Bangladesh: Rising fundamentalisms and religious intolerance are threatening secularism and moderate Islam

Islamic fundamentalism, religious intolerance, militant Muslim groups with links to international terrorist groups, a powerful military with ties to the militants, the mushrooming of Islamic schools churning out radical students, middle-class apathy, poverty and lawlessness--all are combining to transform the nation. Sounds familiar? Just like Pakistan, its former overlord, this nation of 130 million people--the third-most populous in the Muslim world--is slowly moving away from its tradition of moderate Islam. And the government seems powerless and unwilling to stem the tide, which includes growing attacks on moderate Muslims and the dwindling Hindu population.