Tensions mount in Bangladesh as February 12 elections near, with reports warning of dire implications for minorities under Islamist influences. The Yunus interim government’s failures—economic devastation, business vendettas, ignored minority violence, rift-deepening, and Islamist blindness—dominate EU Reporter’s Brussels dispatch.
A bombshell leaked audio reveals US diplomat ambitions to befriend Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist heavyweight deemed terrorists by Russia for 20+ years. Routine diplomacy or not, Jamaat’s legacy screams caution: anti-Bangladesh origins, pro-Pakistan stance, 1971 war crimes through paramilitaries, Brotherhood-inspired.
Post-Hindu riots, deregistered long ago, Jamaat reemerged post-2024 Hasina ouster, unbanned executive-style, reregistered judicially in 2025, now polling strong second.
Any US tilt could be a foreign policy blunder for the ages. Its rise heralds conservative Islam’s grip, syncing with 2024 protest fallout: anti-women mobs, canceled girls’ sports, savage rapes countrywide.
From women’s empowerment vanguard to this nadir—unthinkable. Amid faith-based fractures, Rohingya woes, India strains, elections may foreclose hopes, consigning minorities to shadowed prospects.