AFTER lying low for a while, Bangladesh’s Muslims have intensified their activities. Al-Qaeda’s recent successes in Iraq and a spate of terrorist attacks in Turkey have boosted their morale. The country has become home to indigenous and foreign Islamic terrorists. Also, suspected Bangladeshi terrorists have been arrested abroad. Sixteen were arrested in Bolivia on Dec 4 after the local authorities received intelligence input from France. Though all of them were later released for lack of evidence, it was strongly believed that they were travelling on false documents with the aim of hijacking a plane to strike at United States interests. Similarly, 11 Bangladeshis were earlier arrested in Saudi Arabia on Aug 14, while they were allegedly planning a terrorist act.
A recent Canadian Security Intelligence Service report suggested that Bangladesh is fast emerging as a new haven for Islamic terrorists. The report noted recent attacks by radicals on Bangladeshi cultural groups, hints of collusion with Al-Qaeda and the government’s alleged unwillingness to act. It further suggested that these Muslims could pose a threat to Canadian aid agencies with a strong presence in Bangladesh, the third-largest Muslim country in the world.
The US is also aware of this threat potential. It has listed Bangladesh as a terror-risk country and has included it in the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. Bangladeshis, along with nationals of 24 other countries, are to be photographed and fingerprinted when entering the US. In the past six months, the US State Department has twice warned its nationals about travelling to Bangladesh. Inside the country, minorities whom Muslims consider kafirs (non-believers) have been persecuted. They have been asked to convert to Islam and their places of worship have been attacked. Last month, an Islamist organisation, Harkat-e-Islam Al-Jihad, issued an ultimatum to religious-minority businessmen and leaders of an opposition party to convert to Islam within seven days. On Nov 19, 11 members of a Hindu family were burnt alive in the Chittagong district. In the same month, Hindu priests shut down at least 10 temples in central Bangladesh after suspected Islamic militants ransacked them. Violence has also been unleashed against the Ahamadiyas, a Muslim sect. Fanatics killed an Ahamadia imam on Nov 1 in Jessore. Extremists have several times tried to capture an Ahamadiya mosque in Dhaka.
After the US dislodged the fundamentalist Taleban regime in Afghanistan, it was no longer available as a safe haven for Islamic jihadis. The fugitives of Al-Qaeda and allied groups started searching for new places to hide. A number of them migrated to Bangladesh. Some of the senior Al-Qaeda leaders - including its second-in-command, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri - are believed to have stayed there. Recently, as the noose tightened on the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in South-east Asia, a number of its top leaders, including Hambali, tried to relocate to Bangladesh. Hambali was caught in Ayuthaya, north of Bangkok, when he was about to move to Bangladesh. It is believed that one of JI’s most wanted men, Malaysian accountant Zulkifli Marzuki, could be hiding in Bangladesh. Muslim extremists find the country safe because the present government is soft towards them. The Islami Oikya Jote, which openly flaunts its allegiance to Al-Qaeda, is part of the ruling alliance. Extremists have no fear of a crackdown and the local police force is too corrupt to act against them. The nearly total absence of law and order in Bangladesh makes the fanatics’ operations easy. Bangladesh may be on the side of the US in the war on terrorism but the situation prevailing on the ground tells a different story. The country is a weak link in the war and unless steps are taken soon to rectify the situation, the international effort to contain terror may be weakened considerably. |