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Riaz Book Examines Talibanization
Ali Riaz
Ali Riaz
"Is Bangladesh becoming a Taliban state?" asks Ali Riaz, Assistant Professor of Politics and Government in his new book, God Willing: The Politics of Islamism in Bangladesh. The author argues that the question has become urgent in light of the growing strength of militant groups supposedly aligned with Al Quaida, the landslide victory of the center-right coalition in the general election of October 2001, and the deliberate and planned violence against religious minorities that followed. Riaz explores the explosive issue of Talibanization by analyzing the politics of Islamism in the world's third most populous Muslim country.

Riaz acknowledges that since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, interests in and discussions about Islam and Muslim countries have dramatically increased, particularly in the United States. However, he critically notes that most of these discussions are premised on an understanding that politics in Muslim countries has a similar trajectory. In his book, Riaz compares Bangladesh with Indonesia and Pakistan and demonstrates that national particularities, political culture, and societal values of a given country shape the strengths and weaknesses of Islamist forces and their relative position in the polity.

In his incisive analysis of the Bangladeshi politics of the last three decades, Riaz—who is from Bangladesh—insists that the rise of religiopolitical forces in Bangladesh is neither a reaction to a failed modernization project nor a passing phase of political change. The Islamization process in Bangladesh, according to God Willing, has been going on for more than two decades. Recent developments are part of a larger process, the author maintains.

Ali Riaz, who worked as a broadcast journalist for BBC World Service in London for five years, had the opportunity to see these changes up close. As a professor, he has taught at Claflin University in South Carolina, Lincoln University in the United Kingdom, and Dhaka University in Bangladesh; he joined Illinois State University in Fall 2002, and serves as the Associate Director of the Unit for Middle East and South Asian Studies. He has published in scholarly journals such as Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Asian Profile, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Media, Culture and Society. Riaz has to his credit more than ten books in Bengali and two in English. His previous publications include State, Class and Military Rule in Bangladesh (1994).

The book is already drawing attention of the South Asian scholars. Professor Ayesha Jalal, of Tufts University, described the book as "an important contribution," and, according to Professor Sankaran Krishna of the University of Hawaii, "it is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the rise of Islam in contemporary Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world."
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