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    Posted August 19, 2011 by
    ahJewel
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    Dhaka, Bangladesh
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    Terrorism and politics in the name of Islam and role of media: Bangladesh Perspective

    By ahJewel  |  Posted August 19, 2011  |  Dhaka, Bangladesh
     

    Bangladesh is a moderate Muslim  country and notwithstanding majority Muslim populations, they are not communal instead, citizens have shown a fierce dedication to their democratic  government despite several attempts to install an autocratic one. Religion based politics had been banned by the  founder of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Mass peoples from all  corners congratulated it whole-heartedly.

    Religion based  politics

    After the assassination of Bangabandhu, Zia, the martial  law administrator permitted religion based politics to ease his political path  to attain power. Golam Azam, Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami returned from  Pakistan in 1978. It is to be noted that, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders’ involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity has been recorded in many  books, journals and periodicals since the liberation of Bangladesh. They are the hatred group for common people. The military  rulers have used Islam to promote their reign.

    Jamaat-e-Islami and Chhatra  Shibir

    The Islami Chhatra Shibir is  the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, in fact it’s a militant  group also directly funded by Jamaat-e-Islami.  It has also been linked to several larger terrorist organizations. Many  officials and news sources allege that the group is nothing more than a  recruiting ground for Bangladeshi terrorist groups such as Harakat  ul-Jihad-i-Islami and Jamatul Mujahedin, As a front for Jamaat-e-Islami  terrorist operations they have shown no hesitation to use violence to further  its aims. This increasingly religious tenor of public and  political communication has been widely recognized the rise of Jamaat as influential Islamist party in Bangladesh.

    Nationalist BNP with  Islamist Jaamat

    BNP one of the mainstream  political party formed 4-party alliance, led by Mrs Khaleda, only to win the  election and attain power, and was succeeded. Though it has been criticized from  many corners but probably no one could have thought that JI would be the monster  child of terrorism. Moreover the small group of JI influenced BNP to run the  govt.

    Terrorist activities of Jaamat,  BNP is also liable:

    Acts like the 17th August 2005 serial bombings,  consisting of nearly 400 instantaneous bombs in all but one district in  Bangladesh is not one example. Actual fact is since 2002 four assassination  attempts have been made on Sheikh Hasina’s life. At first at Naogaon on 4 March  2002, second on 29 August 2003 at Satkhira, third on 26 February 2004 at Barisal  Ferryghat and the next on 2 April at Gournadi. On every occasion proper  attention of the government was drawn and protection sought. Almost invariably  armed cadres of BNP-Jamaat were involved in these attacks. On 5 July 2004 when  she was on tour at Istanbul in Turkey she was threatened on telephone both at  Istanbul and at Dhaka.  21st August Grenade attack on the then opposion party  was The most violent attack and the culmination of all these incidents and it  happened in broad daylight in the presence of hundreds of security personnel and  in a crowded public rally.  Though attacks to date have focused on transforming  domestic politics, reports abound of connections between Bangladeshi Islamist  militants and foreign terrorist groups and criminal syndicates, such as Harakatul Jihad al-Islami in Pakistan, or gang lord Dawood Ibrahim’s  infamous “D-Company,” believed responsible for the 1993 bombings in Mumbai.

    Global Impact

    The emergence of groups like Harakatul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh, Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, Ahl-e-Hadith Andolon Bangladesh—which  occurred after the return of Bangladeshi mujahedeen from the Afghan wars—infused  political violence in Bangladesh with the language of jihad and tactics borrowed from terrorist  groups abroad.

     

    New York based Bangladesh Human  Rights Watch has urged Dr. Condoleeza Rice, US Department of State, UN Secretary  Kofi Anan and former Prime Minister Mrs Khaleda to ban & enlist Jamaat-e-Islami  as a terror network outfit in a letter on 23 December 2005.

    News reports of the capture of active militants with arms  caches hidden in schools and connections to regional and international criminal  and terrorist organizations suggest that the threat is clear, present and cannot  be neglected. No action was taken. But

     

    The secular  opposition Awami League (AL) was/is the primary target of Islamic extremists. In  August 2004, Islamic militants tried to assassinate AL opposition leader Sheikh  Hasina at a political rally. AL politician Ivy Rehman was killed in a grenade  attack along with twenty others, and hundreds of people were injured. In January  2005, a grenade attack on an AL rally killed a former finance minister, his  nephew, and three AL activists.”Date:  1/10/2007, Bluma  Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein is  a consultant and freelance writer on international terrorism. She is a lecturer  at the University of Memphis. She is the editor of Counterterrorism Watch.]

    http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=3133321&ct=3420321

    Major Terrorist Attacks in Bangladesh: 2005-06

    1. January 27, 2005: A grenade attack in Hobijong killed Awami  League member of Parliament and former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.
    2. August 17, 2005: JMB militants set off nearly 500 small bombs  across Bangladesh that killed two people and injured 100 others.
    3. October 3, 2005: Suspected JMB militants killed two people  and wounded fifteen when they hurled five bombs at court buildings in three  districts outside Dhaka.
    4. November 14, 2005: A JMB/JMJB bomb attack on a minibus taking  judges to work killed two judges.
    5. November 29, 2005: JMB attacks on two Bangladeshi courthouses  in Chittagong and Gazipur, killing nine people.
    6. December 1, 2005: A suspected JMB suicide bomber killed one  person and injured ten others in Gazipur.
    7. December 8, 2005: In the central Bangladeshi town of  Netrokona, a JMB suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 50.

    Role of Awami League Govt:

    Present Awami League Govt. has elected with immense  mandate from the people and punishment of war crime criminal and support to  combat against terrorism etc were their electoral promise. This situates the  threat in the midst of complex political and social challenges, the relationship  among which should be reflected in strategies to counter such violence by the  government of Bangladesh and its international partners. Prime Minister Sheikh  Hasina expressed her deep concern to ensure a terrorism-free arena and to  provide all necessary supports to stop terrorism. However, they can’t deny that  we have been unable in three decades of activity to develop a substantial  mainstream constituency against Jamaat, or more militant groups outside  the political system, can pose a significant challenge to secular governments  branded as corrupt, self-serving and unable to provide for citizens’ basic needs  in Bangladesh.

    Bangladesh is shaped by a number of positive trends but  threats like terrorism and violent religious radicalization, a strong sense from  mass people and supports from different international platform is a must.

    Being Global

    The counterterrorism discourse and policies developed by  international partners often focus on “hard security” aspects. However, as the UN’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, passed by the General Assembly in  2006, points out, a number of development-related issues contribute to  “conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.” Support for improved  governance and the rule of law or justice-sector reform, such as looking at  prison conditions and interrogation techniques, is usually classed as  development assistance, even though these are vital foundations for building  state capacity to address security threats like terrorism.

    Probably it won’t sound wrong if I say Bangladesh Govt  will provide all supports to it. But the relevant component can’t be ignored.

    Pakistan ISI and Role of Media

    We find two different types of role of media.  One is biased, double standard, another is transparent.

    It is known to all that Jamaat-E-Islami is just simply a  wing of Pakistan Intelligence ISI. Pakistan Defense treated JMB as terrorist  groups.

    Pakistan about JMB

    • “When Islamic terrorist groups, some linked to major  political parties, were running riot. Then, the Bangla Bhai-led Jagrata  Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), a breakaway faction of the Jamat ul  Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), set off 50 simultaneous bomb blasts in each of  the outlying districts in 2005, assassinated judges and threatened to impose  Shariah law. Bangladesh became not only a sanctuary for northeast Indian  groups like ULFA, but also a base for Pakistani terrorist organizations like  the Lashkar-e-Taiba.”  http://www.defence.pk/forums/bangladesh-defence/93494-bangladeshs-war-terror.html

    Jamate Islami as Extremist by Pakistan  Defense

    • The new political scenario seriously threatens the  nation's secular polity and opens the vast political space to Islamist  forces. This is because most Islamist politicians, particularly those of the  Jamaat-e-Islami -, are free after 13 weeks of a nationwide drive by the  Ahmed regime against crime, corruption and religious extremism. There seems  a clear lack of will to touch political activists wedded to religion.  http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/4747-behind-facade-bangladesh-treading-pakistans-path.html

    View on Election 2008:

    • Khaleda repeatedly invoked Islam, requesting that the  voters vote BNP into power to "save Islam" and "save the country". It is  believed that this kind of negativity and cynicism is what has been punished  by the voters. The near wipe-out of the Jamaat-e-Islami in the party's worst  election showing since independence also lends credence to the notion that  the voters, although religiously observant themselves, have totally rejected  the misuse of religion for political purposes. http://www.defence.pk/forums/bangladesh-defence/18824-news-bangladesh.html

    Pakistan Defense's Present Stand:

    What happened that they changed their  stand!

    Propaganda Against Awami League :  Certainly Jamat will be benefited

    False Reports

    Interestingly the Pakistan media got afraid in 2007 and  published a false report

    The ECONOMIST: How come their reports  are same as Pakistani media!

    London based weekly has created a sign for them of yellow  journalism. Daily Pakistan, Pakistan Defense and Extremist Islamist groups all  of them are inter-connected. They are worried about Jaamat-E-Islami, writing  against father of the nation of Bangladesh, publishing baseless, false and  biased reports. Pakistan Defense is also republishing the same articles!  Amazing! One may doubt to mark the reports as misinformation or disinformation!

    Whats Global’s View

    USA

    Prime Minister Hasina has sought to increase Bangladesh’s  presence on the world stage. As leader of one of the countries most vulnerable  to climate change, Hasina has been a vocal advocate for mitigation and  adaptation by both developed and developing countries, aligning with the  Copenhagen Accord in January 2010. In a sharp change from previous  administrations, her government has actively confronted violent extremist groups  to deny space to terrorist networks and activities within its borders. The  simultaneous elections of the Awami League and the Congress Party in India set  the stage for renewed bilateral talks between the countries, an atmosphere which  has been improved by counterterrorism cooperation. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm

    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm

     

    UK

    One example of the BNP’s political allies is the JI. The  JI openly supports the Pakistani military and is alleged to have been involved  in massacres and targeted killings of various intellectuals in Dhaka, as well as  other acts of terrorism. http://www.global-politics.co.uk/issue%203/Bangladesh.htm

    http://www.global-politics.co.uk/issue%203/Bangladesh.htm

     

    USA about Khaleda Zia

    The center-right BNP won a  plurality of seats and formed a government with support from the Islamic fundamentalist party Jamaat-I-Islami, with Khaleda Zia, widow of Ziaur Rahman, obtaining the post of prime minister.

    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm

     

    TERRORISM IN BANGLADESH – Monster Child of BNP – JAMAAT:

    http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3509.html

    FBI Arrested Pakistani in connection to  attack US Embassy, Dhaka

    "Immediately  following the arrests of David Coleman Headley,  born as Dawood Gilani, and Tawahur Hossain Rana, a Pakistan born Canadian  citizen, by the FBI in early November in the USA, the Bangladeshi security and  counter-terrorism agencies moved to arrest three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) activists  who were planning to attack the Indian High Commission and the US Embassy in  Dhaka." http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers36%5Cpaper3509.html

    Credentials of Bangladesh

    Rise of Islamic terrorism in Bangladesh is nothing new. A  steady growth in the strength of extremists was mostly due to the patronage by  successive governments, after 1975. The fundamentalists grasp over the  government became so strong that they became dominant role-player of Khaleda  government.

    Bangladesh has become the ultimate goal for terrorists  from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. Death of Bangla Bhai (JMB) had  concealed many information about involved key-figures. Political and economic  backwardness has provided ample space for the rise of Islamic extremism but its  also true that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is trying her best to build a  developed and non-communal country. Now Sheikh Hasina is the only alternative of  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. We hope international media would be more  transparent regarding these issues.

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