Professor Dr. Samia Huq serves as the Dean of General Education at BRAC University and holds the position of Research Fellow at the Center for Peace and Justice (CPJ), BRAC University. Our other guest, Dr. Sudipta Roy, is a Senior Researcher at the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD).
During a recent episode of CPJ’s podcast series “Doorbeen”, Dr. Huq and Dr. Roy spoke about an enduring collaboration between CPJ and the WFDD. Together, they shed light on how faith influences various dimensions of critical development themes in Bangladesh. CPJ’s Samiha Tasnim and Sumaiya Razzak transcribed and repackaged this podcast into an ‘interview’, while Md. Wahidul Islam recorded, edited, and produced this audio episode.
Interviewer: Welcome, Dr. Samia Huq and Dr. Sudipta Roy. Could you kindly provide an overview of your professional backgrounds and your roles in the Faith and Development project?
Samia Huq: I am Dr. Samia Huq, and I am serving as the Dean of General Education and a Professor of Anthropology at BRAC University. Additionally, I hold a research fellowship at the Center for Peace and Justice at BRAC University. In collaboration with the World Faiths Development Dialogue, situated in the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, I lead the Bangladesh segment of the project. We focus on exploring the faith dimensions of development and their impact on social cohesion.
Sudipta Roy: Greetings, I am Dr. Sudipta Roy. I contribute to the project from Washington, D.C., where I am a Senior Researcher at the World Faiths Development Dialogue. Concurrently, I am a Research Fellow at the Berkeley Center.
Interviewer: Dr. Huq, could you please elaborate on the project’s inception and the underlying motivations that drove its initiation?
Samia Huq: Certainly. The project’s roots trace back to 2011 when I first met Dr. Katherine Marshall, who leads the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD). The initial impetus to explore the Bangladeshi landscape emerged during our discussions. The project officially commenced in 2014, aiming to delve into the realm of faith-inspired actors engaged in development efforts—a sector often overshadowed by the predominant secular framework in Bangladesh.
Our primary objective was to better understand the landscape of these faith-inspired organizations and institutions. Their valuable insights are frequently overlooked amid the prevailing secular development discourse in the country. Our approach was two-fold: not only did we seek to understand this nuanced world, but we also aspired to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between faith-inspired development actors and their secular counterparts. The inaugural phase of the project, titled the Speakers Forum on Faith and Development, centered around organizing forums that provided a platform for individuals from both realms to engage in conversations. These forums aimed to foster understanding, bridge gaps, address misunderstandings, and facilitate a more profound awareness of each other’s work. The current phase of the project started in 2019. It focused more directly on four critical developmental themes through a faith lens: education, gender, media and youth, and environment.
Interviewer: Dr. Huq, could you share insights from your experiences within the faith and education sector?
Samia Huq: Certainly. Our journey in this sector has revealed the vast and intricate nature of the landscape, shaped by historical legacies that continue to influence the present. Focusing mainly on education, our research uncovered noteworthy shortcomings in the messaging found in textbooks, both within the secular and religious streams.
In exploring of the religious stream, we scrutinized textbooks representing various religious perspectives, including those from the Qawmi madrasa stream. Identifying these gaps prompted us to establish external partnerships. Collaborations with institutions such as the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the Arigato Foundation, known emphasizing ethics education, were formed.
Returning to our fundamental goal of platform building, we take pride in contributing to circulating networks and ideas within Bangladesh. Our engagements have facilitated valuable connections, allowing for the exchange of perspectives and enhancing educational discourse in the country.
Interviewer: Dr. Roy, please tell us more about the faith and gender issues aspect of your work and the plan devised within this theme.
Sudipta Roy: After concluding our education project and presenting our findings in January 2020, we examined the role of faith leaders in addressing gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Our focus extended to investigating the involvement of NGOs and local civil society in engaging faith leaders to mitigate this societal problem. The topic was critical during the COVID period when reports were showing the dramatic rise of violence against women and child marriage in the country and abroad.
Interviewer: Dr. Huq, you have worked on faith and gender issues for a long time now. What are your observations regarding the primary dynamics concerning faith and gender issues in Bangladesh?
Samia Huq: Addressing the intersection of faith perspectives and gender is indeed a complex challenge. Through our research, we aimed to amplify women’s voices, recognizing the significant divide between the secular and religious worlds concerning gender issues. One notable area we explored was the relationship between madrasa education and gender, particularly through a writing workshop for madrasa graduates. These young women, who identify as torchbearers of faith, also consider themselves writers, showcasing a progressive perspective within the context of their faith. The ongoing work highlighting these women’s perspectives will soon be published, making it accessible to the public. Regarding the broader issue of faith and gender, I believe a crucial aspect to address is the lack of conversations about female leadership in the religious domain. While historical examples exist, the topic still needs to be explored in public.
Sudipta Roy: What measures do you believe can be taken to highlight and cultivate female leadership in Bangladesh?
Samia Huq: There are several key considerations. Firstly, state patronage is crucial, necessitating the establishment of supportive policies and measures that allocate specific spaces for women in official leadership roles. Equally important is implementing of proper training programs and exposure opportunities for women who aspire to take on leadership positions. While my discussions with many religious women indicate their willingness to step forward, it is essential to acknowledge and address the resistance, at a macro and societal level. The collective effort must focus on creating an environment conducive to the emergence of female leaders within the religious sphere.
Interviewer: Dr. Roy, we’d like to know more about your research on faith and media.
Sudipta Roy: Our research focused on analyzing developmental narratives discussed in waz mahfils (a particular type of religious sermon often offered at mass gatherings), which are widely popular in Bangladesh. These religious sermons are often recorded and shared on social media. We aimed to understand both the sermon speakers’ and their consumers’ engagement patterns and perspectives on development issues, including education and female participation in the labor market. While the research is ongoing, we plan to share our findings in the coming months. This study has the potential to offer insights for policymakers, especially regarding how the young population in Bangladesh learns about religion through social media, informing the development of targeted policies.
Interviewer: Dr. Roy, you also conducted advocacy work on mainstream media and journalists on faith issues. How do you look back at your collaboration with the Center for Communication Action Bangladesh (C-CAB) and the creation of a handbook for journalists reporting on faith?
Sudipta Roy: Our collaboration with C-CAB involved organizing workshops for local journalists, and exploring their comfort level and methodologies when reporting on faith-related matters. The workshops revealed a significant knowledge gap among reporters in effectively covering faith-related topics. In response, C-CAB suggested creating a handbook as a resource for journalists, available in both English and Bangla. To develop this handbook, we studied global best practices, examining how journalists in various countries engage with faith, their ethical challenges, and the potential impacts of misinterpretations in faith reporting. The handbook is currently ready and being translated into Bangla.
Interviewer: In the fourth project theme, you created a unique documentary on the intersection of faith and climate change—a perspective not explored in Bangladesh before. Dr. Roy, could you provide a brief overview of this unique documentary?
Sudipta Roy: Few discussions in journal articles and policy documents address the unique impact of climate change on people’s faith and practices. To fill this gap, we aimed to make this issue more accessible through an interactive medium. Thus, we created a documentary film, “No Ark,” exploring the intertwining of faith dimensions with environmental challenges. Collaborating with a Bangladeshi independent filmmaker, we interviewed diverse faith leaders and individuals from various backgrounds. The documentary captures how the practices of different religions are affected by climate change disasters. It features insights from faith actors on altering behaviors for a peaceful and safe world. Stay tuned for its release on YouTube soon!