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Intemperate voices and the needful

The so-called religious extremism has not sprouted with its ugly fangs all of a sudden. So we should not be expecting instant solutions. However, deft political management ensuring pragmatic operational handling on an urgent basis can definitely lessen the harmful impact and energise the mainstream to counter the frontal attack on our democratic polity.
INCREASINGLY intemperate and intolerant voices of the so-called extremist groups have been heard during the last two weeks with regard to their vehement opposition to the proposed national women development policy They have virtually threatened the establishment by serving an ultimatum indicating a time frame by which alterations in the said policy, as suggested by them or wholesale scrapping of the women development policy has to be effected.
Somehow an uneasy truce has been accomplished after security forces turned up in sufficient numbers and appropriate gear to stop extremists from repeating the ugly and violent incidents of the preceding week.
The above incident once again proves, if proof is at all necessary, that the discontinuance of violent acts by the so-called religious extremists for some length of time was no guarantee of a comfortable scenario.
The reason is simple. The growth and rise of such extremist groups in our body-politic is not known to the general public and more disconcertingly its damage potential not adequately appreciated by the political establishment.
In fact, there is a creeping suspicion that there never was a dispassionate appreciation of the threats posed by the religious extremists. The danger to our democratic polity was perhaps not gauged by those who were in charge of conducting public affairs.
Such a premonition should cause worries in the minds of patriotic citizens. Events of the preceding weeks confirm such premonition when one sees that whMe the establishment, the civil society and other activists have remained indifferent about the designs and programs of the obscurantist elements, the so-called religious extremists have grown in strength and spread their tentacles taking advantage of the ignorance and inertia.
One would not be far from reality to say that Bangladesh polity is now challenged by extremist groups, which professes a philosophy of life and of government
inimical to the values and lifestyles of the mainstream. In fact, we are now facing an adversary who are armed enough to comnfit widespread violence.
One has to remember, that while in our free society our defences and deterrents are largely prepared in an open fashion, our new antagonists have succeeded in building a formidable wall of secrecy and security.
There is, therefore, a need to break through the shield of secrecy of the bigots. There should be a firm resolve to be forewarned and forearmed. The forewarning by itself would be an effective deterrent to the bigot's appetite for attack. Intelligence gathering on the so-called religious extremists should not be a subject of authoritative ambivalence.
Concerned authorities must be able to avoid bending facts, obtained through intelligence, to suit or defeat a particular political viewpoint. We may have to admit that we are not really at peace with the so-called religious extremists because they have declared war on our system of government and life.
The reality is that we are faced with a closed, obscurantist and scheming enemy. We should not hope to maintain our position securely if our opponent is confident that they can attack us on any subject, time and place of their choosing and without any forewarning.
The adversaries are known elements. So, then? should not be any hesitation in venturing into sensitive and emotionally aligned
places and institutions when reasonable suspicion and information so dictate. shake off the suspected ambivalence of the enforcement personnel with regard to apprehension of so-called religious extremists.
At present, it may be pertinent to remember that in the not-too-distant past extremists who bear striking resemblance to the intemperate opponents of women development policy had the temerity to brand the activities of NGOs and cultural organisations as illegal. At places they did not allow the local people to observe nationally significant cultural functions.
The ominous rise of religious extremism in Bangladesh whose inhabitants underwent unprecedented sacrifices to de link themselves from religion-based Pakistani State remains a massive paradox of contemporary history.
Perhaps a dispassionate study of this contradiction may indicate the action that would be necessary to counter and arrest the religious obscurantism of all descriptions and keep us steady on the tolerant democratic way.
Without doubt our constitution narrates eloquently our national interests. It says that the aim of the state is to realise the democratic process in which, amongst others, equality and justice will be secured for all citizens.
However, it has been our unfortunate experience to witness the differing political agendas often clouding the pragmatic understanding and appreciation of out real national interests.
Looking back we would find it curious to see that postures wise we were not so conspicuously religious in pre-1971 times under Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Questions naturally arise whether the accelerated growth religious
institutions in post-1975 period are any indication of heightened religiosity.
The increasingly discordant and intemperate voices of extremist elements do not assure us moral rearmament or correct appreciation of the liberal and tolerant dimension of Islam.
On the regulatory front we have been disappointingly reactive in responding to the threats of extremism. The whole approach appears to be ad-hoc and on a case-to-case basis. It would appear that somehow the establishment fondly believes that some prodigal sons have temporarily deviated and the malaise will soon disappear to the relief of concerned citizens.
We may have to ask ourselves if a perception has developed among the terrorist groups that the Bangladeshi State is inherently incapable of meeting their challenge and that it has become soft and indolent.
We may have to ascertain if quite a few parties have developed a vested interest in a soft state, a weak government and ineffective implementation of the laws. Simultaneously, are foreign funds flowing substantially to various organisations and groups which serve, willingly or unwillingly, the long term objective of some politi cal parties suspected to be aligned or sympathetic to the so-called religious extremists?
Since terrorism of the so-called religious extremists have increased in its very nature, thereby demandingchanges in the strategy to counter it, are we ready to seriously study the problem, one may ponder.
This is natural because we do
not witness credible attempts being made to examine links between extremist groups, the conditions in which they had spawned, the politician-militant nexus and other forms of patronage these groups receive, the proliferation of small arms leading to the growth of private armies etc.
The question is, are we trying to appreciate all the factors that contribute to the 'quality and extent' of extremist threats? Another specific question could be whether our failure to deal with the extremist crimes is largely attributable to the inefficiency and corruption of the law enforcing machinery.
There is no doubt that the battle against extremism would be long. However, since the recent violence of the so-called religious extremists is a manifest attack on the long cherished values of the mainstream, our strategy and thought process should undergo substantial change in the following manner.
i. Persons or institutions, having an apparent religious or ecclesiastical appearance and activity, must not be out of bound for the surveillance agencies. Those creating credible suspicions must come within the ambit of threat perception and appropriate legal action shall be started forthwith. Preempting their nefarious activities should engage the uppermost attention of regulatory au thority.
ii. The aforementioned surveillance should ensure that no one is allowed to interpret and propagate a distorted version of the holy books. Our inherently religious folks must not be misled.
iii. The so-called religious extremists committing violence should be treated like criminals and no element of respectability should be accorded to them.
iv. Institutions not playing the national anthem and disrespecting the national language must come under adverse attention and be subjected to effective punitive measures.
v. Institutions imparting religious training and education should be a focal point for inspection and monitoring with a view to turning their students into employable individuals.
Our government needs to work under pragmatic political leadership and if properly and professionally steered, it does not threaten our liberties. If we operate by the book, we will be adequately informed of the perils, which face us.
If we do not know the designs of the so-called religious extremists, then we could well be isolated and our liberties, too, could be in jeopardy.
Therefore, we must be ready to deal with all aspects of the not-very-visible war of the bigots with all its ramifications and fronts, supported by external resources.
The so-called religious extremism has not sprouted with its ugly fangs all of a sudden. So we should not be expecting instant solutions. However, deft political management ensuring pragmatic operational handling on an urgent basis can definitely lessen the harmful impact and energise the mainstream to counter the frontal attack on our democratic polity.
Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist orihe Daiy Star.