Engage Bangladesh before it is too
late By Swati Parashar
During his state visit to South Asia a
month ago, US President George W Bush heaped
praises on India and Pakistan, but he studiously
ignored the other giant of the region, Bangladesh.
This was an unfortunate oversight given the
country's strategic importance as the world's
third-largest Muslim nation and a buffer between
the subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
An
unstable Bangladesh would not only pose a serious
threat to regional powers such as India and China
but would contribute to
religious extremism and
terrorist violence already on the increase.
Bangladesh enters its 37th year of independence
increasingly uneasy and concerned about its
future, but with a leadership determined to fight
religious militancy and terrorism.
The
rise in Bangladesh of forces that advocate
theocratic religious universalism and the creation
of an Islamic state did not happen overnight, of
course. The interplay between religion and
politics in Bangladesh has a long history, and
religion has always been susceptible to
politicization.
The trend is not just
pushed along by organized radical groups such as
the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and the
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami, Bangladesh (HuJI-B),
which aim to replace the parliamentary democracy
with an Islamic sharia state. The leading
political parties, many foreign-linked charities
and non-governmental organizations, and the
external environment are all playing a significant
role in promoting religious radicalism.
The two dominant political parties, the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami
League (AL), have both emphasized a religious
identity at various points. Though the opposition
AL has repeatedly accused the present BNP
government, led by Begum Khalida Zia, of forging
an unholy alliance with radical Islamic groups,
even the AL, which once took pride in its secular
identity, has accepted the importance of religion
in Bangladesh.
The AL has readily adopted
religious trappings and symbols for its political
purposes. Its leader Sheikh Hasina, despite her
strong secular legacy, has begun to carry prayer
beads and wear a headscarf. Public meetings have
included Islamic religious proclamations to woo an
electorate that is becoming increasingly
comfortable with its Islamic identity.
On
the other hand, the BNP has always been drawn
toward right-wing forces. The past five years of
the BNP regime have witnessed increasing militant
activities, including alleged targeted killings of
opposition leaders, violence against religious
minorities, and terrorist attacks against the
personalities and institutions that oppose the
creation of an Islamic state.
The BNP
government, however, confounded some of its
critics early last month when it arrested two
dreaded militants, Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai and
Sheikh Abdur Rahman of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB). But its own political allies,
such as the Islami Oikyo Jote and the
Jamaat-e-Islami, continue to advocate an Islamic
state.
Jamaat has two ministers in the
present government, and some of its members have
been linked to terrorist groups such as the JMB
and the HuJI. The Jamaat also has a student wing,
the Islamic Chhatra Shibir (ICS), to promote its
radical ideas among the youth. The Islami Oikyo
Jote (IOJ) is another political party with
religious overtones. It has two seats in
parliament and supports the BNP government even
though, unlike the Jamaat, it does not enjoy
ministerial status.
Among the radical
militant groups, the JMB has been of particular
concern. It gained prominence when it claimed
responsibility for the August 17, 2005, bombings
throughout Bangladesh. The JMB (Party of the
Mujahideen), which avows establishing the rule of
Islam through an armed struggle, was banned on
February 23, 2005. The outfit opposes even the
idea of democracy and calls for the government to
be conducted under Islamic law.
Apart from
the JMB, the other militant group that has
acquired considerable notoriety is the HuJI-B. It
works in alliance with with the HuJI-Pakistan, and
its main aim is to establish the Islamic
hukumat (government) in Bangladesh. It
actively recruits madrassa (religious
school) students and is believed to be working
closely with sympathetic groups in Pakistan and
Kashmir.
Bangladesh also serves as a
logistical hub for transnational extremist groups
such as the Arakan Rohingya National Organization
(ARNO) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization
(RSO). These are Myanmar Muslims who claim to be
fighting for an autonomous Muslim region in
Myanmar's Arakan state. Terrorist groups based in
Pakistan and parts of Kashmir, such as the HuJI
and the Lashkar-e-Toiba, have also set up
operational bases in Bangladesh, and a number of
jihadi terrorists have entered India via
Bangladesh. Recent terrorist attacks in Delhi,
Bangalore and Varanasi have all revealed
Bangladesh as an important link in the Islamic
terrorist network of South Asia.
The
political parties and terrorist groups are aided
by funds received from charities in Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in their bid
to spread the message of radical Islam to the
masses. Despite an embargo on releasing its funds
because of alleged terror links, the Kuwait-based
Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) is said
to be using bank accounts to run official work
without the Bangladeshi government's knowledge.
The RIHS has provided funds to several terrorist
outfits, including the JMB.
With general
elections due in Bangladesh next January, the
international community needs to ensure that the
country remains an example of participatory
democracy in the Muslim world. Constructive
engagement with Bangladesh by the regional and
Western powers must be emphasized. As Bangladesh's
immediate neighbor and an aspiring global power,
India has a special role to play in this regard.
Thirty-six years is perhaps a short time
in the life of a nation to resolve its identity
issues, but it cannot be denied that Bangladesh is
at a crossroads and must act before it is too
late. Nationalism is like Proteus, the Greek sea
god, who was able to take any shape he wished but
changed only to prevent change. For Bangladesh,
the challenge is to bring about change that is
conducive to its growth and stability.
Swati Parashar is a visiting
research analyst with the Institute of Defense and
Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore.
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2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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