying that such a situation could be dramatically different. He mentions the UK and Iran as an example. Both countries have a state religion or government church, but the role of religion in the activities of these two states is quite the opposite. '
Ali Riyaz said, “(As per the proposal) the amended constitution will remain the same in the last few decades. There is no reason to worry until religion is working as a source of legal system or challenging political -legitimate institutions. Often the state religions are more symbolicly seen, it has a real impact. '
