Ali Riaz
Ali Riaz has published a co-authored paper titled “Democracy and Sharia in Bangladesh: Surveying Support.”
Published by the Washington-based RESOLVE Network, an initiative of the Global Research Network on Conflict, the paper is based on a face-to-face representative survey of 4,067 households in Bangladesh conducted in April 2017. Syeda Salina Aziz, senior research associate of Brac Institute of Government and Development, is the coauthor.
The two argue that “although Bangladeshis support democracy, many also believe that introducing sharia, or Islamic law based on the Quran and the Hadith, might be helpful in ensuring justice and fairness in governance.” The paper insists that the discrepancy between the popular perception of the attributes of democracy and the actual state of democracy in Bangladesh, as revealed by this survey, is a source of concern.
The paper was also presented at the 2017 Resolve Network Global Forum at the US Institute Of Peace, Washington, D.C. On September 27, 2017. The findings of the study have been highlighted in various newspapers in Bangladesh, including the Daily Star and the Prothom Alo.
