Confronting the so-called religious extremism

It is unfortunate that doubts are still being nursed by many knowledgeable quarters that the government is not serious about fighting the so-called religious extremists because that might adversely affect its electoral prospects in the not too-distant election.

Resolve and appreciation
Whether in fighting or controlling or even containing the so-called religious extremism, the first step is to understand and appreciate the very prevalence of such elements in a given society and its pernicious effects on the way of life of the citizens. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, we have been perilously late in awakening to the realities on ground. This is not to discredit anybody or apportion blame to any particular political party because the growth and muscle flexing of the obscurantist elements has not been limited to the tenure of one regime. Cumulative inaction of the regulatory authority resulting from a lack of appreciation by policy-makers about the mindset and modus-operandi of the extremists has brought us to the present state of affairs.

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We need to be clear and definite about the threat perception. This is crucial because one cannot possibly treat a disease by denying its very existence. So from vague generalities if one has to venture into meaningful specifics, one can not but make a pointed reference to our constitution. This is obvious because our constitution is still the way of life the citizens of Bangladesh have chosen for themselves and the constitution remains the solemn expression of the will of the people and the supreme law of the Republic. Article 11 of the said constitution says "The Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed."

However, as against the above position, one of the extremist outfit's bulletin of August 22, 2005 says that "In a Muslim land there can be no other law except the law of Allah ... The constitution is composed by some wilful sinner ... The ruler of our country is an opponent of Allah because the procedure of selection of all organs of the government is made by a completely non-Islamic system ... The activists of Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh are soldiers of Almighty Allah. They have taken up arms to establish the rule of Islam." The bulletin was spread throughout Bangladesh during the countrywide bombing of 17th August last.

The strategy
The constitutional position vis-a-vis the programme of the extremists leave no room for any ambiguity. While at the macro-level it may be a matter of political direction to sort out disagreements through dialogue and persuasion, the field-level operatives, both in uniform and plainclothes must have clear directives and plan of action for preventing violent subversive actions. This is all the more significant now because the new enemy has an emotional and religiously sensitive alignment with the common folks of the country. One must not be oblivious of the fact that the enemy combatants are entrenched in places and institutions that are traditionally respected and revered in our society.

As part of strategy, the enforcement apparatus should succeed in separating an act of violence from its so-called politico-social context and thus criminalise a certain mode of political expression. In Bangladesh's context this line of action would be very appropriate because there is a greater need to reject the religious extremists' right to legitimise violence as part of a larger social movement.

The so-called Jihadists must not be bracketed with political dissenters, although such differentiation becomes difficult from an enforcement point of view. Laws to be made for dealing with religious extremists should be such as to distinguish them from constitutionally oriented political elements.

The above has been emphasised upon because the mission and strategy of our crime-fighting and intelligence organisations had not been stable at least insofar as the domestic threat scenario is concerned. Those have invariably substantially changed with the change of a political government. It has been our unfortunate experience to witness the differing political agendas often clouding the pragmatic understanding of our real national interests.

The patrons and harbourers and proscription

In order to apprehend and to effectively punish the extremists, the definition of extremism or terrorism should be expanded to an act of association with an extremist group. The objective should be to include patrons and harbourers of the extremists and fringe supporters within the ambit of the law. The regulatory authorities should be quickly able to draw up a list of 'proscribed organisations' to which membership, funding or open support within the territory of Bangladesh shall be banned. This list should be periodically reviewed with an intention of making the fight against extremism in line with threats to internal security.

The concept of the above noted proscription should be such as to make it applicable across the broadest spectrum. It should be precise and unambiguous. In addition, there must be clear measurement and list of acts that would constitute support to a 'banned organisation'. The effort should be to broaden the applicability but narrow down the definition of extremism or terrorism itself.

The process of identifying an extremist should be discreet and transparent and enforcement efforts should be geared towards that. However, the extremists who use violence and the threat of violence as an instrument to propagate its view and ideology cannot be treated as political dissidents even though the roots are socio-political and governed by distinct and conflicting ideologies.

The government should attach greater importance to proscription and should be empowered to designate the extremist organisation. The objective should be to sap the extremist organisation of its material base, stopping routes of material replenishment and seizing its existing assets. In other words, the proscription could be a central feature in our attempt at fighting religious militancy.

The imperatives
Now that we know who is the self-declared adversary, there must not be any hesitation in the battle against the frontal attack on our constitution. There must not be any ambivalence in relentlessly pursuing the bigoted mischief-makers. Religious institutions or places of prayer should not be allowed to be used as sanctuaries. In order to do that quite a number of such entities should be subjected to well-planned surveillance.

Voluntary or charitable work or even religious teachings which are suspected to be used as cover by some organisations should be shadowed so that bonafide welfare work can be separated from malafide subversive ventures.

Foreign donations whether by individuals or organisations must pass through government scrutiny. This must be made mandatory. Along with this there must be a complete account of all educational institutions and the areas covered in the instruction should be known to competent authority.

Democracy has to allow the interaction of different shades of opinion or divergent views to ensure the vibrance of a pluralist society. However, that does not mean that there will be freedom to convert the entire country into a theocratic dispensation by application of force and intimidation and the litigant public has to approach the clerics and Muhaddes for resolution of disputes and judgement, as demanded. There is a challenge to our way of life. This must be realised by the mainstream political parties who are pledge-bound to uphold, protect and preserve our constitution. Therefore, the visible enemy must be caught by the forelock and be dealt with under the law. A sovereign Republic born out of a historic struggle entailing epic human sacrifices demand that. We must not fail.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a former Secretary and IGP.