Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman’s description of the United States as a “tested friend” of Bangladesh during the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad has reignited an old debate. Diplomatic niceties are an integral part of international relations, and there is nothing unusual about celebrating the ties between two countries. Yet portraying the United States as a “tested friend” without acknowledging the defining test of 1971 risks reducing history to political convenience.
The irony is difficult to ignore. The remark comes from the leader of a party whose own role during Bangladesh’s Liberation War continues to cast a long shadow over its political legacy. For Jamaat-e-Islami to invoke the language of enduring friendship while remaining silent about both its own wartime position and Washington’s record during the Liberation War raises uncomfortable questions about historical consistency.
