That began to change in 2001, when Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of the assassinated military strongman General Zia, replaced secularism in the Constitution with the “Sovereignty of Allah.” Encouraged by this change the BNP’s junior coalition partner, Jamaat-e-Islami, which has links with the militias and remains close to Pakistan, has been calling for imposition of Sharia (Islamic law).
当2001年孟加拉国总理卡莉达·齐亚（Begum Khaleda Zia）——遇刺的军事铁腕人物齐亚将军的遗孀，用“阿拉的主权”取代了宪法中的宗教和世俗分离的世俗主义，那个改变由此开端。在这种改变的驱使下，BNP的下级联盟伙伴、与民兵组织有一定关系并一直与巴基斯坦保持亲密关系的伊斯兰大会党（Jamaat-e-Islami），一直呼吁强制实行Sharia（伊斯兰法律）。