Title: Expressing concern about the threat posed to democracy and the democratic process by theocratic groups operating in Bangladesh.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution calls on the government of Bangladesh to heed the Bangladesh Election Commission's request to ensure security for minorities and maintain communal harmony for a peaceful election, and to stop radical organizations from threatening the country's stability and secular democracy.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1156 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1156

    Expressing concern about the threat posed to democracy and the 
    democratic process by theocratic groups operating in Bangladesh.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 20, 2018

  Mr. Banks of Indiana submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing concern about the threat posed to democracy and the 
    democratic process by theocratic groups operating in Bangladesh.

Whereas the nation of Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971 and established a 
        secular democratic state, which is home to over 163,000,000 Muslims, 
        Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and atheists;
Whereas this freedom was won at the cost of approximately 3,000,000 deaths, more 
        than 10,000,000 displaced, and 200,000 women raped, many at the hands of 
        Islamist militants led by Jamaat-e-Islami;
Whereas Bangladesh plays a critical role in the safe and voluntary repatriation 
        of over 800,000 Rohingya Muslims who have taken refuge in Bangladesh 
        from religious and political persecution in Myanmar;
Whereas national elections are expected to take place in Bangladesh on December 
        30, 2018;
Whereas religious minorities were targeted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, 
        Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islami Chhatra Shibir, during previous elections, 
        as a result of which 495 Hindu homes were damaged, 585 shops were 
        attacked or looted, and 169 temples were vandalized between November 
        2013 and January 2014, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist 
        Christian Unity Council;
Whereas Jamaat-e-Islami activists have been involved in recent attacks on 
        religious minorities in Bangladesh;
Whereas religious extremists have also attacked Buddhists, Christians, and 
        Ahmadi Muslims;
Whereas the extremist group Hefazat-e-Islam is organizing a movement to 
        fundamentally transform Bangladesh from a secular democracy into a 
        totalitarian theocracy;
Whereas Hefazat-e-Islam has threatened to carry out an armed jihad against the 
        Government of Bangladesh if its demands are not met;
Whereas Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam, and other theocratic extremist groups 
        pose an immediate and ongoing threat to Bangladesh's stability and 
        secular democracy, and religious minorities remain at grave risk of 
        continuing violence;
Whereas former NATO Allied Land Command leader General John W. Nicholson has 
        expressed growing concern regarding al-Qaida activities in Bangladesh;
Whereas repeated attacks on religious minorities, expanding religious 
        intolerance, and growing destabilization caused by radical groups, 
        including JeI and Islami Chhatra Shibir, undermine United States 
        economic and strategic interests in Bangladesh;
Whereas there is a growing trend of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh tied to pro-
        Islamic State of Iraq and Syria activity, with several arrests of 
        Islamists linked with the terrorist group made in recent years; and
Whereas the United States should more actively engage with the Government of 
        Bangladesh over their shared interests in safeguarding human rights, 
        religious freedom, and secular democracy in Bangladesh, while preventing 
        the growth of religious extremism and militancy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges the victims of the 1971 War of 
        Independence and the spirit of secular democracy on which 
        Bangladesh was founded;
            (2) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to stop radical 
        organizations, such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, 
        and Hefazat-e-Islam, who pose an ongoing threat to the 
        country's stability and secular democracy;
            (3) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to heed the 
        Bangladesh Election Commission's request to ensure security for 
        minorities and maintain communal harmony for a peaceful 
        election; and
            (4) calls on the United States Agency for International 
        Development and the State Department to halt all partnerships 
        and funding arrangements with groups affiliated with Jamaat-e-
        Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, and Hefazat-e-Islam.
                                 <all>