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The rise of extremists in Bangladesh

I hope the attack on the AL rally on August 21 will help us all to wake up to the danger that is lurking within. One only hopes that both AL and BNP and indeed the whole nation will come together on this issue and confront it squarely before the Frankenstein destroys us all.

AIR CDRE ISHFAQ ILAHI CHOUDHURY, ndc, psc (Retd)
THE grenade attack on the AL meeting on August 21 once again reminded us of the threat posed by extremists in our society. It is not too difficult to see a common thread in the terrorist acts perpetrated over the last five years.
It all started with the bombing of Udichi's musical programme in Jessore on March 6, 1999.
Udichi, since its inception in preliberation days, has been a leftleaning musical group that opposed fundamentalism and religious bigotry. To the religious extremists, Udichi was a genuine target for elimination. When the bombs went off in Jessore, the performers from Lalon Academy of Kushtia were on stage. Lalon is a much loved and widely revered mystic poet-singer of Bengal, but to the present breed of Islamic extremists all kinds of music, especially "Sufi" music, is an anathema. So, if you can't stop them, bomb them! The result: 10 dead and many injured and maimed for life, including a few from the Lalon Academy.
On October 8, 1999, religious extremists attacked the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Khulna. The result: 8 dead and many injured. Ahmadiyyas have been in Bangladesh for nearly a hundred years. There was never any trouble until the 1980s when an organisation called Khatme Nabuat Committee sprang up composed of obscurantists. This group has been gathering strength over the years. They have been attacking Ahmadiyya mosques at various places and have often assaulted and harassed people belonging to Ahmadiyya community. To the utter dismay of the vast majority of the citizen, the government has taken a policy of appeasement that only emboldens the fanatics.
On January 10, 2001 a rally organised by the Communist Party was attacked in Dhaka, killing 7 people. This was followed by an attack on April 14, 2001 on the musical soiree organized by Chhayanot at Ramna Park in celebration of the Bengali New Year's day. Islamic extremists were again suspects because they consider communists as "kafirs" and are opposed to the celebration of Bengali New Year. Again on June 3 that year, a church in Baniarchar, Gopalganj was bombed, killing 10 worshippers. Christians have been living peacefully for centuries in Bangladesh. They are often some of the poorest in the society, mostly of tribal or schedule caste origin. They never had any conflict or clash of interest with the majority community. The community is not active in mainstream politics. The bombing of a place of worship and killing of so many innocent people put the whole nation to grief. Again, the finger was pointed towards the Islamic extremists who consider the Christians and Jews as enemies.
On October 6, 2002, there was simultaneous attack on four
cinema halls in Mymensingh that left 21 people dead. It was the day of Eid-ul-Fitr. Traditionally, new movies are released on Eid day throughout the country. People go in large numbers to watch the movies as a part of the
Eid festivities. Muslim extremists do not approve of watching movies, even less of watching them on Eid day. In October 2002, I saw a number of articles and letters in one of the dailies, known for its fundamentalist views, urging people not to watch movies during Eid and asked the government to close down the cinema halls on Eid day. The bombing that followed was probably aimed at "deviant" Muslims who ignored their warning.
Mazars, the tombs of Muslim saints, are also coming under attack. The bombing on January 17, 2003, at Faila Peer Mazar in Tangail left 7 dead. Next year, on January 12, 2004, bomb explosion at Hazrat Shah Jalal's Mazar in Sylhet left 5 dead. In both bombing, the fakirs, local Sufi singers, were the targets. Although orthodox Muslims do not approve of their presence in the Mazar, they tolerated it. There was peaceful coexistence
of orthodox prayer and mystic chanting in all mazars. I visited Hazrat Shah Jalal's Mazar many a time during my childhood years in Sylhet. There was always a corner at the back of the Mazar, left out for the baul fakirs -- some of whom used to take ganja or hashish as a part of their private rituals. Orthodox Muslims never approved it, but until recently, no one ever thought that they should be bombed out. There were large "gojar" fish in a tank in the Mazar premise and people used to feed the fish with a hope that their wishes would be fulfilled. We knew these acts to be superstitions, but never thought that the fish should all be poisoned. But then it happened! Someone killed all the fish by poisoning.
There was a bomb attack again at Shah Jalal's Mazar on May 21, 2004. This time it was aimed at the British High Commissioner. He escaped with minor injury while 3 others died.
The bomb attack on him was a stark reminder of the strength of extremist elements in our midst. The rise of "Bangla Bhai" and the cover up that followed is yet another example of official protection offered to extremist elements by the political high ups. Whereas the Prime Minister ordered the arrest of "Bangla Bhai," another senior minister of the cabinet said that the journalists had made up "Bangla Bhai" and that he never existed. Since then "Bangla Bhai" is operating free in northern Bangladesh.
Islam in Bangladesh was garnished with many local traditions. People of all religions used to enjoy the religious celebrations of each other. Then there were cultural events round the year that were secular in nature. These helped to maintain peace and tranquility in Bengali society despite and all the trauma and turmoil that followed partition in 1947. With the emergence of Bangladesh
in 1971, it was hoped that a truly multi-cultural, multi- religious society would emerge that would shun religious bigotry and move towards establishing a modern democratic society.
But since 1980, with the patronage from government and a few Middle Eastern countries, a new breed of religious extremists has gradually emerged. They are intolerant of any view other than their own. In order to establish their reli-gious dogma they would not hesitate to use force. Whoever heard the term "murtaad" before? But now anyone who speaks out against religious bigotry is termed a "murtaad" and hunted down. Dr. Humayun Azad was the latest victim. Who will be next?
In Bangladesh today, moderate Islam is being challenged by extremism. Our situation is somewhat similar to that of Indonesia. Islam in Indonesia was, for centuries, a synthesis of local and Islamic culture and traditions. There was never any conflict, until the new breed of extremists started preaching the Wahabi brand of Islam. The Indonesian government was long denying the existence of any militant groups in the country, until Bali bombing -- a catastrophe that came as a shattering blow to the governmental claims.
Interestingly, in Bangladesh both AL and BNP government seemingly tried to cover up the
issues. Not a single incident was properly investigated and people were denied the right to know the fate of the investigations -- irrespective of whether AL or BNP was in power. Whenever anyone spoke of the danger posed by the Islamic militants, the voice was silenced with the excuse that it would smear the national image abroad. It was like nurturing a cancer hoping that it would cure itself. Such denial never pays. I hope the attack on the AL rally on August 21 will help us all to wake up to the danger that is lurking within. One only hopes that both AL and BNP and indeed the whole nation will come together on this issue and confront it squarely before the Frankenstein destroys us all.
The author is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.