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Bangladesh' ISIS problem: a product of hyper secular policies of Awami Party
Recently, Bangladesh was hit by a number of terrorist attacks. The hostage crisis where more than 22 people were killed in a restaurant is the latest of such incidents. According to sources, an ISIS propaganda agency released images from inside the restaurant during the attack. It is believed that the attackers were members of Bengali ISIS cell.
Since it's emergence in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Bangladesh ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 etc.) The most recent attack in a Dhaka restaurant reveals a pattern of growing capability of the terrorist organization in the South Asian predominantly Muslim country. According to observers, Bangladesh is experiencing a rising tide of extremism. The current government of Bangladesh is blaming the pro Pakistani islamist parties (JI) for this. However, Bangladeshi professor Ali Riaz believes this is counterproductive because it might create space for fringe militant groups to proliferate. "One should not be involving immediate political gains to counterterrorism strategy. Counterterrorism and national security should always be above and beyond domestic petty politics."
Using terrorism as an excuse to persecute political adversaries is a popular strategy in authoritarian countries. President Erdogan of Turkey and military dictator of Egypt label all of their adversaries are terrorists. In both countries, even non-islamist secular activists and even journalists are imprisoned and accused of terrorism. Bangladesh, just like Turkey and Egypt, has an authoritarian government. Shaykh Hasina, the current leader of the country has adopted a policy of persecuting opposition parties and accusing them of terrorism. Therefore, some commentators believe ISIS in Bangladesh maybe Jamaat e Islami or JMB reinventing itself as a new global terrorist organization.
This theory doesn't seem plausible because the islamist parties and other political adversaries of Shaykh Hasina have a long history in Bangladesh. Resorting to terrorism or joining a fairly new organization in Middle East doesn't serve the interests of the opposition parties. Besides, ideological and theological differences between long standing political parties and a radical extremist movement like ISIS are quite big. It is unimaginable to see thousands of people suddenly adopting ISIS' ideology within a few years while having a quite distinct belief system for decades in Bangladesh. It is therefore necessary to look for more plausible explanation ISIS' emergence in Bangladesh.
Recently, terrorism researchers Will McCants and Chris Meserole posited that radical muslim extremism may be caused by forced secularism. They have conducted a study of jihadists from different countries who have joined ISIS. They have found that a significant number of the militants are from countries where the government is pursuing a policy of forced secularization. Studies have revealed that a large number of ISIS fighters are from France, Belgium and Tunisia.
Atheist columnist, CJ Werleman claims that the study conducted by McCant and Maserole provides a plausible explanation for the rising tide of religious extremism in some countries. According to Werleman, hyper secularism causes terrorism. In his article he quotes the two experts:
"What we think matters most here is not the bill or law itself, but the political discourse around it – particularly the way it heightens, for a time, popular conceptions that it is not possible to have both a Western or secular nationalist identity, and also a Muslim one.”
The political discourse in Bangladesh is comparable to that of countries like France. The predominantly Muslim country's leader is adamant in claiming that Bangladesh is secular. She defended the right of minorities to commit blasphemy. Her government is persecuting all political opposition parties and seeking closer ties with neighboring Myanmar and India where Muslim minorities are oppressed (see here and here). The government of Sheikh Hasina is therefore in many ways, similar to authoritarian and hyper secular governments of other countries where a significant number of ISIS fighters are from.
The growing problem of muslim extremism is therefore primarily caused by Bangladesh' secular extremist government. While there are a wide range of other contributing factors to Muslim extremism, hyper secular policies and political discourse in a predominantly Muslim country give incentives to fringe groups to spread their militant and violent extremist ideologies.
In order to maintain stability and economic development of Bangladesh, the country would be better off by adopting a less hostile policy towards political adversaries. Likewise, hyper secularism should be stemmed in order to deradicalize Muslim youth. Bangladeshis should seek for a more moderate and more balanced political system where the pluralist nature of society is respected.
Since it's emergence in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Bangladesh ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 etc.) The most recent attack in a Dhaka restaurant reveals a pattern of growing capability of the terrorist organization in the South Asian predominantly Muslim country. According to observers, Bangladesh is experiencing a rising tide of extremism. The current government of Bangladesh is blaming the pro Pakistani islamist parties (JI) for this. However, Bangladeshi professor Ali Riaz believes this is counterproductive because it might create space for fringe militant groups to proliferate. "One should not be involving immediate political gains to counterterrorism strategy. Counterterrorism and national security should always be above and beyond domestic petty politics."
Using terrorism as an excuse to persecute political adversaries is a popular strategy in authoritarian countries. President Erdogan of Turkey and military dictator of Egypt label all of their adversaries are terrorists. In both countries, even non-islamist secular activists and even journalists are imprisoned and accused of terrorism. Bangladesh, just like Turkey and Egypt, has an authoritarian government. Shaykh Hasina, the current leader of the country has adopted a policy of persecuting opposition parties and accusing them of terrorism. Therefore, some commentators believe ISIS in Bangladesh maybe Jamaat e Islami or JMB reinventing itself as a new global terrorist organization.
This theory doesn't seem plausible because the islamist parties and other political adversaries of Shaykh Hasina have a long history in Bangladesh. Resorting to terrorism or joining a fairly new organization in Middle East doesn't serve the interests of the opposition parties. Besides, ideological and theological differences between long standing political parties and a radical extremist movement like ISIS are quite big. It is unimaginable to see thousands of people suddenly adopting ISIS' ideology within a few years while having a quite distinct belief system for decades in Bangladesh. It is therefore necessary to look for more plausible explanation ISIS' emergence in Bangladesh.
Recently, terrorism researchers Will McCants and Chris Meserole posited that radical muslim extremism may be caused by forced secularism. They have conducted a study of jihadists from different countries who have joined ISIS. They have found that a significant number of the militants are from countries where the government is pursuing a policy of forced secularization. Studies have revealed that a large number of ISIS fighters are from France, Belgium and Tunisia.
Atheist columnist, CJ Werleman claims that the study conducted by McCant and Maserole provides a plausible explanation for the rising tide of religious extremism in some countries. According to Werleman, hyper secularism causes terrorism. In his article he quotes the two experts:
"What we think matters most here is not the bill or law itself, but the political discourse around it – particularly the way it heightens, for a time, popular conceptions that it is not possible to have both a Western or secular nationalist identity, and also a Muslim one.”
The political discourse in Bangladesh is comparable to that of countries like France. The predominantly Muslim country's leader is adamant in claiming that Bangladesh is secular. She defended the right of minorities to commit blasphemy. Her government is persecuting all political opposition parties and seeking closer ties with neighboring Myanmar and India where Muslim minorities are oppressed (see here and here). The government of Sheikh Hasina is therefore in many ways, similar to authoritarian and hyper secular governments of other countries where a significant number of ISIS fighters are from.
The growing problem of muslim extremism is therefore primarily caused by Bangladesh' secular extremist government. While there are a wide range of other contributing factors to Muslim extremism, hyper secular policies and political discourse in a predominantly Muslim country give incentives to fringe groups to spread their militant and violent extremist ideologies.
In order to maintain stability and economic development of Bangladesh, the country would be better off by adopting a less hostile policy towards political adversaries. Likewise, hyper secularism should be stemmed in order to deradicalize Muslim youth. Bangladeshis should seek for a more moderate and more balanced political system where the pluralist nature of society is respected.
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