The BNP appears to view religious extremism as a tool to break the power of the opposition Awami League, which is largely supported by the secular and urban middle classes. Similarly, the massive rise in the number of madrassas (religious schools) financed by Saudi and Gulf money – totalling roughly 64,000 and operating under the same fundamentalist Deobandi Islam that inspired the Taliban – is part of a clear effort to change Bangladesh’s culture of religious tolerance.