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Supporting a More Socially Inclusive Society in Bangladesh: Seeking Lessons from Different Experiences

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Supporting a More Socially Inclusive Society in Bangladesh: Seeking Lessons from Different Experiences JUNE 2020 BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION, PEACE, AND WORLD AFFAIRS | WORLD FAITHS DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUE | CENTRE FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE POLICY BRIEF #26 SUPPORTING A MORE SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE SOCIETY IN BANGLADESH: SEEKING LESSONS FROM DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The COVID-19 economic and social crisis offers opportunities to review fundamental questions about national approaches to pluralism, religion’s role in society, and national goals for peace and social cohesion in Bangladesh. This brief offers examples from different countries that address the challenges of living together in diverse societies through secular and religious education efforts. KEY TAKEAWAYS • Previous findings have highlighted significant fissures within Bangladeshi society. This is accentuated by the dearth of multicultural and interfaith content within textbooks and school programs. • Promoting universal citizenship goals through deliberate interfaith and multicultural This brief draws on education policy and programing could help avoid interfaith and interethnic conflict. two Berkley Center/ WFDD/CPJ Bangladesh • Educators, faith leaders, faith-inspired organizations, and other civil society reports that analyzed the organizations can play an integral role in advocating for more socially cohesive country’s faith-inspired education policies. education landscape, as well as a review of • Recognition of past interfaith and ethnic conflict in Bangladesh and within the textbook treatment of region in textbooks can help advance reconciliation efforts and bridge divides. religion and pluralism. INTRODUCTION BANGLADESH’S EDUCATION AND SOCIAL COHESION PROFILE A goal for national education systems is to support shared narratives and visions for an inclusive Statistical profiles of Bangladesh suggest a common future. Our research, however, highlights homogenous population: 98% are ethnic Bengali, that significant fissures within Bangladeshi society sharing a common language, and 90% are Muslim. are accentuated by a dearth of multicultural and Bangladeshis have taken pride in the nation’s interfaith content within school programs and harmony and inclusivity. From several perspectives, textbooks. Yet effective approaches grounded in however, Bangladesh is one of South Asia’s least education can support more cohesive and sustainable socially cohesive societies. Bangladesh’s surface societies. To realize universal goals like citizenship, homogeneity masks complex social divisions, civic values, tolerance and respect for varying faiths, for example within Muslim communities and and heightened social justice, civil society actors and by economic and social class. Changes linked faith leaders can work to convince policymakers to modernization, including migration (internal that deliberate measures to advance cohesion and and international) and rising inequalities, have interfaith education approaches are an essential accentuated divides. Bangladesh, Nepal, and good for society. Advocating for inclusive values Pakistan make up the “South Asian Cluster” of and goals in the public sphere and identifying ways Asia’s socially fragmented countries, compared to to turn them into practical policy can support the more cohesive countries: China, South Korea, and goals for a more socially cohesive society. Singapore.1 Growing signs of interfaith conflict, growing Islamic fundamentalism, and violent attacks This brief highlights relevant institutional and on secular activists and intellectuals undermine both country case studies as examples of how various the reputation and reality of a harmonious society. international approaches to address social cohesion The COVID-19 crisis, with nationwide shutdowns and pluralism are designed. The focus is on school and sharp economic downturns, has brought social curricula including textbooks. Approaches to and religious divisions closer to the surface. integrating faith leaders and approaches are also explored. These cases offer pertinent insights on how Berkley Center/WFDD/CPJ research focused on Bangladesh and other countries might benefit from religious delivery of education and teaching about tested global approaches. An underlying hypothesis religion in the national school system, drawing on is that promoting universal citizenship goals through interviews with religious leaders, organizational deliberate education policy and approaches can help reviews, and National Curriculum and Textbook avoid interfaith and interethnic conflict. Board and Quomi madrasa textbook content BOX Social cohesion is defined here as “…the ongoing process of developing well-being, sense of belonging, and vol- untary social participation of the members of society, which developing communities that tolerate and promote a multiplicity of values and cultures and granting at the same time equal rights and opportunities in society.”28 2 Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs analysis. Quomi madrasa and national school SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES: textbooks were assessed based on various socially INDONESIA, SINGAPORE, cohesive criteria, exploring Bangladesh’s national and religious school systems’ approach to teaching ARIGATOU INTERNATIONAL, AND about religion, citizenship, and social values via BANGLADESH textbook content. A content analysis of how Interfaith Curricula in Indonesia major world faiths other than Islam are covered in textbooks was part of the research. Findings from Indonesia boasts a relatively strong social cohesion “Faith and Education in Bangladesh: Approaches in a very diverse society. As the world’s largest to Religion and Social Cohesion in School predominantly Muslim country and its third-largest Textbook Curricula” suggest a primary focus on democracy, there are six official state religions and the superiority of Islam and Bangladesh/Bengali over 240 ethnic groups. Indonesia has maintained ethnocentrism and the absence of attention to complex relationships between religion, state, indigenous and folk religious traditions. The analysis and society in a fairly harmonious way.6 This suggests concerning trends and attitudes, notably cohesion builds on common historical experiences, majority ethnic and religious identities that obscure interreligious dialogue, a productive nation-building the heterogeneity of Bangladeshi society, various process, indigenous traditions, and the promotion forms of gender stereotyping, tokenism, and limited of a common language.7 Indonesia stands out for 2 recognition of social inequalities and injustice. the role that interreligious dialogue has played in Current and past social tensions and conflicts promoting universal values and tolerance, through between majority and minority groups within universities, NGOs, and youth groups across Bangladesh and surrounding neighbors like India the country and in transnational interreligious 3 and Myanmar are not addressed, so understanding institutions.8 Challenges to social cohesion are the nature of conflict and conflict resolution tools is mounting, however, with significant radicalization largely absent. trends, indications of growing intolerance among 4 Muslim communities, and widening economic The national school curriculum has large roles inequality.9 in enhancing critical thinking skills and fostering a national identity among students. Textbooks In this large, multicultural, and democratic nation, have the ability to reproduce social constructs, Indonesia’s public schools offer compulsory shape worldviews, and advance the enterprise of religious education whereas religious schools offer 5 nation-building. Through nuanced and systematic an Islamic-focused education. A review by Dr. approaches to conceptualizing and addressing social Jamhari Makruf, a lecturer at Universitas Islam injustices via textbooks, students can be taught Negri, highlights significant differences between to think critically about and analyze such issues public and religious school education, which are through a widened worldview and a more tolerant both governed by different ministries and have lens. limited coordination between them.10 Both public and religious school texts reflect some conservative and extremist ideology and slight intolerance for 3 other major world faiths. The review finds that in its role as a spiritual and moral guide and not just be religious schools, extremist ideology is more limited, focused on the ritual and formal aspects, especially while there is a split allegiance between Islam and those that are exclusive in nature, in both public Indonesia. and governmental spheres.”13 Interfaith bodies are working together to put pressure on the government Various civil society organizations are working to enact measures to protect religious freedoms to enhance the educational impact on pluralism and secularism, discourage extremism, and protect and cohesion by reviewing and revising textbooks, minority religious rights thus encouraging a more cooperative interfaith programs, citizenship harmonious society. education, and incorporating progressive human rights values in texts. Introducing comparative Indonesia’s experience suggests that mandatory religion as a subject in schools aims to foster a deeper interfaith studies in education curricula can help understanding between ethnic and religious groups. materially in bridging gaps between different groups By fostering more interethnic and interreligious and ward off extremism. cooperation and interactions, youth can learn that they have a stake in society and see the commonly Singapore’s Plural Society linked
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