Religious freedom under strain despite promising reforms
Staff Reporter :
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has stated that tensions and religious freedom concerns still persist in the country while the interim government has made progress in introducing needed reforms to direct Bangladesh’s political stability.
Throughout his public speeches and remarks, Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus has reiterated the importance of religious freedom in Bangladesh and a commitment to maintain religious harmony, USCIRF said in its latest report on July 21.
However, the USCIRF notes that beneath the surface of administrative progress, deep-seated religious divisions continue to fester. During a May 2025 fact-finding mission to Dhaka, the delegation met with government representatives, civil society actors, and minority community leaders.
What they found was sobering: many Bangladeshis-particularly Hindus, Ahmadiyyas, Sufis, and ethnic minorities-feel increasingly unsafe expressing their religious identities, USCIRF said.
Despite these constitutional protections, the report said, Bangladesh continues to maintain a blasphemy law-under Section 195A of the Penal Code-that criminalises “hurting religious sentiment.”
Additionally, the Cyber Security Act of 2023 further prohibits the publication of information in “any electronic format” that hurts religious values or sentiment, making such an offense punishable by a maximum of two years in prison.
Regarding the July uprising, the report said, “Following Hasina’s departure, a government did not exist from August 5 to 8. During the time between Hasina’s departure and the establishment of the current interim government, episodes of violence and human rights abuses occurred, including reported attacks against religious minority communities. Such attacks included mob violence and retaliatory assaults against Hindus who were perceived to be supporters or members of the Awami League, Hasina’s political party.”
About potential removal of secularism from the Constitution, the report said, “In the preamble to the Constitution, the Commission recommends removing references to secularism, replacing it with “pluralism.” This recommendation has faced mixed responses from different political parties.”
The Bangladeshi National Party (BNP), for example, rejected the suggestion and instead insisted on restoring the phrase “absolute faith in Almighty Allah.” Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamic political party in Bangladesh, and the National Citizen’s Party (NCP), which was formed in February 2025 by students who led the July 2024 protests, both partially agreed with the inclusion of the word “pluralism” but argued it should be phrased as “multiculturalism” or replaced with a Bangla translation.
Regarding, women’s reform commission, it said, the Women’s Reform Commission, whose recommendations have direct implications for religious freedom and have been opposed by different religious groups.
The Commission’s goal is to review “existing discrimination against women in legal, social, economic, and political structures” and to offer recommendations for the interim government.
Aligning with the mandate, in May 2025, the Commission made 433 recommendations under 15 thematic areas to combat discrimination against women.
Some conservative Islamic groups, including Hefazat-e-Islami, have called these recommendations anti-Islamic and have organised moderately sized rallies to protest the Commission, it added.
Regarding attacks and harassment against religious minorities, it said, sporadic violence and harassment targeting members of religious minority communities remains an issue in Bangladesh.
While the interim government condemned 2,924 attacks against religious minority communities that occurred in July 2024, according to a UN report, there has been a lack of accountability, in part due to the collapse of the law enforcement system. Additionally, members of the Hindu, indigenous, and Ahmadiyya and Sufi Muslim communities continue to report cases of discrimination, it added.
About the impact of upcoming elections on religious freedom, USCIRF said, national elections have the potential to either reinforce or ease religious tensions in Bangladesh.
“Chief Adviser Yunus has publicly announced that elections will be held between December 2025 and June 2026. Religious minority communities and human rights organisations anticipate that violence along religious lines will occur during the upcoming elections. However, beyond deploying police forces, Bangladeshi authorities have not articulated a specific plan to address communal violence,” it added.
USCIRF concluded by urging Bangladesh to take meaningful action to protect religious freedom and ensure that all citizens can practice their faith without fear.