'Faultlines' in combating religious extremism

Reactive postures and myopia
The only silver lining in an otherwise ominous scenario is that the denial mode insofar as the existence of the bigoted extremists is concerned has perhaps disappeared. The unfortunate part, however, is that as in other sectors of our national existence, we have been disappointingly reactive in responding to the threats of internal security. The whole approach appears to be ad hoc and on a case to case basis. Somehow, we want to assure ourselves by imagining that a hydra-headed monster has surfaced all on a sudden and will wither soon to the relief of a concerned population. No wonder, therefore, that some of our incorrigibly garrulous politicians are confidently setting a time limit of two to three months after which the spectre of the so-called religious extremism and the bomb-scare will be gone for good. One could only hope that such would be our lot. The facts, symptoms and indications, however, do not create an environment of optimism.

We may have to ask ourselves if a perception has developed among the terrorist groups that the Bangladeshi state is inherently incapable of meeting their challenge and that it has become soft and indolent. We may have to ascertain if quite a few parties have developed a vested interest in a soft state, a weak government and ineffective implementation of the laws. Simultaneously, are foreign funds flowing substantially to various organisations and groups which serve, willingly or unwillingly, the long term objective of some political parties suspected to be aligned or sympathetic to the regional or international terror network?

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Since terrorism of the so-called Islamic extremists have increased in its very nature thereby demanding changes in the strategy to counter it, are we ready to seriously study the problem, one may ponder. This is natural because we do not witness credible attempts being made to examine links between terrorist groups, the conditions in which they had spawned, the politician-militant nexus and other forms of patronage these groups receive, the proliferation of small arms leading to the growth of private armies etc. The question is, are we trying to appreciate all the factors that contribute to the 'quality and extent' of internal security threats? Another specific question could be whether our failure to deal with the terrorist crime are largely attributable to the inefficiency and corruption of the law enforcing machinery.

We have to know if the establishment has shown a great degree of indulgence to terrorist groups and if any covert sympathy has allowed the terrorist to cloak their methods in a garb of "Jehad."

The inactions
One will not be far from truth to say that posture wise we were not so conspicuously religious in pre-1971 times under Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Many of us have not realized that in post-1975 Bangladesh, particularly during the last 25 years there has been a phenomenal growth of "Madrassahs' throughout the length and breadth of the country. At the same time many mosques have been built by organisations/groups about whose credentials much is not know. Was moral rearmament or spiritual renaissance the predominant factor behind such unusual growth of religious institutions and places of worship? However, doubts would creep in as we do not see any corresponding healthy rise in public or private morality. So, the suspicion is that while the establishment, the civil society and other activists have remained in dark about the designs and programmes of the obscurantist elements, the so-called religious extremists have grown in strength and spread their tentacles taking advantage of the ignorance and inertia.

During the last four years when media, including international and national, have pointed to the potential danger, the authorities brushed it aside as another effort to vilify a democratic government. Now when the situation is becoming unbearable there is still not a serious well-thought plan to arrest and contain the menace.

The imperatives
Most terrorist activities are encouraged and sustained by an ideological inspiration. In other words, terrorism is not divorced from ideology. One has to look for the said ideological moorings. In this quest, in Bangladesh, it is strongly likely that there will be some accusatory finger-pointing towards some political party. In the event of such a possibility turning into reality, the government of the day has to take tough actions without bothering about the political fallout.

That would demand political sagacity of a very high order and may be a tall asking in our perilously polarised polity.

There is no doubt that the battle against extremism would be long. However, since the recent violence of the so-called religious extremists are a manifest attack on the long cherished values of the mainstream, our strategy and thought process should undergo substantial change in the following manner.

i) Persons or institutions having an apparent religious or ecclesiastical appearance and activity must not be out of bound for the surveillance agencies. Those creating credible suspicions must come within the ambit of threat perception and appropriate legal action shall be started forthwith. Preempting their nefarious activities should engage the uppermost attention of regulatory authority.

ii) The aforementioned surveillance should ensure that no one is allowed to interpret and propagate a distorted version of the holy books. Our inherently religious folks must not be allowed to be misled.

iii) The so-called religious extremists committing violence should be treated like criminals and no element of respectability should be accorded to them.

iv) Institutions not playing the national anthem and disrespecting the national language must come under adverse attention and be subjected to effective punitive measures.

v) Institutions imparting religious training and the Madrassahs should be a focal point for inspection and monitoring with a view to rendering their students into employable individuals.

vi) Last but not the least, as a nation, we must not suffer from any identity crisis as some mischievous quarters would like to. The Pakistanis thought we were lesser Muslims. Their 'Islamisation drive' resulted in a colossal tragedy. It is time perhaps to once again show our true grit and be in real elements. Our politicians must not be heedless.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a former Secretary and IGP.