Jahangirnagar University: From Erased Identity to the Reassertion of Muslim Leadership

In 1970, near Dhaka in Savar, the foundation stone was laid for a university named Jahangirnagar Muslim University. The very name carried the identity of the Muslim nation and reflected a clear ideological direction. But later, when secularism and leftist secular ideologies began to rise there, they removed the word Muslim from the name for their own interests. This change of name was not merely the removal of a word; it was a symbolic declaration of denying the identity and faith of the Muslim nation.

Yet history bears witness—when a nation’s identity is denied, it is that very nation that eventually defeats its deniers and reclaims its rightful place. Evidence of this was seen in the student union elections at the university. The same university that once did not allow the world’s most-read book, the Holy Qur’an, to be placed in its mosque, now has Muslim leadership at its helm—elected by the very students of that institution.

This is a clear message—if the Muslim identity is ignored, those who ignore it will one day themselves be ignored. The students of Jahangirnagar have well understood that it is never possible to advance their journey forward through secular principles. After striking a blow to secularism in July, the very next year they once again, with full strength, struck another blow to secularism at Jahangirnagar University.

History, therefore, proves this truth—no matter how much one tries to suppress a nation’s identity, ideals, and faith, the Muslim identity will one day rise again in all its glory.