Bangladesh, the third-largest Muslim country, is at a critical juncture as it approaches its January 2024 general election amidst rising fears of an Islamist takeover. Radical groups like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), and Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) are gaining ground, potentially turning the nation into a neo-Taliban state. Concerns are mounting as the Biden administration's perceived support for these groups could destabilize the region and reverse decades of secular progress, raising alarms about a future marked by extreme anti-Western, antisemitic, and anti-American sentiments.

A major source of this concern is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Some US courts have labeled BNP a “tier-3 terrorist organization.” Along with its allies, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), the BNP has recently been receiving what appears to be sympathy from the Biden administration in the United States.

This situation has drawn parallels with Afgh...