It is time to confront

The incredible inefficiency displayed by the authorities in pre-empting the well-organised bomb blasts throughout the country within a span of half an hour cannot but generate fear among the law-abiding people of Bangladesh. That the perpetrators of the bombings spree could have caused widespread damage, should they have intended, is by itself frightening.

One gets the feeling the people are hostages in the hands of the Islamic extremists who, should they chose, can kill off their "enemies" with impunity. What is no less worrisome is the fact that foot soldiers arrested by the law enforcement agents are common people with the distinction that almost all of them (as reported in the newspapers) are students of religious schools or are dedicated to attaining a glorious life hereafter by establishing Islamic rule in Bangladesh.

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Recently Pew Research Center and Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life have found that almost half of all Americans believe that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its followers. The London carnage did not apparently have any appreciable impact on the views held by the Americans on their fellow Muslim compatriots, and the American public continues to decisively reject the idea that the terrorist attacks of recent years are part of a major conflict between the people of America and Europe on the one hand and the Islamic people on the other.

However, incidents such as August 17 will re-enforce the Western view that the struggle waged by the Talibans and their followers might have shifted to areas regarded as "soft" because of lax supervision by the authorities (perhaps to spare their spiritual partners the embarrassment of the apprehension of their foot soldiers in the commission of acts of infamy, and also because their non-apprehension would, the authorities mistakenly believe, eliminate political opposition and ensure a smooth return to authority with renewed mandate).

That such a return to "power" would negate the very spirit of participatory democracy and may not reflect the true will of the people along with the distinct possibility of their becoming hand-maidens of the Islamic extremists does not appear to have been seriously considered by the authorities.

There is no reason to believe that the West has slackened its vigil on ensuring security and prosecuting the evil-doers. On the contrary, the London bombings have strengthened certainly the British resolve to crack down on suspected Islamic militants by introducing the distinct possibility of legislating criminalisation of speech, an aberration from the long British liberal tradition of safe-guarding fundamental human rights dating from the Magna Carta.

It is truly unfortunate that Bangladesh will no longer be able to project itself as a moderate Muslim country free of Islamic extremism. Nor will our authorities be able to dismiss reports on the growing influence of Islamic extremists by foreign powers and media as totally false. Indubitably Bangladesh will now be included, if she had not already been, in the black book of the Western powers as a country to be watched intrusively.

One hopes that the holding the November Saarc summit will not become a casualty of the August 17 bombings. Already the summit has been postponed twice. Reportedly the Pakistan President has expressed full confidence in the ability of the Bangladesh government to hold the meeting as scheduled. One, however, has not yet heard such unequivocal assurance from other Saarc participants. It is possible that they are reluctant to comment on a development, however worrisome, of a purely domestic nature. It is equally possible that the Saarc countries may not pronounce themselves so close to the incident and would prefer to wait till an appropriate time to declare their willingness or refusal to participate in the summit.

In any case, the agencies responsible for ensuring the security of their respective heads of state (or government) would like to be fully assured of the safety of their charges. One could recall here the changes made in the schedule prepared during President Clinton's visit to Bangladesh at the insistence of the Secret Service, a fact admitted by Bill Clinton to ABC's Peter Jennings.

Adverse effects on our trade and investment, though difficult to quantify at the moment, are bound to be considerable. Reports have started filtering in of foreign buyers canceling their orders or shifting their source of supply of ready-made garments to other countries. The elimination of MFA, abolishing quota for countries like Bangladesh ensuring a guaranteed supply to markets like the US, has been catastrophic. China has reportedly taken over a disproportionately large chunk of the US market which has alarmed the US Congress and the US textile industry.

As a result the US administration has not only imposed a restrictive quota in textile imports from China, but is also now engaged in negotiating an agreement with China regulating Chinese export of garments to the US. In the backdrop of shrinking RMG export market the August 17 bombing cannot but have a negative effect on our economy, which is already badly affected by spiraling energy prices in the international market.

The sheer audacity shown by the bombers in the face of reported governmental alert, apprehending possible disturbances by opposition in the wake of national mourning day for Bangabandhu's assassination on August 15, and the total failure by both the intelligence community and law enforcement agencies to predict the bombings, the scale of which implies long time preparation, and almost faultless execution, may introduce the question as to how near Bangladesh is to becoming a failed state.

Fortunately, Bangladesh is still able to play its role as an effective member of the international community which failed states are not able to do. But, then, in these days of abridged sovereignty and international penchant for the doctrine of the "responsibility to protect" it is essential that the all Bangladeshis should be active in confronting the menace of Islamic extremism and terrorism.

Gone are the days when the Muslim countries could only condemn acts perpetrated by Islamic extremists and do nothing. The time has now come for us to confront these terrorists. This is not a fight between the purists and so-called detractors for the soul of Islam. It is not a fight to prevent devout Muslims from being engulfed by a "degenerate western culture."

It is a fight against evil men who do not hesitate to take their "battle" to innocent men, women, and children in the name of Islam. It is a fight against those who want regression and prevent our society from acquiring a quality of life which Bangladeshis so richly deserve. It is a fight against parochial politics, where politicians routinely conduct public affairs for private gains, regardless of the misery inflicted upon the people.

Perhaps our religious leaders could consider whether these kinds of Islamic terrorists can be excommunicated from the Islamic brotherhood and declared as non-Muslims. There is so much at stake and so little time to act. One hopes our leaders will not once again fail the people.

Kazi Anwarul Masud is a former Secretary and Ambassador.