The Friday Times, Lahore, March 18-24, 2005, www.TheFridayTimes.com

Eliza Griswold wrote in The New York Times (23 January 2005): ‘(Radical Islam) was not supposed to be the fate of Bangladesh, which fought its way to independence 34 years ago. While its population of 141 million is 83 percent Muslim, the nation was founded on the principle of secularism, which in Bangladesh essentially means religious tolerance. After the guiding figure of independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, was assassinated in 1975, military leaders, seeking legitimacy, allowed a return of Islam to politics.