Religious extremism
Talebans version of Islam is not the real Islam; the ideology of Talebans or Al-Qaeda is completely at a variance with Islam.

“Bangladesh is on the point of threatening the region, the Indian subcontinent, and far beyond if left unchallenged. Islamic fundamentalism, religious intolerance, militant Muslim groups with links to international terrorist groups, a powerful military with ties to the militants, the mushrooming of Islamic schools churning out radical students, middle-apathy, poverty and lawlessness—all are combining to transform the nation”, - so a report on the situation in Bangladesh following another report on Bangladesh by ‘Bert Lintoer appearing in the FEER in Apr 2002.

Although it has not transformed the nation, and we will discuss the possibilities of it being transformed, later, there is little doubt that what was primarily restricted to the realms of the conjectural thus far, has now come to be partly proved. The hands of the underground radical Islamic militant groups, with the purpose of establishing a theological state, through violent means, has been finally exposed through the almost five near-simultaneous bombing in all the sixty four districts save one, on August 17. Some think that these are but efforts to embarrass the government and spoil the image of the country. And of course, foreign hands are never discounted.

The situation in Bangladesh has undergone rapid transformation over the last several years in that while till then the nature, intensity and scope of militancy were nowhere near what was being experienced in India or in Sri Lanka and one would have hesitated to the type of terrorism that Bangladesh was then experiencing as orthodox terrorism, the same is now rife in Bangladesh.

From Information available so far, although the extent of the links with international organisations has not been determined as yet, it is quite clear that there is definitely a symbiosis between the religious extremists in Bangladesh and other international Islamist organisation, at least insofar as the basic motivation behind their activities is concerned. Thanks to the US for making the word Jihad a popular term in h Asia, by making it such a tantalising undertaking amongst the gullible Muslim youths of the region against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Contemporary developments present some very disquieting pictures. What were, reportedly, clandestine attempts by some fractious religious groups to organise themselves, and whose existence had come to light through capture of large quantity of arms and ammunitions as well as arrest of persons claiming to belong to religious groups motivated to wage Islamic Movements in Bangladesh, have now come out in the open. How did all this come about?

Growth of radical elements and international linkages

Following the US ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan, apprehensions were expressed that the mix of domestic political factor and the impact of the war in Afghanistan, the consequent and economic instability may be exploited by the radical religious elements in esh. The apprehension was primarily due the character of the Four Party Alliance under the BNP government, one of the constituent elements of which is the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), known for its anti-Bangladesh stand during our Liberation War and pro-Pakistan inclinations. This party has 17 seats in the parliament. Some of the apprehensions have been borne out by the recent events.

Failure to apprehend the masterminds of the bombings that started in 1999 has afforded the extremists the opportunity to organise and get a base of sorts. Another reason that the extremists have been able to sprout in our soil, apart from the socio-economic factor, is the rabid friction between the two major political parties. The extremists have made full use of the time and the political space provided by the conditions created as a result of this clash.

Proliferation of madrasas

Apprehensions are also expressed about the swelling of the, “Radical ranks by graduates from the estimated 64,000 madrasas,” according to the same Dutch report. The perception is that these madrasas, where education is free and readily available, do not prepare their students adequately enough to enter the mainstream life or profession, thus failing victims to the lure of religious fanatics.

True, the madrasas are sources of free education and a means of livelihood to many in the villages, who, after passing out from these religious schools find employment in a village maktab or a mosque. However, to suggest that the Madrassas are ‘factory producing terrorist’ perhaps overstate their importance, although one cannot discount the fact that there are some Madrassas that are being used to impart radical messages to its students. The Government is in the process of making madrasa syllabus more eclectic by including other subjects besides religion, including science subjects.

Thus the natural question is, where are we heading? Let us briefly reflect on the matter.

Future denouement: Are we going the Afghan way?

No doubt there are elements within the political circles that seek to convert Bangladesh into an Islamic State. This view had been held since long predating the Liberation of Bangladesh. It is also true that the religious right have been represented in the parliament after 1975.

The platform politics of the Islamist parties is perhaps a good thing for several reasons. First, although it provides a space to political Islam, their participation in platform lies will act as deterrence to their participation in any clandestine anti-state activities. more importantly, these Islamist parties would not be able to make any dent in the lament without going into electoral alliance with one of the two major parties, as we see in the current composition of the government It is inconceivable that either of the two major parties would allow the Islamist agenda to be implemented, even if they chose to contest the election on the same platform. But the recent developments and the allegations of links between the religious extremists and some segment of the ruling coalition have prompted many to ask ‘are we going the Afghan way?’

Some would like to take Bangladesh that way, i.e. the way Afghanistan went under the Talebans; some would like to make it appear that Bangladesh has already moved that way; but most of the people of the country, while perhaps dreading that that is where we heading for, would like to see that such a possibility did not eventuate.

Apprehensions have been expressed that Bangladesh was well nigh that point where the Muslim radicals were about to overwhelm the country and its political system. Whether or not we replicate in the ultimate another Afghanistan by being Talebanised, there is surely a well-organised group in our midst that wants to take the country in that direction. The latest suicide bombings leaves no doubt that we past the point of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ to a stage where we are faced with a frightening prospect of combating an ideologically motivated group, prepared to kill themselves for the sake of, what they would like to think, establishing Islam in Bangladesh.

However, there are many in Bangladesh that would like to think that these are but acts designed to destabilise the country to reap benefits at the expense of one political party or the other with the help of external sponsorship.

While one cannot take issue with the question of external support, because trans-boundary support, of money and ideas, is an essential ingredient On which these groups thrive, the argument that anyone would go to the extent of killing one’s self, only for the purpose of ‘destabilising’ a country, remains far from convincing. Killing one’s self achieve ones political objective requires deep motivation that no amount of money or persuasion can induce. To sacrifice one’s life merely to break up a coalition or make one of the partner appear to be a political liability, as one leader of the ruling alliance has averred, is too high a price for too insignificant an objective.

The similarity between the Bangladesh and Afghanistan situation is that there is a well-entrenched deeply motivated group in the country with similar ideological orientation. And that is where the similarity ends. The fluid situation that prevailed in Afghanistan, with tribalism taking precedence over nationalism, where liberal thoughts were suppressed by means of brute force whose preponderance was exhibited through the activities of the Talebans, that was raised and supported by a third country, is not to be found in Bangladesh.

We should also take solace in the fact that the deeply religious but moderate Bengali Muslims would not allow this to happen. It is their attitude to religion that makes them conform to the liberal values that Islam preaches that will militate against obscurantism and the distorted ideology of the extremists prevailing in the country. The Talebans version of Islam is not the real Islam; the ideology of Talebans or Al-Qaeda is completely at a variance with Islam, from which they deviated in order to attain their narrow goals.

One would like to think that the BNP remains at the core secular, in spite of teaming up with an Islamist party with the expressed goal of establishing ‘Islamic Hukumat’ in the country, and would resist radical moves by the Islamists outside the fold, but as per common perception, in league with the Islamic parties in the coalition. One expects also that other political parties would bring to bear on the militants all their political clout to see that such a situation did not come about.

Our response

In the case of Bangladesh the response has so far been primarily reactive, perfunctory; measures. This is an unwitting response brought about by the very nature of the state itself. The only way to counter these so-called Jihadists is to fight them politically.

Although the government is initiating actions to tackle a phenomenon that it was ill prepared to initially, it must avoid falling into the trap of being at ‘war’ with the extremists. Nothing will give them more comfort and validity than their being involved in a “war’ with the state. Apart from that, the grave mistake, as one eminent expert on terrorism suggests, in using phrases like ‘war on terror’ is, “it does create an expectation some that there is a solution to terrorism that is entirely military.”

Physical confrontation of terrorists is but one aspect of combating terrorism. Even more important is to thwart its spread in our soil since its germination could not be prevented in the first place. And this is where our riposte must take a holistic form rather than piecemeal approach.

Two decisions of the government in the aftermath of August 17 bombings are worth a close look. First, its decision to enact new laws, and second, its plan to conduct motivation programme to keep the potential extremists from swelling the terrorist ranks. These are what one might term indications of the government’s action plan of tackling the issue. The intention of the government to legislate new law to combat terrorism merits more detail deliberation; first and foremost one needs to ask whether we need new legislation at all to fight the trend that we are facing?

Apart from the relevant provisions of the criminal procedures and rules, formulated by the British to combat indigenous terrorism in India, that we have inherited, there is very little that are in our statutes that addresses the classical form of terrorism. Even, the now expired “Suppression of Terrorist Offences Act, 1992” related to only law and order situation and societal violence rather the type of terrorism that we are now confronted with. Even the current law’s efficacy to tackle the societal violence can be judged by the poor conviction rate of cases tried under these taws.

While legislating new laws one needs to also keep in mind that the laws must be relevant to the issue at hand, i.e. it should not only be adequate to tackle the crime, it must have adequate provisions to tackle the terrorist strategy. We must address the phenomenon as a stole of mind rather than as merely an activity.

Although India, who have had to face terrorism in its most virulent form for the last three decades or so, and had as many as fourteen legislation to deal with terrorism, was compelled to go for TADA (Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Act, 1988) and POTA (The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002). Mere legislation to combat terrorism may not always pay dividends at least in the short-term. The Indian experience in this regard is worth studying. The fact that POTA replaced TADA only to be scrapped after only two years, albeit by a new coalition in Delhi, who was opposed to its very introduction in the first place, is indicative of this.

|  Headlines  |  Editorial   | From Other Publications  |
|  Travel Column   |   News Briefs  |
| OT Main Page | Nena  Home Page  |