New Delhi, Dec. 4: Bangladesh can never become a fundamentalist state because Islam didn’t come here waving a sword on a horseback but was propagated peacefully by the Sufis, devotees and the clergy.

This new thesis of Abul Barkat, professor of economics in Dhaka University, has earned him 22 death threats by militant outfits in his country. It has also won him popularity among those who want to see Bangladesh back on the path of secularism.

Barkat told The Telegraph over the phone that Islam didn’t spread in eastern Bengal through any of the four usual means: immigration, the sword, patronage or social liberation.

“My research shows that Sufis and devotees initiated Islam in eastern Bengal?. They never supported any religious persecution and their main motto was ‘ashraful maklukath’, that is, ‘service to humans is religion’,” the professor said.

“There is no evidence of destruction of temples or forceful conversions?. Islam in eastern Bengal thus remained largely in its original form: liberal, secular and humanistic. I call it the ‘positive DNA factor’ and it still continues and will keep continuing. It is because of this strength that fundamentalism, whatsoever economic strength it may have acquired, will not be able to capture political power in Bangladesh.”

Barkat added: “I agree that the economics of fundamentalism in Bangladesh is strong. Its annual net profit is equivalent to 6 per cent of the government’s annual development budget or about 4 per cent of the national export earnings. The annual growth rate of the economy (7.5 per cent to 9 per cent) controlled by the fundamentalists is higher than that of the national economy (4.5 to 5 per cent).

“But in comparison, what is their political base? An abysmal 10 out of 300 seats in the last elections.”

The professor’s theory is expressed in his paper “Economics of Fundamentalism in Bangladesh: Roots, Strengths and Limits to Growth”, which was preceded by “Evolution of Islam in Bangladesh” and “An Enquiry into the Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh”.