Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

About the party

The country's largest Islamist political party, established in its present form in 1979. Since the 2026 election it has been the main opposition party in Parliament. It has 77 members in the 13th Parliament.

The party's origin is the Jamaat-e-Islami founded by Syed Abul A'la Maududi in 1941. In 1971 its predecessor, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, opposed the independence of Bangladesh and sided with the Pakistani forces. When religion-based politics was banned after independence, its leaders and activists were for a time associated with the Islamic Democratic League; on 27 May 1979 the party emerged under the name Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami at Hotel Eden in Dhaka, with Abbas Ali Khan as acting Ameer.

The party took part in the 1990 mass uprising and in the movement demanding a caretaker government; in 2001 two of its leaders became ministers in the BNP-led four-party alliance government. After 2009 several of its top leaders were tried in 1971 war crimes cases, in 2013 a High Court verdict declared its registration illegal, and on 1 August 2024 the government banned the party. After the July uprising the ban was lifted on 28 August 2024, and following an Appellate Division verdict on 1 June 2025 its registration and its scales symbol were restored.

Sources: Bangla Wikipedia, English Wikipedia (party history); Parliament of Bangladesh (current members and offices). Last checked 11 September 2026.