Globalization and Transnational Ummah(s) in Contemporary Bangladesh

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to offer a typology of transnational drivers igniting ummah identities in Bangladesh in a political climate where major parties and the state promote and support ummah. The typology includes: transnational Islamist parties, Islamic NGOs, migrants (people who are moving across borders), transnational scholarly networks and the Internet. This typology is not exhaustive, rather the purpose behind offering this typology is to invoke thoughts. Finally, this chapter argues that such varied transnational waves of ummah have three significant implications for Bangladesh: (a) weakening of the state-given identities and attachment towards citizenship, (b) increasing threat to state security, and (c) challenging the idea of modern day politics. In other words, this chapter demonstrates how Bangladeshis, by passing traditional “high” political structure such as the state and major parties, mount multiple criticisms to the Westphalian narrative by using a non-Western Islamic concept as referent object to justify their ways of politics.