Islamist leader rises from obscurity to challenge for Bangladesh’s top job


Shafiqur  Rahman, Ameer (President) Jamaat-e-Islami, poses for a photograph after an interview with Reuters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 31, 2025. REUTERS/Kazi Salahuddin

DHAKA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Shafiqur Rahman has long been on ‌the margins of Bangladeshi politics, but his bearded face now appears on posters and billboards across Dhaka, urging voters to elect the country’s first Islamist‑led government in a ‌general election on Thursday.

The 67‑year‑old doctor and Jamaat‑e‑Islami party chief has risen from near obscurity to be a serious contender for prime minister, after decades of being ‌mostly known only in Islamist circles.

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