Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz presented at the Berkeley Center of Georgetown University on the commitment of Bangladeshi political parties about identity, social cohesion and religion. The event was organized by the World Faiths and Development Dialogue to launch a white paper titled, ‘Identity, Faith, and Social Cohesion: How Bangladeshi Political Parties Approach the Challenges,’ authored by Riaz.
The paper analyzed 32 election manifestos of six political parties of various persuasions since 1991. Riaz, in his presentation, highlighted the finding and argued that identity—national and individual—remains the most contentious issue and divides the parties into two distinct camps. Despite variations in underscoring different elements of identity such as ethnicity and religion, parties subscribe to variations of majoritarianism, he said. Different stances on the role of religion are noted, but pathways for harnessing religion toward a more harmonious society are missing. All parties reviewed acknowledge the country’s religious and cultural diversity, but a robust commitment to bridge the communities, a key factor of building a cohesive society, is absent.
The event was moderated by Dr. Sudipta Roy, a senior researcher of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD). Dr. Katherine Marshall, the executive director of the WFDD, provided the opening remarks.
