Hefazat-e-Islam (HI)   wishes to take advantage of the differences between our two main political parties--the Awami League and the BNP-- to advance their own agenda.  It is an association based fundamentalist Islamic group in Bangladesh which was formed in January 2010. Its leaders and followers are drawn from among some 80,000 Quami madrashas. The Quami madrashas  and their hundreds of thousands student population pursue very doctrinaire courses on Islam that feed directly into the growing of a fanatical or jihadi spirit among their pupils.
Unlike the government approved and funded madrashas where general education along with science education are also taught as part of the curriculum, the Quami madrashas impart to their students hardly anything other than very  chauvinistic Islamic texts that tend to foster both a sense of isolation from the general student population in the country  and make them easy preys for  recruitment by  jihadists.
The emergence of the Hefazat would not be so much watched but for its affinity to the BNP which ruled Bangladesh several times in its over four decades  of existence. Previously, the BNP was considered as a constitutional party  with no special or overdose of commitment to Islamism.
But ever since the formation of the Hefajat and BNP’s warm embrace of this obscurantist force, questions rightly started being asked whether the current BNP leadership is dangerously tilted towards sheltering and accommodating such fundamentalist forces. As a matter of fact, BNP during its tenure in power from 2001-7, formed an alliance with Bangladesh’s major  Islamic fundamentalist party, Jaamat-e-Islami and three of Jaamat’s leader were important cabinet ministers in the BNP led government in that period.
Later the BNP-Jaaamat alliance was broadened with the inclusion of HI. Political observers fear that once the BNP-Jammat-Hefajat alliance succeeds in going to power in Bangladesh through electoral politics or otherwise, the relatively moderate members of the BNP would soon be eclipsed by the Jaamat and the Hefajat. The way then would be well paved for these extremists to hold sway over the country.
I will be blunt about Hefazat-e-Islam’s lightly veiled agenda—they could be really wishing to transform Bangladesh into Afghanistan and transform our people into Taliban type Muslims.  In 2011, they held violent demonstrations against the women's equal rights policy of the government and in 2013  became headlines after holding large rallies asking the government to take action against the Shahbag protesters who were demanding capital punishment of Bangladesh’s  liberation war criminals. In 2013 this group warned the government with a 13 point charter that included  medieval demands like banning the right of women to work outside their homes.  
However, this is not to say that the present leadership of HI   are already expressing themselves like the Talebans.
But the danger lies in the future.  If the  HI  comes to power by some means, then swiftly the real radicals in their ranks could unseat the less crazy  elements and take over   supreme leadership. This is what that happened during the Islamic revolution in Iran when the relatively less extreme initiators of it were replaced by  the hard core militants or very  extreme ones.
While my  suspicions may seem  somewhat exaggerated, one only needs to look at some of the demands they made recently to understand  why they are so suspected. Of the 13 point demands made, the ones below are most worrying for females if one analyzes them correctly:
• Stop free mixing of male and female and candle lighting: If what Hefazat is demanding is realized, it would mean the end of coeducation as well as equality amongst both sexes in the workplace. For as long as coeducation and gender equality in workplaces exist, it will mean men and women will continue to
interact.
Canadian research reveals that students at independent co-ed schools feel comfortable about who they are and have a healthy and positive attitude and self-image. While a gender unbiased workspace ensures respect for both sexes and an equal opportunity workspace.
To accept Hefazat’s archaic and unrealistic demand would mean the end of such opportunities. Women around the country will find their employment opportunities reduced if not completely terminated.
Practically, the target of HI would be confining females almost entirely  to their homes, allow only a measure of religious education to them while shutting off all scope for diverse and modern higher education to them. In other words women would be denied their basic human rights and obliged to lead a life according to the bidding of their male masters. In other words they would be destined to a life of modern slavery.
The economy on the other hand would suffer as it would lose a large number of its skilled workforce from keeping females away from industries and services. It is relevant to mention here that more than two thirds of  our skilled workforce in the RMG sector- the largest revenue earner for the country- are females. A loss of such a large workforce would therefore effectively destroy the sector.
• Make Islamic education mandatory from primary to higher secondary levels canceling the anti-Islamic women policy and anti-religion education policy:
Proper Islamic education is an absolute necessity for any Muslim. It allows an individual to be truly enlightened about our wonderful religion. But to make it the mainstream would be disastrous for the future of our nation. Will Islamic education cover modern physics? Will it help our students balance their accounts? Or will it help them understand how we came to be as a nation. The answer to these questions is a resounding “no”. One should never fuse  real life education and religious education into the same platform.
I know that my predictions sound  grim, that my fears may be laughed  at by many. But no one, not even the United States with its army of think tanks could calculate how fast the Shah of Iran would be overthrown and Iran transformed from a modern, westernized nation into a hyper radical, conservative one.
We now stand at a crossroad where our actions will decide and write our future.
If these medievalists come to power will our sisters, mothers and wives be forced to go into imprisonment on grounds of immodesty or any allegation of lapse of their character or immoral behaviour would  lead to  their death via stoning?

The writer is a contributor to
The Independent