It is time to declare Jihad

And this must be declared immediately, against those that go about endangering the lives of the innocents in the name of establishing Islam in the country, calling their activities Jihad. It is against these people, a tiny minority whom the majority does not see eye to eye with, that we must declare Jihad against. I see no reason why these people should be allowed to go about both misinterpreting the teachings of Islam and making the rest of us suffer by their acts that are neither sanctioned by Islam nor compelled by any political or religious compulsions in Bangladesh.

There can be no disagreement that this is the time and these are the people that we as a nation must stand up to and thwart. It is the only natural thing to do in the face of the so-called Jihad that this minuscule minority has indulged in. And it is disheartening to see the abject inaction of the majority of Muslims and the silence of our religious scholars and Ulemas in this respect.

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Are what these so-called Jihadists saying, in conformity with the teachings of Islam? How does one justify their threat: "You will be executed if you do not stop arresting our men and celebration of puja. You are our Muslim brothers, so do not arrest our men to protect the non-Muslims," contained in a letter sent to journalist by post by these groups? Can a true Muslim spread communal hatred? This is bigotry in the vilest form, which has no place in Islam. And those who countenance it are equally as guilty as those who preach it.

There has been much dilation and explanation on the position of Islam on this. Considerable time has been spent around the world and in Bangladesh too, in organising seminars on extremism and Islam, and in efforts to highlight the 'the true face' of Islam to the rest of the world, an effort that gives the impression of the majority of the Muslims avoiding the issue rather than facing it head-on, if not altogether being apologists for the extremists.

In this regard one recalls such an international seminar held recently in Dhaka. While it brought out eminently the teachings of Islam and its position on terrorism and jihad, it was very disappointing in another more important respect. There was very little that the seminar came out with that has not been a part of the current Islamic and international discourse on the above mentioned subjects. While most of the informed Muslims are aware of the position of the religion on this issue, what one expects of these seminars and of the religious scholars are suggestions for concrete actions that would be able to counter the extremists. Merely condemning them cannot absolve us of our responsibility to address the matter that has had the most profound effect on the Muslims in particular. Absence of specifics and lack of direction is disappointing, as most such seminars, that are full of rhetoric and little substance are.

While it is not the intention to dilate on the various aspects of Jihad as ordained in the Quran and expounded by the Prophet of Islam, it is indeed sanctioned under certain conditions and under certain environment. Does such an environment exist in our country? After all, what is the religious and political ideology of these so-called Jihadists? Who is their enemy? The government, the state, the man on the street?

That is why the government's intention to counter these radicals through motivation programs merits consideration and deserves our support. Warped ideas must be countered with enlightened exegesis of the scriptures, but first of all, people and institutions that are exploited to disseminate convoluted ideas, and persons exploiting the same, must be identified and sapped of their potential to create chaos and wreak havoc on the nation.

Happily at last, the issue has caught the imagination of our political leaders. The Prime Minister's (PM) reference to terrorism in her broadcast to the nation is significant. It is perhaps for the first time that the government has acknowledged the threat, apart from accepting the failures of the relevant agencies in anticipating the perpetrators of the recent bombings, although the existence of religious extremists has not been directly admitted. However, the government's resolve, as expressed by the PM, to root out "bomb-terrorism" is very welcome. But the tendency to gloss over the matter of religious extremism and underestimate its harmful potential is very evident in her remarks.

One is not certain whether her reference to the proliferation of terrorist acts worldwide, notwithstanding US claims, is designed to placate the home audience or merely to justify its germination in Bangladesh. The reasons that the PM offers for its growth is perhaps a gross generalisation of the reason for escalation of terrorism in the world, but are they applicable to what we witness in Bangladesh today?

Almost all of the several hundred arrested so far are anything but indigents. There is no cultural or religious repression that they can offer as an excuse for their actions. Poverty is a hobbyhorse that we hear being tendered as a cause for the growth of terrorism worldwide. Studies indicate quite to the contrary. None of the suicide-bombers of 9/11 came from poor background; in fact they were well placed in life. Lack of education is a cause of many ills, but whether that alone is responsible for expansion of the terrorists' fold demands more detailed study. We must therefore consider the reasons that are germane to Bangladesh to root out extremism of any form from our soil.

One cannot also help but notice, in what the PM said regarding the recent bombings, a subtle attempt to fall back on the conspiracy theory. And, more surprisingly, it appears that the government is going at a tangent in analysing the aims and objectives of the extremists. This may, one suspects, stunt the current efforts to get to the bottom of the matter. Because, the design of the religious extremists is not merely to tarnish the image of the country, they plan to convert the political structure of the country, something a lot more difficult to put right than the country's image.

Moreover, to suggest that the extremists' acts are designed to scare people off is looking at it in a narrow and simplistic manner. Their plan is to gradually create conditions that will compel the public to lose faith in the government's ability to provide them with security, and make it appear helpless.

It must also be understood that it is not only the party in power that the extremists are after; their objective is to dislodge the political system through violent means, misusing the name of Islam. And addressing "bomb-terrorism" only will narrow the focus of the law enforcing agencies. Bombs are merely an expedient, which might graduate into more violent and destructive forms should we fail to arrest these extremists now.

However, we can take some comfort in the PM's assertion that the government has been able to get to the bottom of the matter and that the masterminds behind the extremists have been identified. It our hope that their identities will be made public and they would be arrested sooner rather than later.

To that end there is no alternative but to move on a war footing.

The author is Editor, Defence and Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.