What Happened in Bangladesh is a Miracle. Don’t Underestimate It’s Value!

The July-August revolution was nothing but a miracle blessed upon the people of Bangladesh by the Almighty. Although I was cautiously optimistic about a bright future due to the gradual unfolding of events between July and early August, I never imagined that a powerful tyrant like Sheikh Hasina would fall in such a spectacular fashion in the space of just 36 days.

The fleeing of Sheikh Hasina, her entire cabinet, all her MPs, all leaders of her party, senior businessmen and journalists close to her, judges loyal to her, and even the Director General of the Islamic Foundation is an example of a mass exodus of rulers and leaders unprecedented in world history. Those who could not flee are being caught one after another facing complete humiliation. How could this happen? Who was responsible for it? What reasons can be pinpointed that can explain how such an amazing feat could materialise? People are trying to come up with various theories as to what caused this revolution to succeed.

American Influence?

This is a theory some people are trying to establish to undermine the significance of what the sacrifices of the student-led mass upsurge achieved. There is an effort to justify this theory by reminding us of the American threat of visa restrictions last year against those who would work against a free and fair election. They forget that thanks to the intervention by India, the Americans proved it to be an empty threat without any significant implementation of its so-called visa sanctions apart from one or two exceptions. Their lack of even a strong statement against the dummy election early this year proves that they backtracked from their previous stance on Bangladesh and allowed India to ‘manage’ the Bangladesh situation on their behalf. Therefore, the theory that America facilitated the fall of Hasina is neither credible nor justifiable through any concrete evidence.

A Mastermind?

Another theory that has been going around is that an individual called Mahfuj Alam, who is now the Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Professor Yunus, was the mastermind behind the whole movement and orchestrated its success. I am indeed quite intrigued by this young man’s political philosophy. I watched a couple of videos where he spoke about what kind of politics and governance he would like for Bangladesh in the future and particularly liked his concept of ‘inclusive politics’ and marrying the two liberation movements of 1971 and 2024 but rejecting the 1972 constitution, which according to him, reflects the ideology of a political party rather than the people of Bangladesh. I have also come to know that he is the intellectual guru of the student movement and has been at the forefront of the strategies applied by the movement that toppled Hasina. Yet, believing that it was him who masterminded the whole movement that spread like wildfire with people from all walks of life coming together to force a brutal dictator to run away for life is more than an over-stretch.

The Real Mastermind

Allah SWT says in verse 26 of Surah Al-Imran:

“Say, O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.”

We saw the exact implementation of the above-mentioned powerful verse in this revolution. No single person or a group of people or a state could have envisaged the outcome of this movement, so there was only one mastermind behind this successful movement, and He is our Omnipotent Lord Allah SWT. This was nothing but His miracle. If we reflect on the events that led to the eventful day of 5th August, then we will realise how Allah SWT directly intervened to save our beloved country. I will start with two background contexts that gave ammunition to the latest movements:

1. Years of frustrations: This movement is the culmination of years of frustrations among the people of Bangladesh due to the way Sheikh Hasina and Awami League ruled the country. If I put you in a five-star hotel room with free food but don’t allow you to leave the room or speak to anyone, would you accept it? Of course, you won’t, why? Because the fundamental human nature is to have freedom. In the name of development, which was only applicable to a privileged few, the people of Bangladesh neither enjoyed any benefit of the so-called development nor did they have any freedom or the basic right to vote to elect their government. There were expectations that the opposition political forces would do something for the people, but they failed miserably. The people therefore needed a spark and some leadership and the quota movement by the students gave them the perfect platform.
2. Serious anti-Indian sentiments: Sheikh Hasina’s government and their masters India both failed to understand the level of anti-Indian sentiments common Bangladeshis have been holding for a long time. The fact that India has not only been behaving like an arrogant big brother but is also trying to control our fate through direct intervention in our political affairs, beginning from forcing Jatiyo Party to join the 2014 election to ‘managing’ the USA not to implement sanctions due to the farce election in January 2024, has snowballed into tremendous anti-India feelings in Bangladesh. People were waiting for a chance to express that sentiment and got a perfect opportunity when the Indian cricket team lost to Australia in the final of the One Day World Cup in 2023. Both the Bangladeshi and the Indian governments were flabbergasted by the wild celebrations around the country after India lost. Indians perceived this as a type of perversion rather than trying to understand that this was a manifestation of deeply held anti-Indian sentiments in the country. When the July movement began, people felt that they had their voice back and anti-Hasina and anti-Indian sentiments merged into a massive movement that none of them had anticipated.

However, four factors were crucial to facilitate the fall of Hasina, and every single one of them has been due to Divine intervention.

Blunders by Hasina

I was astonished by the series of basic errors of judgment committed by Hasina in this whole affair. We all had the impression that she was controlled by India and that all her actions were the results of carefully planned strategies devised in New Delhi. Whether it was her over-confidence and arrogance due to enjoying supreme control of the country for so many years, or the failure of India to read the situation, Hasina herself turned a seemingly benign movement into an uncontrollable mass movement. If she hadn’t done the following and simply accepted the demands of the quota movement without resorting to mass killings, then she would have remained in power. However, our Lord had had enough of her tyranny. He loosens His grip and allows oppressors like her to have a period of free reign, but eventually, He tightens His control. Allah decided that the time was up for Sheikh Hasina, so He allowed her to commit the following blunders:

i ) She stupidly called everyone who is not a descendant of a freedom fighter ‘Razakar’, a slur related to the collaborators of the 1971 War of Independence that no Bangladeshi can ever tolerate. This sparked a wildfire that she could not handle. Throughout Bangladesh, the slogan ami ke tumi ke/ razakar razakar/ ke boleche ke boleche/ shoirachar shoirachar/ (Who are you, who am I? Razakar Razakar. Who said this, who said this? The dictator, the dictator) was the key slogan in educational institutions around the country. Yet, Hasina failed to understand what they were trying to say and was bewildered why the students called themselves that name, not realising that they were criticising her for referring to them with this offensive slur.

ii ) Her police and armed students’ wing started to indiscriminately shoot and kill unarmed young people and the death toll began to increase every day.

iii ) She decided to continue killing civilians hoping that a complete internet shutdown would help her killing spree, even going to the extent of using UN vehicles and helicopters for mass murder. She didn’t care that she, as the Prime Minister, was presiding over the killing of the very citizens she was supposed to protect.

iv ) Her first reaction after the internet was restored was to weep at the damage of the TV station and metro rail station without any remorse for killing hundreds of unarmed men, women, and children.

v ) The final straw was the mass killings in the first few days of August and her efforts to remain in power at any cost. At no point during these days did she realise that she completely failed to understand the pulse of the people. This happens to psychopaths like her who thought that she and her family owned this country and could do anything she liked.

I find this to be a miracle that neither she nor her strategic masters understood that no one can stay in power by killing so many people. It was the perfect implementation of Allah’s decision when to give power and when to take away power.

Indomitable Braveness of Generation Z

Contrary to popular belief that Generation Z is obsessed with mobile phones and is incapable of serving society, the bravery of our young generation has created a legacy that will be difficult to match anywhere in the world. The viral scene of a young university student Abu Sayeed stretching his hands in front of the police, falling after being shot in his chest, rising again only to be shot again, and then eventually dying has created a permanent mark on anyone who saw it. What bravery! A video of a police officer speaking to Hasina’s Home Minister at that time saying, ‘We kill one, only one falls down – no one else moves. That’s the most worrying thing’ summarises people’s bravery during the movement. When people conquer the fear of death, no tyrant can beat them. I saw many photos of 5/6-year-old children wearing headbands saying ‘shoot me’! No one can withstand such bravery. The question is – where did they get this bravery? Is it not Allah who instilled in them the indomitable desire for martyrdom?

Mass Involvement

The movement started with students demanding the abolition of the discriminatory quota system. Gradually, it turned into a movement for Sheikh Hasina to relinquish power. As it got momentum, people from all walks of life joined and gave away their lives for the freedom of their country. Initially, many mothers were reluctant to let their children go out in fear of losing them, but later they came out on the streets to support them. Adults, young, children, workers, and officers – who did not join the movement? Millions of people took to the streets around the country with one demand – Hasina must go! When people from all walks of life join a movement, the inevitable consequence is people’s victory. People came out on the streets with no fear of death. Allah gave them the courage to withstand all types of oppressions and the tyrant had to flee as a consequence.

The army Stood by the People

The most crucial role was played by the Army. Sheikh Hasina wanted mass killings to remain in power and hoped that the Army Chief, who is her cousin’s husband, would protect her power and follow her orders. However, being pressured by his officers and having a strong moral sense, General Wakaruzzaman refused to help his relative Sheikh Hasina and took the side of the people. When the Army refused to shoot down their own people, there was no way out for Sheikh Hasina as she had to run away to save herself from the mob who were approaching her official residence in large numbers without any resistance. During her brutal rule of 15 years, Sheikh Hasina significantly weakened the Bangladesh Army by first facilitating the killing of 57 brilliant officers in 2009 in a so-called BDR Mutiny, and then getting rid of many brilliant officers in the army. Yet, through Allah’s direct intervention, this seemingly backboneless army stood up tall at the most crucial moment and ensured that the people of Bangladesh could finally breathe the air of freedom.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of this Miracle

We must not underestimate how everything fell into place at the right time and within only 36 days, a mighty tyrant fled the country. This is no small feat that this could happen in such a short time. There is hardly any instance where young students with a seemingly simple demand could pave the way for such a mass movement. If we believe in Allah and His power, we can see how Allah SWT miraculously implemented verse 26 of Surah Al-Imran. Indeed, Bangladesh is now like a war-torn country due to Hasina destroying all major institutions which have to be rebuilt. The interim government, despite its sincere efforts, has not yet got a full grip on the challenges the country faces. There are pressures from all corners to solve multitudes of problems and many people loyal to the fallen dictator are still in their positions. This is creating panic among some people and many social media influencers are spreading fear of a counter-revolution. It is true that we need to be vigilant as Awami League and their lords in India will try to create chaos. However, if we fall prey to this fear-mongering, then we will underestimate the Divine intervention that brought us to this stage in the first place. We need patience and perseverance during this crucial period.

Therefore, my appeal to the keyboard warriors is to not get too carried away with things we read and watch on social media. This is the time for rebuilding the country, not to panic. Allah SWT has miraculously enabled this revolution. Therefore, He will also protect us from any evil conspiracy insha Allah. The government is doing its best and is heading in the right direction. There will be mistakes along the way but we should all support them in cleaning up the mess while remaining careful so that the enemies of this country can’t create any chaos. We have to be vigilant but at the same time patiently walk towards achieving our goal of creating a democratic and inclusive country that we all can be proud of. May Allah continue to shower His blessings on our beloved country, Ameen!