THE last video that Osama bin Laden I issued before his death was simulta-
-L neously uploaded onto five sites. Counterterrorism groups rushed to take them down, but within one hour, the video had been captured and copied to more than 600 sites. Within a day, the number of sites hosting the video had doubled again, each watchable by thousands." (http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles /2012/ 11/cyber-terror-singer)
It is just an example of the paradox that innovative communication networks are being used for international terrorism, the so called 'online lihad'. Terrorist organizations no longer work from caves; their propaganda distribution system has shifted from hand-carried cassette tapes to vastly superior online methods. Cyber services are being used to expand networks, exchange real time information, recruit, training and fund raising. (Hacking is also a chronic offensive maneuver of the terrorists but it is consciously kept outside the purview of this write up.) They are playing around twitter, facebook, blog, video games, emphasizing on winning battle of ideas,
maximizing psychological impact of terrorist acts. For example, a jihadi video game, equally thrilling, does not end in game over rather 'Congratulations! You have become a martyr'.
Now living in a cyber space as a global being, Bangladeshi society is likewise suffering from radicalization of young people and 'cyber jihad'. And the typical theory of madrassa no longer exists in such case, rather cyber jihadists attract the cream of educated young people from well to do families. The case of Nafis or killers of blogger Rajib, who were students of a top private university, are such examples.
In the last few years, it had been really difficult for the terrorist organizations to operate overtly. But for that time being they used cyber world as a safe haven. It comes into fruition exploiting turmoil political situation for the last few months. According to South Asian Terrorism Portal, during the last eight months of this year the number of fatalities related to Islamist terrorism is 206 that include civilian dead 116, security forces 13 and terrorists 77 whereas the total number of fatalities between 2005 and 2012 is 65.
In a recent move, government has captured a bunch of leaders of different terrorist organization, namely Ansarullah Bangla Team and Harkatul Jihad ( HLI JI). It comes out in interrogation that terrorist organizations has been recruiting members through social networking sites. They have strong technical expertise on telecommunication technology. According to an alleged terrorist, who was interviewed by the Bangla daily Jugantor, in the last five years Huji recruited ten thousand cadres and supporters through facebook and e-mail.
Numerous websites in Bangla and English language are delivering jihadi messages in different forms. If we take some samples of websites, operating in Bangla language one will be able to comprehend the dangerous situation.
Recordings of Jihadi Fatwas are uploaded in these websites. In Jumuakhutba (http://jumuarkhutba. wo rdpress.com Jone will find audio of Jihadi Fatwas by Jasimuddin Rahmani, mentor of the recently held Ansarullah Bangla Team. This site also shares Jihadi audios taken from international forum of Al Ansar Mujahideen website.
In one of the audios posted in the same site, Ustad Md Faruque, head of Dawah and Media wing of Tanzim Al Qaydah Pakistan encourages Muslims of Bangladesh to start jihad
against the government. He repeatedly reminds them of the Jihad of Haji Shariatullah. In an interview with a media called as-Sahab, Ustad Faruqe claimed himself a member of al-Qaeda.
A video sharing site named Qital Tlibe (www.qitaltube.blogspot.com) one will find video titled Jihade Fire Eso (Return to Jihad), Ek Jhak Bullet (A cluster of bullets), Tagut ke Borjon Koro (Reject Idolatry). In the Ek Jhak Bullet, it is shown that A jihadi is blowing up our National Parliament Building.
In recent times, we have seen the impact of such propagandas when thousands of pictures and video showing dead bodies, allegedly killed by law enforcing agencies in the May 5 incident, flooded social networking sites. Even, Human rights organization and different political parties claimed hundreds of deaths following these social sites.
With the rapid evolution of this virtual dynamics of terrorism, counter terrorism efforts, particularly in Bangladesh, seems yet to gear up to the point of deterrence: prevention from taking any terrorist action by fear of consequence.
An effective deterrence strategy has two parts: information operations and creating counter narrative.
Information operations no longer suggest shutting up web pages rather tracking down these sites for information on terrorists and their sympathizers.
Cyber security expert Peter W Singer enumerates such an information operation : ' In 2008 and 2009, U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly tried to attack and shut down the top terrorist propaganda websites on the anniversary of 9/11, to try to delay the release of a bin Laden video celebrating the attacks. In 2010, however, they took a different tack. As Wired magazine reported, "The user account for al-Qaida's al-Fajr media distribution network was hacked and used to encourage forum members to sign up for Ekhlaas, a forum which had closed a year before and mysteriously resurfaced. The new forum was a fake, the equivalent of an online spider web, stickily entangling would-be terrorists and their fans."
Bangladeshi law enforcing agencies have been following the same track and it has already achieved success with several information operations including arrest of Ansarullah Bangla Team Leader Jasimuddin Rahmani, opined a reliable source of law enforcing agency when asked about government's attitude towards these jihadi websites.
As it is a battle of ideas, there is very little effort from the government side to create counter narrative. Creating such narrative is important to influence the cognitive state of the potential jihadists and their sympathizers and prevent them from embarking on a course of action that they may wish to take. It is assuring to see online activities of concerned citizens to counter arguments and propaganda of jihadists. Government efforts should complement these sensible activities emphasizing more on cyber presence that will deradicalize and weaken credibility and legitimacy of the advertent 'online jihadists'.
The writer is Editorial Assistant, The Dally Star.
E-mail: sajenl986@gmail.com