Global War on Terror: Bangladesh PerspectiveMufleh R Osmany and Mohammad Humayun Kabir, eds.
Academic Press & Publishers Library
Global War on Terror: Bangladesh Perspective is a compilation of the proceedings of a seminar of the same nomenclature, organised by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies. The disconcerting aspect of this arrangement might be gleaned from the contents page, chronologically placed: "Welcome Speech" by Abul Basher Imamuzzaman, "Address by Chief Guest" by M. Morshed Khan, "Chairman's Speech: Global War on Terror: Bangladesh Perspective" by Mufleh R Osmany, "Bangladesh's Fight Against Terror: Lessons Learnt and Future Perspectives" by Reaz Rahman, "Bangladesh's Quest for a Moderate Muslim State" by M. Ataur Rahman, "An Emerging Model of Counter-Terror Infrastructure and the Role of Military and State Security Apparatus" by Mohd Aminul Karim, "Terrorism in South Asia: Ramifications in the Internal and External Security of States: A Bangladesh Perspective" by M. Sakhawat Hussain, and "Bangladesh Perspectives in the Global War on Terrorism: British Engagement with Bangladesh in Counter Terrorism: Opportunities for Cooperation" by Mizanur Rahman Shelley. It takes away from the reader expectations associated with a properly drawn-up book.
The book deals with a serious subject matter. Imamuzzaman states the obvious: "Neither terrorism nor counter-terrorism is a new phenomenon. However, over the last several years, both have been gaining accelerated currency in the vocabulary of political science and international politics due to their unprecedented magnitude, international character and, more importantly, because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America and its aftermath." Terrorism, as generally understood, is the systematic use of violence for the attainment of a particular political objective through the psychological ploy of creating a broad climate of fear among the citizenry. Revolutionaries, nationalist and ethnic groups, and political organisations of both the left and the right have used it throughout history. It has also been used as an instrument of state terror, whether by governments against their own citizenry to suppress dissent or by Israel against the Palestinians. And, as several of the authors have taken the trouble of pointing out, the definition of terror itself is a contentious issue, often a matter of perspective.
The seminar was organised when, in the words of Reaz Rahman, "(t)he question of terrorism in Bangladesh…(had) become highly controversial and (had) impacted heavily on Bangladesh's image abroad." That denigration process had begun earnestly not too long after the immediate past government had taken office, and the twin fortuitous circumstances of the global war on terror in the post-9/11 international system and the inclusion of fundamentalist political parties in the coalition government provided a convenient excuse to a variety of interested individuals and groups, at home and abroad, for engaging in propaganda to try to portray this country as a failed state and a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. Several of the articles go to some length in refuting those two canards that, if successful in convincing the major global players, could have had some very unpleasant implications for Bangladesh and its government.
Karim provides a balanced view while discussing the dispensation of the average Bangladeshi and the manifestation of Islamic militancy and terror tactics: "The secular social practice of (Bangladesh's) people and their adherence to the Islamic or other religious faiths and values never criss-crossed each other. However, with the resurgence of political Islam world-wide and changes in the global politics, its impact was also felt in the domestic politics of Bangladesh. Few (sic) splinter religion-based parties emerged covertly and attempted to use religion in a violent manner to bring about changes that could threaten the security, stability and fabric of the state and society." The measures taken to combat such a worrying phenomenon have also been discussed by more than one writer. Karim then brings up the sobering point that may be taken to be a representative example of much of the dysfunctions plaguing Bangladesh: "Although there is a need to enact some new laws to combat the menace of terrorism, especially for money laundering and possession of explosives, actually there are adequate laws to cover most of the other crimes committed by terrorists. The problem in Bangladesh's context is more with implementation of the laws rather than enacting new ones."
Shelley directs our attention to a curious phenomenon for countering "the misinterpretation and distortion of basic Islamic teachings by extremist-terrorists": the Islamic Information and Research Centre. Calling it the Cox's Bazar initiative, the author lays out that its objective "is to build a 'Brave New Alliance' of the religious community leaders and leading elements of the western educated segment of the society to counter the falsehood and distortion of Islamic teachings propagated by the extremists. The idea is to secure the hearts and minds of devoted, peace-loving Muslims who are in a majority against the vitiating influence of extremists' propaganda and motivation."
And, on the subject of homegrown terrorists, the informative and carefully analysed piece of M. Sakhawat Hussain offers compelling evidence for international linkage to, and involvement in, the Bangladeshi terrorist organisations and their activities. He begins with a truism: "It is not Islam but the hypocritical dispensation of judgment in resolving historical disputes which has been the major source of unsettling peace in the world." From there he moves on to the international climate, and concentrates on the sustained disinformation and propaganda campaign carried out, for global consumption, by Indian policymakers and government-sponsored think tanks as well as a portion of the media, that New Delhi's two Muslim neighbours, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been giving sanctuary to jihadists for the purpose of undermining Indian security. The complexity of international politics, the use of sustained massive propaganda campaigns to promote one's own agenda at the expense of another's discomfiture, and the opportunity presented by 9/11 to engage in such misinformation may be found in Hussain's lengthy article as well as his own arguments to counter it.
Perhaps the author's most compelling reasoning linking the rise of militant Islam to external forces and events is provided in these sentences: Many Afghan veterans (including Bangladeshis like Mufti Abdul Hannan, the leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad, Bangladesh) "were inspired to convert their own countries into truly corruption-free Islamic states and oppose western concepts of governance. Al-Qaida developed in the face of western betrayal of Afghan Mujaheedin soon after the Soviet withdrawal…. The betrayal of the West gave birth to the Taliban concept." And, regarding interior Bangladesh, he points an accusing finger at politicians for contributing to, and encouraging, the growth and proliferation of militant organizations.
Hussein's article is somewhat marred by carelessness. He mentions, for example, "the present coalition government" (alluding to the BNP-led alliance regime of 2001-06), after having just a bit earlier referred to the execution of Shykh Abdur Rahman in early 2007 (when a caretaker government was already at the helm of state affairs). He also seems to expect too much from civil society in combating homegrown extremism. Incidentally, Shelley does the same, and one is not sure if other channels would not be far more effective in curbing militancy than the efforts of civil society.
M. Ataur Rahman takes recourse to the classic Muslim lament syndrome of pining for the loss of "one of history's most powerful civilizations", and then envelopes the entire Islamic world with that sorrow: "The deepest underlying source of Muslim anguish today…is in the dramatic decline of this leading civilization that has become a disunited, scientifically backward, politically disoriented and badly governed community." Pining for a glorious past and, implicitly, a notional ummah ignores the hard reality of nationalism and the supremacy of the nation-state underlying the modern international system. The author distinguishes between Islamic parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami, which he finds to be moderate and flexible and "conducting its politics within the democratic framework emphasizing on social and economic agenda", and the acts of "a 'few' who seem to distort, hijack and reinvent Islam as a radical ideology."
One gets the impression that, when the papers were presented at the seminar on "Global War on Terror: Bangladesh Perspective", some of them catered to a particular political agenda. That probably has constrained the writers in being able to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the many factors underlying the terror phenomenon in Bangladesh. And, one cannot escape the nagging feeling that it was also an effort to convince the major powers that Bangladesh, indeed, could not be categorised as anything other than a moderate Muslim state, combating, with them, the global war on terror. Nonetheless, some of the articles in Global War on Terror: Bangladesh Perspective are insightful and instructive, and provide more than a casual glimpse into the phenomenon of terror in the context of Bangladesh, beyond that of the more visible Islamic extremism.
Shahid Alam is a writer, former diplomat and at present Head, Media & Communications Department, Independent University, Bangladesh.
