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Jāgrātā Muslim Jānātā Bānglādesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), also known by the acronym JMJB, is an Islamist organisation based in Bangladesh, especially around the country's north-western region. The Government of Bangladesh has classified JMJB as a terrorist organisation. It is reported to be affiliated with al-Qaeda though there have never been any proof or confirmations of this claim. The organisation was the feature of a January 2005 New York Times article based upon the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh. It was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings in Bangladesh.

The group is led by Siddiqur Rahman, also known as "Bangla Bhai", and Shaykh Abdur Rahman. Both of them are wanted by the Bangladesh Government for terrorism. Several lesser leaders, for example, the head of the military branch, have been captured.

Formed in the late 1990s, JMJB came into spotlight through its murder spree in the North-western region of Bangladesh. Soon after, in 2004 the organization was banned by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government and measures were taken to eradicate its missions and presence. Its captured activists have stated that they were trained and hoped to join their Jihadist comrades in Afghanistan and Iraq in fighting against the U.S.-led coalition and the democratic political establishments in place within those countries.

Their leaders include Bangla Bhai, Shaykh Abdur Rahman. The JMJB is extremely critical of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which it deems as heretical due to the latter's participation in the Bangladeshi political establishment and patronization of secularism and sacrilege of Islamic values and principles. After the Government of Bangladesh proclaimed a large prize for the capture of Bangla bhai. On 6 March 2006, Bangla bhai was captured by police and Rapid Action Battalion in Mymensingh District [1]

[edit] Linkages

Not much is known about the outfit’s external linkages although Maulana Rahman claimed in an interview on 13 May 2004, that "My travels abroad are no secret. We don't have links with any foreign organisation." He also added that "We don't have direct links with the Taliban either. The Taliban wanted to establish the ideals of Allah. They did their part with courage."

Reports indicated that the JMJB is supported by certain members of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP). The former Deputy Minister for Land, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu, was allegedly linked to the outfit. The first rally of the JMJB was reportedly addressed by Bagmara's

BNP Joint Secretary, Besharat Ullah, indicating the degree of support that the vigilante outfit enjoys within the ruling coalition.

According to the New Nation, while the Cabinet Committee on law and order led by Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiya ordered the arrest of Bangla Bhai for taking what they said law in his own hands, the three ministers belonging to Rajshahi – Aminul Haq, Fazlur Rahman patal and Ruhul Kuddus Dulu – opposed the police action saying the JMJB were on a ‘pro-people mission’ freeing the northern region from the left-wing extremists.

JMJB also enjoyed support among certain sections of the Police. For instance, Noor Mohammad, Divisional Inspector General of Police in Rajshahi, reportedly told Daily Star on 5 May 2004, that Bangla Bhai and his operatives were assisting the law enforcers in tracking down the left-wing outlaws. According to him, "We've asked police stations to support them whenever they go to catch outlaws." Reportedly, he justified such an action by indicating that "You know Sarbahara [left-wing extremists] men have been quite active in the region for many years and it is not possible for the undermanned and under-equipped police to hunt them down. Aziz [Bangla Bhai] is now helping us."

The JMJB chief Maulana Rahman is known to have visited Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has allegedly secured help from Saudi charities to build some mosques and seminaries, from where the group is known to operate.

Media reports also indicated that the JMJB is akin to JMB that fought with the police from a secret training camp at Khetlal in Jaipurhat district in August 2003. After the gun-battle, a number of its cadres fled, leaving behind many documents indicating the outfit's subversive plans. Although police could not then arrest Rahman, they detained his brother Ataur Rahman Ibne Abdullah and 18 other militants. A few days later, police released the militants and the higher authorities allegedly transferred several police officials involved in the Khetlal operation. Rahman was quoted in The Daily Star on 17 May 2004, as saying, "our workers from Bogra, Jaipurhat, Rajshahi, Rangpur and other adjacent areas gathered in Khetlal to attend a meeting. But conspirators misled the police saying militants have gathered there. Police raided the place on wrong information. But they did not find any firearms."

[edit] References

1. ̂ Top Bangladesh militant captured: police, Reuters news report, 6 March, 2006.

[edit] External links

New York Times article on the JMJB Alternative link - [1]. South Asia Terrorism Portal Profile

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagrata_Muslim_Janata_Bangladesh"Categories: Jihadist organizations | Terrorism in BangladeshHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from August 2007 | All articles lacking sources

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Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB)

Formation

The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), an Islamist vigilante outfit that espouses the ideals of the Taliban, attempts to ensure that the northwestern region of the country is ‘swept clean’ of the activities of left-wing extremist groups, primarily the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP).

A certain section of the Bangladeshi media has indicated that the JMJB is an outgrowth of the Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Indeed there is considerable overlap between the leadership of the JMB and the JMJB. Other reports have indicated that the JMJB is a youth front of the outlawed militant group Harqat-ul-Jihad.

As per its senior leader Maulana Abdur Rahman, who is also the chief of JMB, the outfit was formed in 1998. However, when the JMJB first came to limelight on April 1, 2004, it was also known by other names like Mujahidin Alliance Council, Islami Jalsha and Muslim Raksha Mujahideen Oikya Parishad.

Objectives and Ideology

The JMJB follows the ideals of the Taliban militia and propagates a movement based on Jihad. Its chief has been quoted as stating that "our model includes many leaders and scholars of Islam. But we will take as much (ideology) from the Taliban as we need."

It has explicitly stated on more than one occasion that it does not subscribe to the prevailing political system in Bangladesh and that it would "build a society based on the Islamic model laid out in Holy Quran-Hadith."

The JMJB functions with an avowed objective of neutralizing the left-wing extremists, especially cadres of the PBCP. The professed long-term goal of the outfit is to usher in an ‘Islamic revolution’ in Bangladesh through Jihad.

Leadership

In the early hours of March 30, 2007, JMJB chief Siddiqul Islam alias Azizur Rahman alias Omar Ali Litu alias Bangla Bhai was hanged in the Kashimpur jail, where he was kept since his arrest on March 6, 2006 from the remote Rampur village under the Muktagachha sub-district of Mymensingh, 120 kilometres north of Dhaka after skirmishes with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Hanged on the same day, were five other top militants of the Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) including its ‘supreme commander’ Maulana Abdur Rahman. All these militants including Siddiqul Islam had been pronounced guilty by the Supreme Court of involvement in the killing of two judges in Jhalakathi in November 2005. On March 4, 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed had rejected their mercy petitions paving the way for their execution.

The highest decision-making body of the JMJB is the seven-member Majlish-e-Shura. Apart from Siddiqul Islam and JMB chief Abdur Rahman other members of the council included Ashikur Rahman, Hafez Mahmud, Tarek Moni and Khaled. Information regarding the Shura, after the March 30, 2007 executions, is not available.

‘Commander’ Bangla Bhai hailed from Bogra district and claimed that as a college student, he had joined the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Bangla Bhai had also claimed that he quit the ICS in 1995 after the Jamaat accepted female leadership, which according to him was a sacrilege.

On the other hand, Maulana Abdur Rahman was reported to have worked at the Saudi embassy in Dhaka between 1985 and 1990. He studied at the Madina Islamic University in Saudi Arabia and has reportedly traveled to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among other countries. His most recent visit to Pakistan was reportedly in the year 2003.

Organisation

The JMJB reportedly has a three-tier organisation. The first tier of the outfit consists of activists called Ehsar who are recruited on a full-time basis and act at the behest of the higher echelons. The second tier, known as Gayeri Ehsar, has over 100,000 part-time activists. The third tier involves those who indirectly co-operate with the JMJB. According to JMJB leaders, the whole country has been divided into nine organisational divisions. Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Chittagong have an organisational divisional office each, while Dhaka has two divisional offices and Rajshahi three.

The outfit also had committees in each village and according to media reports villagers were being forced to join the committees. If anybody refused, he was branded as a ‘collaborator’ of the PBCP and taken to the JMJB ‘trial centre’.

Areas of Activity and Headquarters

The JMJB created strong bases mostly in northwest Bangladesh, in the districts of Rajshahi, Satkhira, Naogaon, Bagerhat, Jessore, Chittagong, Joypurhat, Natore, Rangpur, Bogra, Chittagong, and Khulna. It has allegedly spread its network to most Madrassas (seminaries) and other educational institutions in these districts.

The outfit also established at least 10 camps at Atrai and Raninagar in the Naogaon district, Bagmara in Rajshahi district, and Naldanga and Singra in Natore district. There have been reports of JMJB recruits being given training through recorded speeches of Osama bin Laden and the video footages of warfare training at the Al Qaeda's Farooque camp (now defunct) in Afghanistan.

Some JMJB leaders reportedly stated that the outfit is headquartered in Dhaka. However, media reports indicated all activities of the organisation revolving around Jamalpur.

Cadres

Bangla Bhai on occasions claimed that JMJB commands the strength of 300000 activists across the country. The outfit has about 10,000 full-time activists and spends up to Taka seven hundred thousand on them a month.

Weaponry

JMJB cadres during their vigilante operations in 2004 were seen with firearms. They also reportedly wielded swords, other sharp weapons, hammers and hockey sticks. Reports have indicated that the JMJB also had access to crude explosives.

Linkages

Not much is known about the outfit’s external linkages although Maulana Rahman claimed in an interview on May 13, 2004, that "My travels abroad are no secret. We don't have links with any foreign organisation." He also added that "We don't have direct links with the Taliban either. The Taliban wanted to establish the ideals of Allah. They did their part with courage."

Reports indicated that the JMJB is supported by certain members of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP). The former Deputy Minister for Land, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu, was allegedly linked to the outfit. The first rally of the JMJB was reportedly addressed by Bagmara's BNP Joint Secretary, Besharat Ullah, indicating the degree of support that the vigilante outfit enjoys within the ruling coalition.

According to The New Nation, while the Cabinet Committee on law and order led by Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiya ordered the arrest of Bangla Bhai for taking what they said law in his own hands, the three ministers belonging to Rajshahi - Aminul Haq, Fazlur Rahman patal and Ruhul Kuddus Dulu - opposed the police action saying the JMJB were on a ‘pro-people mission’ freeing the northern region from the left-wing extremists.

JMJB also enjoyed support among certain sections of the Police. For instance, Noor Mohammad, Divisional Inspector General of Police in Rajshahi, reportedly told Daily Star on May 5, 2004, that Bangla Bhai and his operatives were assisting the law enforcers in tracking down the left-wing outlaws. According to him, "We've asked police stations to support them whenever they go to catch outlaws." Reportedly, he justified such an action by indicating that "You know Sarbahara [left-wing extremists] men have been quite active in the region for many years and it is not possible for the undermanned and under-equipped police to hunt them down. Aziz [Bangla Bhai] is now helping us."

The JMJB chief Maulana Rahman is known to have visited Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has allegedly secured help from Saudi charities to build some mosques and seminaries, from where the group is known to operate.

Media reports also indicated that the JMJB is akin to JMB that fought with the police from a secret training camp at Khetlal in Jaipurhat district in August 2003. After the gun-battle, a number of its cadres fled, leaving behind many documents indicating the outfit's subversive plans. Although police could not then arrest Rahman, they detained his brother Ataur Rahman Ibne Abdullah and 18 other militants. A few days later, police released the militants and the higher authorities allegedly transferred several police officials involved in the Khetlal operation. Rahman was quoted in Daily Star on May 17, 2004, as saying, "our workers from Bogra, Jaipurhat, Rajshahi, Rangpur and other adjacent areas gathered in Khetlal to attend a meeting. But conspirators misled the police saying militants have gathered there. Police raided the place on wrong information. But they did not find any firearms."

Finance

Regarding the sources of income, Bangla Bhai was reported to have said, "People from all rungs of society are generously paying us funds, no-one is pressurised for money. If someone happily makes a donation, there's no problem."

Abdur Rahman also was reported to have set up a mosque and a seminary with financial assistance from the non-governmental organisation Rabeta-e-Islam and another organisation, Islami Oytijjho Sangstha.

Activities

The JMJB activists are reported to have carried out over 100 vigilante operations in different regions, including murders and attacks on people who they believe have committed crimes. Apart from these activities, the JMJB cadres have also been accused of extorting protection money from traders and forcing people to follow a certain variant of Islam.

Its cadres reportedly compelled local youths to keep beards, wear clothes up to the ankle, and the women to wear a veil. They were also involved in attempts to discontinue the playing of music in hotels and restaurants. There had been allegations that the outfit was enforcing harsh Islamic codes in the northwest region. However, Bangla Bhai denied these allegations claiming that it was a propaganda exercise.

The activities of the outfit appeared to have stopped completely by mid- 2005.

Incidents

2007

March 30: JMJB chief Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai was hanged in the Kashimpur jail. March 9: Police arrested Mahtab Khamaru, a close aide of JMJB chief Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai at

a mosque at Talgharia in the Bagmara sub-district of Rajshahi district after Juma prayers. Khamaru had earlier been arrested on November 27, 2005, but was released following a ministerial order. Since then he was absconding.

January 28: Bangla Bhai, who has been kept in Kashimpur Jail, submitted his mercy petition to the President. February 17 was primarily fixed for the execution of the JMB militants.

2006

April 24: Fahima Chowdhury, wife of JMJB chief Bangla Bhai, is sent to jail by a court in Netrakona.

April 23: Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court in Jhalakathi framed charges against JMJB chief Bangla Bhai for killing two judges in the district town in 2005.

March 26: Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai told the Task Force Intelligence that he was hopeful that the outfit’s cadres would implement JMB’s blueprint successfully across the country.

March 11: Chan Mian, who had sheltered JMJB leader Bangla Bhai before his arrest on March 6, was detained following a tip-off from Bhaluk Chhatar village in the Muktagachha sub-district of Mymensingh.

March 6: A court in Pirojpur awarded life imprisonment to JMB leader Faruq alias Baset Saifullah alias Amjad in absentia for his involvement in the August 17, 2005-serial bombings across the country.

March 6: RAB personnel arrested a close aide of Bangla Bhai, Amanullah Rimon, from Srirampur village in the Sadar sub-district of Sylhet district.

March 6: Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, 'Commander' of the JMJB, is arrested following a gun-battle with security forces in the northern district of Mymensingh.

February 5: A JMJB cadre, Omar Ali, is killed by cadres of the Red Flag faction of the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) at Baroihati bazaar in the Bagmara area of Rajshahi district.

February 4: Two JMJB leaders, Saiful Islam and Ikram, were arrested from the Chinail Madrassa (seminary) in the Dhamrai sub-district of Dhaka district.

February 1: The Government terminates the services of former Superintendent of Police of Rajshahi district, Masud Miah, after a probe committee found him to have maintained linkages with the JMJB ‘commander’ Bangla Bhai.

2005

November 27: Kishoreganj District and Sessions court orders attachment of moveable properties of the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh JMJB ‘Operations Commander’ Bangla Bhai as he failed to appear before it during the November 27 scheduled hearing of a case filed in connection with the August 17, 2005-blasts in the district.

November 27: Rapid Action Battalion released an associate of JMJB leader Bangla Bhai, following alleged orders by a deputy minister. The JMJB cadre, Mahtab Ali Khamaru, involved in extortion activities was arrested from Talgharia market in the Bagmara sub-district of Rajshahi district.

October 28: The Government announces a reward of $152,000 for information leading to the arrest of JMB chief Abdur Rahman and JMJB leader Bangla Bhai.

September 6: A JMJB cadre, Abdul Jalil of Naogaon district, is shot dead by suspected PBCP-Red Flag faction cadres at Tilakpur in the Joypurhat district. Two of the PBCP cadres involved in the killing were subsequently arrested.

August 3: According to Daily Star, police have dropped two top JMJB cadres, identified as 'Bheti camp in-charge' Shariatullah Simar and his deputy Mustafizur Rahman Khwaza, from the charge sheet filed in the Ziaul Haque Zia murder case. The charge sheet against 20 other persons was submitted to a court in Naogaon on August 2. Zia had been abducted from his residence by JMJB activists and was beaten to death at Raninagar in the Rajshahi district on November 14, 2004.

July 28: According to Independent, the JMJB has commenced its activities in the Bagmara sub-district of Rajshahi district. It said that most of the 68 cadres, arrested between January 24 and January 30, 2005 from various places in Bagmara, have been released due to the non-submission of reports against them by the police.

July 23: A JMJB cadre, who worked as a driver to the outfit's leader Bangla Bhai, was arrested along with two of his accomplices from Kaliganj Bazaar in the Rajshahi district.

July 19: The police arrested 11 suspected Islamist terrorists, including two cadres of the banned JMJB and two Rajshahi University students, from a training camp in the Paba sub-district of Rajshahi district.

July 17: The police arrests five JMJB cadres on charges of extortion from a businessman in the Rajshahi city.

July 4: Two suspected JMJB cadres are arrested on charges of extortion in the Nilphamari district. According to official sources, the arrested cadres, identified as Rezaul and Azad, who had demanded Taka One lakh from the Local Government and Engineering Department, were arrested when they had reached the office to collect the amount.

July 2: The Special Branch of police arrest a JMJB cadre, Moshiur Rahman Peter, accused of attacking a journalist on June 28.

July 1: cadres of the outlawed Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) have reportedly declared to have the Bagmara sub-district of Rajshahi district free of journalists within next five years. Local civilians told Daily Star that JMJB leaders, Mustafizur Rahman Mustaque, Majnur Rahman and Afzal Hossain, took out a march in Hamirkutsa on July 1 and made such statements.

June 28: JMJB cadres attacked Shafiqul Islam, correspondent of the Bengali daily Janakantha, at Bhaniganj in the Bagmara area of Rajshahi district. The outfit accused Shafiqual of helping other journalists to report against the outfit.

June 27: According to Daily Star, armed cadres of the outlawed group JMJB raided some houses in various villages of Bagmara in the Rajshahi district allegedly for extortion. The report further said that several JMJB leaders recently released from the Rajshahi Central Jail were seen marching on the roads of Shikdari, Hamirkutsa, Jhikra, Goalkandi and Jugipara areas.

June 13: Mazzal Hossain, a former JMJB cadre, was killed by the outfit at Bagmara in the Rajshahi district.

June 10: A JMJB cadre, Joynal, is arrested from Chaksadu village in the Bogra district. Official sources said that the arrested cadre was involved in the bombing incident of a drama programme at Shahjahanpur sub-district.

June 1: Twenty-four followers of Bangla Bhai, 'Commander' of the JMJB, are released from the Rajshahi Central Jail, according to New Age.

Bheti: A village under attacks of Sarbaharas and JMJB militants 

By Dr. Kamrun Nahar *

Introduction

In 1968, leftwing extremist Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) came into view in

East Pakistan (present Bangladesh). Its proclaimed political objective was to uproot

feudalism, capitalism, imperialism, and to implant socialism in the country. Blind

followers were goaded to liquidate landlords that terrified ordinary people in villages. In

post-independence war period, government ban drove them to veer to underground

strategy. Gradually, political ideology became lackluster to them; they stuck to perpetrate

such heinous crimes as were dacoity, killing and rape. At present, PBCP (Lal Pataka),

one of its several factions, is overtly and covertly active mostly in north and south-

western parts of Bangladesh. In 1998, rightwing extremist Jamaatul Mujahidin

Bangladesh (JMB) appeared in political podium of this country. Its political objective

was to replace an Islamic state system, based on the Quran and the Hadith, with the

democratic one. Lackeys were similarly motivated to perpetrate such atrocious crimes as

were assault, bombing and killing. Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) was a wing

of JMB.

Two upazilas (administrative units under district) of Naogaon District – Atrai and

Raninagar – are places, where leftwing extremists, called Sarbaharas (the proletariat) in

short, have been undauntedly strutting for many years. Bheti with verdure and vivacity is

a remote village under Raninagar Upazila that was not a cynosure of neighbors’ eyes. In

2004, PBCP (Lal Pataka) first occupied this village as its territory and shortly thereafter

JMJB dislodged it. Some villagers backed these two antagonistic groups in order to use

them against their local rivals or enemies. Normal livelihood was suddenly squeezed,

shrunk, interrupted being under intimidation and trepidation. In this article, incidents of

those choking days have been depicted sincerely. The writer delved into the topic to

identify violent activities of both leftwing and rightwing extremists. She visited the

village three times in 2007 and 2008 to collect data. Informal and formal interviews were

employed for total 40 interviewees. Interviewees were Sarbaharas, JMJB militants,

victims and ordinary people. The objectives of this study were to identify activities of

Sarbahara and of JMJB.  

Limitation

If more persons were interviewed, more secret stories would be unveiled vividly. From

the outset of fieldwork, researcher had no security to stay hours after hours in village. She

was vulnerable to any unaccepted attack and so were villagers; therefore they were

reluctant to talk during interviews. Some persons intentionally tried to mislead the

researcher by giving her disinformation. These were some balks why researcher could

arrive at assumptions instead of conclusions in some particular cases.

Bheti

The full official name of the village is Bhot Bangal Para but called Bheti in short. It is a

remote village under Kaligram Union of Raninagar Upazila in Naogaon District.  Larger

than other adherent villages, it is an area of approximately 1/2 square km. Narrow,

serpentine, soiled walking ways crisscrossed each other through whole village. Houses of

clay, mostly two-storied, are built close to one another haphazardly. The large yard, close

to the façade, reveals that the chief livelihood of people is farming undoubtedly. During

winter, golden paddy shimmers and basks in the sun lying in these yards. The limitation

of land and increase of population are interrelated, concomitant crises in this village. The

number of total voters is now more than 2000. Many have been thrust to change their

livelihood to business, as nearby Abadpukur is a favorable market place. There they sell

vegetables, cattle, clothes, cosmetics, etc.  

Officially, the village consists of 11 paras (units under a village), but two paras are

detached from the main body. Among all, Sardar para is comparatively rich. The landlord

dynasty of Sardar has been leading arbitration in the village for many years. Two rich

heirs of Sardar dynasty are Rafiqul Islam and his uncle Shariatullah Naju.  

Activities of Sarbahara

Purba Banglar Communist Party (Lal Pataka) started recruitment in this village in 2001/2002. In gangs, they went to every house, blustered to males and said, ‘Join us as our members. If you don’t accept our membership, we will leave you and your sons in a field after either slaying or cutting off limbs.’       

In the mean time, panic swiftly spread in vicinities. Leftwing extremists slew Afjal at nearby Abadpukur in broad daylight. The misfortunate victim was then chairman of Ekdala Union under Raninagar Upazila in Naogaon District. An incognito woman was raped and left in a field.  

Sarbaharas dreadfully increased their gruesome activities in Bheti Village in 2004. They

sent letters to the rich demanding ransoms that ranged from 20 thousands to 3 lacs. One

of the rich was Shariatullah (35), who bought and inherited total land of 30 bighas. They

demanded a ransom of 3 lac takas from him. He tried to propitiate them with 1.50 lacs.

The chairman of Bheti Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa initiated construction of his new brick-

built house. Sarbaharas demanded from him a ransom that could be equivalent to 25% of

total assumed expense for his house. A farmer was forced to hold his own land of 20

bighas, but distribute the rest to Sarbaharas. If the man had not obeyed their order

regarding land distribution, they would have killed him ruthlessly. At last, every night of

Bheti became horrible. When the somber grisly dark crept, 2-3 vehicles came to raid the

damned village. Vehicles were filled with out-coming leftwing extremists, estimated to

more than 100. Those desperate ruffians went from door to door to seek males of every

family. Some locals named Saidul, Belal, Babu, Kuddus, Suis, Shamsuddin, Khubsurat

and Mohon collaborated with them. Local girls were not victimized but warned not to

open door at dawn when anyone knocked there. Before night came down, blanched males

had left houses to take shelter in bushes or any place outside the village. An old villager

described that he felt as if days of 1971’s war returned ghastly. 

The miserable, disconsolate victim was Rafiqul Islam, then member of 6 no Kaligram

Union Parishad. He was a popular people’s representative. On April 12, 2004, a gang of

60-70 Sarbaharas seized houses of Rafiqul Islam and Shariatullah. Fortunately,

Shariatullah could escape, except for Rafiqul Islam. In that evening, he was assisting his

daughter in her homework in the light of a lamp. A large gang with sharp weapons, iron-

rods and tube-well handles swoop down upon him. They chopped him more than once

and made their getaway leaving his blood-soaked body thinking that he was dead.

Though treatment could resuscitate him, one seriously wounded leg was amputated

necessarily, and the other became disabled forever. Now he walks on an artificial leg and

crutches. 2-3 villagers said that another candidate of membership in Union Parishad

named Saidul Islam conspired to kill him. Both Saidul Islam and Rafiqul Islam are

relatives. Saidul Islam could not easily take election victory of Rafiqul Islam; therefore

he conspired to take revenge and to wipe out the contestant from his way. The writer did

not get Saidul Islam to take interview.

Shariatullah said he was vice chairman of Bheti Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa in 2004. In that

time, there was a vacancy in the post of lecturer. Sarbahara Abdus Salam put in pressure

to get the post. Before a gang of Sarbaharas seized his house, they had thrown two

conditions to him – one was the appointment of Abdus Salam in the post of lecturer and

the other was a ransom of 3 lac takas. It can be assumed that appointment in favoritism

was a prerogative of Madrasa committee members including Shariatullah, which roused

resentment among the deprived.

Activities of JMJB

Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai was chief leader of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh

(JMJB). He, escorted by a large gang and a police force, suddenly appeared in the

mosque of Bheti in May 2004. He invited people to be recruits of his outfit. He avowed

that the advent of his group was for the annihilation of Sarbaharas. Villagers, bewildered

and distraught from regular forays of leftwing extremists, welcomed them expecting that

the day of their deliverance probably arrived in hands of these Islamists. Bangla Bhai set

up a temporary camp in Bheti Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa. In this time, some locals ─ 

Shariatullah (35), Ishak Master (55), Manik (35) etc ─ aided Bangla Bhai. According to

the statement of Shariatullah, he reluctantly acquiesced in JMJB’s demand of 5 mound

rice. Militant leaders said to him, ‘You have paid to Sarbaharas 1.5 lac takas. Why will

you not appease us with some food and clothing? Give us 5 mound rice.’

  Photo 2

Bheti Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa,

where JMJB tortured hostages.   

From the analysis of all stories, it can be concluded that Shariatullah did not get

assistance from local police to mete out condign punishment to Sarbaharas, who extorted

a large amount of money from him. JMJB’s entrance to the village gave him a chance to

take revenge. Other victims in glee also affirmed allegiance to these out-coming Islamists

expecting deliverance from leftists. They handed over a name list of local Sarbaharas to

JMJB, probably having no idea that JMJB followers could terminate life of anyone in the

name of religion.

Some local aides of extremist leftists were confined in Bheti camp. Some hostages were

Jahidur Rahman (35), Abdur Rajjak (40) and Shamsuddin (40). Brother of Jahidur

Rahman said that JMJB sent a message to him. The massage was – ‘Either send 10,000

takas to us, or we will bruise a leg, gouge an eye of Jahid and then send him to his

house.’ Family could save Jahid in exchange for the demanded ransom. Rajjak and

Shamsuddin were hung from the ceiling of a room and had been ruthlessly beaten with

hockey sticks in Bheti camp for three days. A quack named Shahidul was confined. He

was a popular, social-welfare worker, for he provided treatment to many poor men

without taking fees. People reiterated that he was not a leftwing extremist, but a few local

leftists came to his chamber now and then.

While 7 inhabitants of this village were tortured, more than 100 persons from adherent

villages were confined in Bheti camp. Idris Ali Khejur (32) from Simba village was

confined, dismembered and decapitated. In the precarious situation, Sardar para became

almost empty of scared males, who took shelter in towns and other remote villages. After

possessing the camp for two weeks, Bangla Bhai and his gang left the village in order to

search another place for extortion.

On May 29, 2006, 7 militant leaders including Bangla Bhai were sentenced to death in

the murder case of those two judges, who once worked in Jhalakati. On March 29, 2007,

caretaker government headed by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed implemented this judgment.

Bangla Bhai is no more on earth. Bheti is now free from threats of leftwing and rightwing

extremists. But none knows, how long this peace, neither perpetual nor imperturbable,

will sustain.

Conclusion

Where economic disparity is strong, there the poor think they have shares in property of the rich. Leftwing extremists inculcate the idea on poor men that only forced occupation of others’ property can bring their rights on their shares. Thus, they entice people to be their recruits and to be transgressors. In this way, Sarbaharas have been working for decades. On the verge of bearing because of continuous threats from leftwing extremist PBCP (Lal Pataka), villagers of Bheti welcomed rightwing extremist JMJB from the expectation that the latter would be their savior. Where law-enforcement and justice are weak, there people take laws in their own hands in above ways. But after providing support to JMJB, they could realize, they handed over themselves from one extortionist group to another. Both Sarbaharas and militants were counterparts in case of their same sinister motive – extortion. Though political ideologies made grounds for perpetrating crimes, individual interest was a priority to them. They were hired criminals of local political influential leaders. Law-enforcement agencies did not play impartial roles to save ordinary people. Despite subsidence of shocks, inhabitants of Bheti, still have not sound sleep from the feeling of insecurity.                

—————————————————- Acronyms and Glossary 

Bigha          : A land measure. One bigha means a land of approximately 0.33 acre.  JMJB         : Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh.

Lal Pataka  : Red flag.

PBCP         : Purba Banglar Communist Party.

Sarbaharas  : Leftwing extremists.

Upazila       : An administrative unit under a district.

——————————————————-

*Kamrun Nahar achieved her PhD degree from Institute of Bangladesh Studies (IBS) under

University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Her research title was ‘Political Violence in Bangladesh:

Nature and Causes.’ She went to Bheti Village in order to collect data on September 28, 2007,

and February 29, November 22, 2008.

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Jagrata Muslim Janata BangladeshFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ragib (talk | contribs) at 21:38, 12 June 2006. It may differ significantly from the current revision. (diff) ← Previous revision | Current revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Jump to: navigation, search

Jāgrātā Muslim Jānātā Bānglādesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), also known by the acronym JMJB, is an Islamist organisation based in Bangladesh, especially around the country's north-western region. The Government of Bangladesh has classified JMJB as a terrorist organisation. It is reported to be affiliated with al-Qaeda. The organisation was the feature of a January 2005 New York Times article based upon the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh. It was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings in Bangladesh.

The group is led by Siddiqur Rahman, also known as "Bangla Bhai", and Shaykh Abdur Rahman. Both of them are wanted by the Bangladesh Government for terrorism. Several lesser leaders, for example, the head of the military branch, have been captured.

Formed in the late 1990s, JMJB came into spotlight through its murder spree in the North-western region of Bangladesh. Soon after, in 2004 the organization was banned by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government and measures were taken to eradicate its missions and presence. Many of JMJB's members and leaders were former Mujahedin who fought in Afghanistan and who personally knew Osama bin Laden. Its captured activists have stated that they were trained and hoped to join their Jihadist comrades in Afghanistan and Iraq in fighting against the U.S.-led coalition and the democratic political establishments in place within those countries.

Their leaders include Bangla Bhai, Shaykh Abdur Rahman, Shaykh Abd as-Samad as-Salafee and Dr. Asadullah al-Ghalib. The JMJB is extremely critical of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which it deems as heretical due to the latter's participation in the Bangladeshi political establishment and patronization of secularism and sacrilege of Islamic values and principles. After the Government of Bangladesh proclaimed a large prize for the capture of Bangla bhai. On 6 March 2006, Bangla bhai was captured by police and Rapid Action Battalion in Mymensingh District [1]

References

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1. ̂ Top Bangladesh militant captured: police, Reuters news report, 6 March, 2006.

External links

New York Times article on the JMJB Alternative link - [1].

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagrata_Muslim_Janata_Bangladesh"Categories: Jihadist organizations | Terrorism in Bangladesh | Organizations accused of Terrorism

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The Talibanization of Bangladesh: Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan?

An interesting issue that Karlekar draws attention to is the financing of terrorism. Besides funds from Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf monarchies, the fundamentalist outfits get money from their investments and enterprises. The author cites a lecture delivered by Abdul Barkat, professor of economics at Dhaka University, which claimed that enterprises run by fundamentalist Islamists in

Bangladesh make a yearly profit of 12 billion taka (US$180 million). About 10% of this amount is spent on providing salaries and training, and it enables them to maintain about 500,000 cadres. The fundamentalist sector of the economy averaged an annual growth rate of 7.5-9 % compared with the 4.5-5% of the mainstream, national sector. - Sudha Ramachandran

Jun 24, 2006 by Hiranmay Karlekar Reviewed by Sudha Ramachandran Four hundred low-intensity bombs exploded across Bangladesh on August 17, 2005,

resulting in two people killed and more than 100 seriously injured. The blasts, though not powerful, were well coordinated, signaling that those who masterminded them had a network to carry them out. Leaflets calling for the establishment of Islamic law in the country were found at the sites of the blasts.

The serial blasts were not Bangladesh's first brush with terrorism. In August 2004, a bomb blast at a rally being addressed by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, former prime minister and leader of the secular, center-left Awami League, killed 21 people and injured hundreds. Besides, there have been innumerable other attacks on religious minorities and secular intellectuals by Islamic fundamentalist outfits.

The growing frequency of such attacks is triggering concern not only that Bangladesh is vulnerable to violence by Islamic fundamentalists but also that it is emerging as another Afghanistan, ie as a base from which terrorists can plan and carry out attacks elsewhere.

This is the basic premise of Hiranmay Karlekar's book Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan?

Linguistic nationalism, not religious nationalism, resulted in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. The collaboration of fundamentalist parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami with Pakistan had in fact led to a fall in their stature in the eyes of the people. Yet within a few years of its creation, the forces of religious fundamentalism had gathered steam again.

Bangladesh's descent to fundamentalism is captured in rich detail by Karlekar. He provides a vivid analysis of how successive governments that followed the assassination of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in 1975 strengthened the fundamentalists and systematically undermined the secular constitution of the country. The fundamentalists who had collaborated with Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war were rehabilitated and both General Ziaur Rahman (president 1977-81) and General Hossain M Ershad (dictator 1982-90) courted the fundamentalists for political support and allowed them to entrench themselves in the system again.

But civilian governments too have allowed the fundamentalists a free rein. General elections in 2001 provided an even more favorable environment for the growth

of extremist outfits. A coalition government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and including two Islamic fundamentalist parties - the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islamic Oikya Jote (IOJ) - came to power in that election. And it is under the patronage of this government that Islamist extremist outfits have proliferated and such organizations as the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) have been able to operate with impunity.

Given the limited electoral support the fundamentalists enjoy – the Jamaat won only 18 and the IOJ only two of the 300 seats in 2001 - it does seem inconceivable that they can

ever win a majority to form a government that can Talibanize the country. But they don't have to capture power to take hold of government and run it into a second Afghanistan, the author argues. "All they need is a government that can bend to do their bidding." This they have in the BNP-led government.

The book examines Bangladesh's potential as a base for terrorists. The author points out that Bangladesh is a soft state with poor governance; its police force is ineffective and easily influenced by such outfits as the Jamaat-e-Islami and the extremist HUJI. Bangladesh's geostrategic location, too, makes it an ideal base from which terrorists could direct operations in countries as far apart as Spain and Indonesia. Besides, its porous border with India facilitates militants slipping in and out of the country.

The objective of Bangladesh's fundamentalist outfits is the destruction of the country's secular parliamentary democracy and the establishment of an Islamic state. Will they use violence to achieve their objective? On its website, the Jamaat claims that it is "devoted to peaceful and upright means of struggle". The author points out that its role in the 1971 war tells a different story. The Jamaat not only opposed the liberation war but also participated in the savage atrocities and slaughter of secular intellectuals and activists unleashed by the Pakistani troops. He draws attention to a recent report that provides the Jamaat's blueprint for capturing power. In this report the Jamaat states that if it cannot come to power through "normal means" it will do so through armed struggle.

The book details the ideology and activities of the Jamaat, the HUJI and the JMJB. It draws parallels between these outfits and the Taliban. The Jamaat says it "fully supports what Taliban did and given a chance would like to do the same in Bangladesh". The kind of Islam the JMJB espouses is quite like that of the Taliban. In Bangladesh, the JMJB has insisted on women wearing burqas and men keeping beards. It is opposed to singing and dancing and many of its attacks have targeted those who violate its diktats.

So is Bangladesh another Afghanistan? The author draws attention to important differences between the two. He compares Bangladesh with Afghanistan under Taliban rule and concludes that the former is far more developed, has an organized system of political parties, has tasted democracy and has a vocal and assertive civil society. It is a moderate Muslim country with a significant level of religious tolerance, and women play an important role in the country's political, economic, social and cultural arenas. So while the Islamization of Bangladesh is real, the country is not on the brink of being Talibanized.

An interesting issue that Karlekar draws attention to is the financing of terrorism. Besides funds from Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf monarchies, the fundamentalist outfits get money from their investments and enterprises. The author cites a lecture delivered by Abdul Barkat, professor of economics at Dhaka University, which claimed that enterprises run by fundamentalist Islamists in Bangladesh make a yearly profit of 12 billion taka (US$180 million). About 10% of this amount is spent on providing salaries and training, and it enables them to maintain about 500,000 cadres. The fundamentalist sector of the economy averaged an annual growth rate of 7.5-9 % compared with the 4.5-5% of the mainstream, national sector.

Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? is a useful addition to literature on Bangladesh, especially on issues of fundamentalism and extremism in the country. It is well argued and backed up with evidence and examples. However, the repetition of facts and excessive listing of names are likely to confuse the reader.

An important flaw of the book is that it ignores the military and the extent to which it has been infiltrated by extremist thinking. The author does explore the support extended to fundamentalists by military regimes, but he is silent on where the armed forces stand with regard to the jihadist and pro-Taliban outfits mushrooming in the country. He ignores the possibility of an army officer with a Talibanized outlook staging a coup, a prospect that might not be imminent but is not improbable.

Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? by Hiranmay Karlekar. New Delhi: Sage, January 2006. ISBN: 0-7619-3401-4. Price US$26.99, 311 pages. ____________________________________Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd.

Last Updated June 23, 2006 8:44 PM Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author

and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Prout Assembly.

The World Prout Assembly is a non-profit organization affiliated with

Proutist Universal Global Headquarte

[osint] BANGLADESH: JMJB behind Jatra attack, nabbed terrorist saysDak BanglaSat, 29 Jan 2005 23:33:27 -0800

30/01/2005

JMJB behind Jatra attack, nabbed terrorist saysOur Correspondent, Bogra

An operative of Bangla Bhai on Friday night claimed Jagrata MuslimJanata Bangladesh (JMJB) responsible for carrying out the bomb attackon a jatra show (a folk theatre form) at Laxikola village ofShahjahanpur upazila on January 14, in which two were killed and 70wounded.

Shafiullah, 26, arrested from a Jamatul Mujahidin's operative's housewith a huge amount of explosives on January 16, said in a statement toa magistrate that Osman, a member of the JMJB bomb squad, carried outthe attack along with several others.

Jamatul Mujahidin operative Joynal made the bombs along with twoothers at his house at Chakshadu village in Gabtali upzila, Shafiullahsaid in his confessional statement to Magistrate SM Ferdous Alam under

Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Shafiullah, the eighth son of Maulana Azibullah of Courtpara villageat Bandar upzila of Narayanganj, came in contact with the bannedorganisation Jamatul Mujahidin through Joynal, whom he met at anIslamic jalsa (meet) at Narayanganj a few months back.

Shafiullah was eager to go to Iraq during the 'mass-killing andtorture against Muslims' and asked Joynal to send him there, he said,adding that Joynal told him he would have to be trained before beingsent.

In the statement, Shafiullah also told the magistrate that Joynaladmitted that his group carried out the bomb attack in Loxmikulvillage. Terming the performance of jatra and drama as anti-Islamicactivities, Joynal told Shafiullah that such attacks would continue.

Shafiullah also told the magistrate that Joynal used to go to Dhakafor various organisational activities, although he could not mentionthe purposes, adding that Joynal's wife and children did not knowabout these activities.

JMJB operation commander Siddiqur Rahman, alias Bangla Bhai, said inan interview with journalists several months ago that JamatulMujahidin turned to JMJB when the government banned the organisationafter several of its operatives were injured while making bombs.

Joynal is among those named by the arrestees injured while makingbombs in Dinajpur several months ago.

Abdur Rahman, a close accomplice of Laden in Afgan war, who was alsopresent in the interview, said that he and others decided to form anorganisation in 1997 that later became Jamatul Mujahidin.

Shafullah claimed that Abdur Rahman of JMJB is his leader.

http://thedailystar.net/2005/01/30/d5013001098.htm

+ While tracing the antecedents of Bangla Bhai it was revealed that hewas a product of a madrasa or religious school. After 9/11 terroristattacks madrasas have generated intense interest among the westerners.Though the literal meaning of madrasa is a "school" it is generallyused for offering instructions on Islamic subjects including the HolyQuran, the Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence and law. Since many madrasasoffer free education, room and board to their students they appeal toimpoverished families. Most madrasas are used to educate male studentswhile a few also impart education to girls. Since madrasa educationdoes not carry much financial benefits in a labour market demandingnon-ecclesiastical skills the students graduating from madrasas areforced to become madrasa teachers or priests in mosques. Coming fromimpoverished families they are forced back into poverty in a worldracing for material advancement. +

Keeping off from extremistsKazi Anwarul Masud

Predictably Bangladesh authorities have dismissed Eliza Griswold'sreport in New York Times (January 23, 2005) raising the possibility ofBangladesh giving birth to the next Islamist revolution. Griswoldwrote about the alleged attempts by Bangla Bhai to bring aboutTalibanisation in some parts of the country bordering India throughviolent means. In Griswold's eyes Bangladesh politics have neverstrayed far from violence and thuggery has been a constant feature ofBangladesh politics and is increasingly so today. ÃTraveling throughBangladesh she concludes "The global war on terror is aimed at makingthe rise of regimes like that of the Talibans impossible, inBangladesh the trend could be going the other way".

Bangladesh authorities found the report "baseless, partial andmisleading" and reiterated the government's commitment to democracy.The dismissal of Griswold's report notwithstanding Bangladeshi mediacontinues reporting on the defiance and violence perpetrated by BanglaBhai and his cohorts of Jagrata Muslim Janata Banglaesh (JMJB) underthe nose of the governmental authorities and of the government'sinability to arrest

Bangla Bhai despite the orders of the Prime Minister that he bearrested. The press has also questioned the sincerity of thegovernment to arrest Bangla Bhai.

It is not the first time that Bangladeshi authorities have beenupbraided by domestic and foreign media and institutions for theirinability to contain the virus of religious intolerance and for itsincrease in recent days. Eliza Griswold hazards a guess that it couldbe because the government is "in any case divided on precisely thequestion on how much Islam and politics should mix". Section ofwestern and foreign press warned about the rise of Islamicfundamentalism and alleged of sanctuaries being given to transnationalIslamist elements. Zeal of the Islamic fundamentalists foundexpression in the Friday sermon of the head priest of a prominentmosque at Dhaka accusing President Bush of being a "terrorist" whileaddressing a gathering of people who had gone to the mosque to offertheir prayer, branding two judges of the High Court as enemies ofIslam because they had suo moto given a judgment declaring illegalreligious edicts passed by village priests, and declaring a prominentlawyer of the country as "murtad" because he was defending in a courtof law a case on behalf of the Ahmadiyya community who are beingpersecuted by religious zealots.

While tracing the antecedents of Bangla Bhai it was revealed that hewas a product of a madrasa or religious school. After 9/11 terroristattacks madrasas have generated intense interest among the westerners.Though the literal meaning of madrasa is a "school" it is generallyused for offering instructions on Islamic subjects including the HolyQuran, the Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence and law. Since many madrasasoffer free education, room and board to their students they appeal toimpoverished families. Most madrasas are used to educate male studentswhile a few also impart education to girls. Since madrasa educationdoes not carry much financial benefits in a labour market demandingnon-ecclesiastical skills the students graduating from madrasas areforced to become madrasa teachers or priests in mosques. Coming fromimpoverished families they are forced back into poverty in a worldracing for material advancement.

This vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation may find expression inanti-western feeling particularly in the aftermath of the decimationof Afghanistan and the illegal invasion of Iraq. Many madrasa studentsmay find it difficult to understand the venality of the Taliban regimeand of their link in the 9/11 carnage necessitating regime change inAfghanistan. To many of them Osama bin Laden is a hero. Understandablythe US Congress keeps itself informed of the madrasa education inSouth Asia. A report by the Congressional Research Service(International Terrorism in South Asia) states that among theapproximately ten thousand madrasas in Pakistan some have beenimplicated in teaching militant anti-western, anti-American andanti-Hindu values. Many of these madrasas are financed and operated byPakistani Islamist political parties and foreign entities.

Foremost US analyst on South Asia Stephen Cohen states that thelargest Islamic sects with the greatest control over religious schoolsare the Deobandis (as opposed to the Barlevis) who are among the mostmilitant in their demand for Pakistan to become truly Islamic.Incidentally Deobandi groups were in the forefront of declaringAhmadiyyas as non-Muslim in Pakistan. Cohen believes that the reactionof Parvez Musharraf's generation of army officers against Zia ul Huq'sIslamic zealotry in no way represents a rejection of the limitedstrategy of using radical Islamic groups as instruments of Pakistaniforeign policy, especially against India. This tour d'horizon ofPakistani religious extremism was necessary because terrorism,particularly religious terrorism, is almost always transnational.

During his latest visit to South Asia Ambassador Cofer Black, StateDepartment coordinator for counter terrorism spoke of Indianallegations relating to terrorist camps in Bangladesh (denied byBangladesh authorities) and of the "need to determine exactly thethreat not only to Bangladesh but also the potential utilisation ofBangladesh as a platform to project terrorism internationally". NotedIndian journalist Prem Shankar

Jha felt that the 8/21 assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina waspossible due to a combination of political expediency and ambivalenceover whether to ride the tiger of religious intolerance or to confrontit". He warned against the propagation of "an intolerant arabicisedbrand of Islam that was alien to Bangladesh's secular culture".

The emergence of religious intolerance in Bangladesh, documented byAmnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and US State Department,among others, should be seen in global context. If the Muslims are toprove historian Bernard Lewis wrong that "Islam was never prepared,either in theory or in practice, to accord full equality to those whoheld other forms of worship, and that the centuries old rivalrybetween Christianity and Islam is no less than a clash ofcivilizations -- the perhaps irrational but surely historic reactionof an ancient rival against our Judeo-Christian heritage, our secularpresent, and the world wide expansion of both", then the Islamic worldwould have to adorn itself with all the traits of modernity.

Globalization is no longer a choice; it is a reality that allcountries have to deal with. In this game the West has a decidedadvantage over the Muslim world, particularly the least developed

among them. Countries like Bangladesh will remain dependent on thedeveloped economies and international financial institutions if theyare to transform their societies into more advanced ones. This questis fraught with difficulties that should not be further compounded byinviting religious extremism, however politically expedient such amove may seem to be.

It would be prudent to remind ourselves of the remarkable observationby James Freeman Clark: the difference between a politician and astatesman is that a politician thinks of the next election and astatesman thinks of the next generation. Those persons who hold thedestiny of our nation in their hands may wish to remind themselves ofthe fact that power is transient and should be used wisely. Extremistsof the Right and totalitarians of the Leftboth are harmful forBangladesh. In these days of "cross fire" sooner people like BanglaBhai are arrested and tried in a court of law the better it will befor Bangladeshis at home and abroad.

Kazi Anwarul Masud is a former Secretary and Ambassador. http://thedailystar.net/2005/01/30/d50130020326.htm

60-hour shutdown startsamid stray clashesRickshaw puller bombed to death at MirpurSTAFF CORRESPONDENT

Sporadic clashes marked the first day of the Awami League's 60-hour,countrywide general strike on Saturday in which more than 100,including some central party leaders, were injured. An unidentified rickshaw puller was killed when assailants hurled abomb on Dar-us-Salam Road at Mirpur in the capital at about 9:30pm. Businesses were closed across the country. Motor transports stayedoff the road and almost all the private institutes did not function onthe first day of the strike, called in protest at Thursday's grenadeattack on an Awami League in Habiganj. The former finance minister, Shah AMS Kibria, also a partylawmaker, and four others were killed in the attack. The police in Dhaka beat the pickets and picked up 50 people fromthe road as they tried to hold rallies. The police shot fired on theopposition party activists in Gaibandha, some 197 kilometresnorth-west off Dhaka, on the day. The 14-party opposition alliance led by the Awami League called for the general strike from 6:00am on Saturday toMonday evening. The hartal pickets clashed with the police, damaged vehicles inDhaka. The opposition activists obstructed railway communications atdifferent places outside Dhaka during the hartal hours. The police picked up six young men in connection with the bombattack that killed the about 30-year old rickshaw-puller on the spot. The police picked up the Awami League presidium member, Begum MotiaChowdhury, and 14 other women when they were picketing at the Kakrailcrossing at about 10:30am. Motia along with some of her partyactivists got off the police vehicle. The police charged at a Bangladesh Chhatra League procession withtruncheons near the Rokeya Hall of Dhaka University at about 11:00am,in which several marchers were injured. The police picked up seven

from the place. The women activists clashed with the police on Satmasjid Road atabout 8:30am while the police charged at them with truncheons. Another procession of the Awami League youth front was stoppedtwice at Noor Hossain Square and Muktangan at about 10:30am. Severalpickets were picked up. The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal activists tried to assemble atMuktangan at the time. The police dispersed them and picked up severalactivists. The pickets damaged windowpanes of two minibuses at Russel Squarewhen a procession led by Awami League lawmakers was passing at about11:15am. The pickets also damaged several other minibuses at ShaplaSquare at Motijheel and the Paltan crossing. The police assaulted some lawmakers by obstructing their processionnear the Kalabagan bus stand. Similar clashes also took place atplaces such as Chawkbazar, Motijheel and Pallabi. The Awami League claimed that more than 50 of their activists wereinjured in clashes. Educational institutions, shops, businesses, private offices, banksand financial institutions remained closed at different city places.Attendance in government offices was very thin. Most vehicles, except for rickshaws, some buses and three-wheelers,were off the road. The pickets obstructed inter-city trains on theChittagongâSylhet, DhakaâBahadurabad and KhulnaâSaidpur routes. Jalalabad Express remained stranded at Noapara on theDhaka-Chittagong route at 8:25am. Uttarbanga Express was halted atIslampur Bazar in Jamalpur at about 8:30am. Simanta Express on theKhulna-Saidpur route was detained by the pickets in Saidpur at 8:40am.Another local train was stranded at Bonarpara in Gaibandha. The Bandarban district Awami League at a meeting decided to relaxthe strike in the district in Sunday and Monday in view of thedifficulties faced by the tourists. The New Age correspondent in Chittagong reported a peacefulobservance of the strike in the city and on its outskirts. The police rounded up 157 leaders and activists of the Awami Leaguein the city Friday night. The pickets damaged a pick-up van at Baharddarhat and vandalisedsome auto-rickshaws and rickshaws at New Market in the morning. The hartal supporters stopped a Bahaddarhat-bound bus from Agrabadat Chaumuhuni and set it on fire, after dropping all the passengers,at about 7:15pm. The correspondent in Moulvibazar reported no major incident in thedistrict. The police arrested 10 pickets during hartal hours inHabiganj. The Dhaka-bound Jayantika Express from Sylhet was stopped atBhanugachh railway station, the Dhaka-bound Paharika at Srimangal andthe Sylhet-bound Jalalabad at Noyapara station. The Jessore correspondent said at least four people were injured inclashes between the BNP and the Awami League activists in the town. Atruck and eight motorcycles were damaged. The police picked up four. The Awami League and its allies held twoseparate rallies at Daratana square and the Manihar Cinema. The Mymensingh correspondent said the pickets damaged at leasteight tempos on CK Ghosh Road and stopped a local train for half anhour at Bidyaganj railway station. The police picked up at least 20. They also seized four PA systemsfrom an Awami League rally at Railway Krishnachura square, the party

leaders claimed. The Narsingdi correspondent said pickets vandalised severalgovernment offices. The correspondent in Chapainawabganj reported similar damage ofsome motor vehicles and arrest of two pickets at Haripur. The strike was peaceful in Gopalganj, Jamalpur, Bagerhat, Rajshahiand Jhenaidah, said district correspondents of New Age. The Khulna correspondent reported the pickets damaged twoauto-rickshaws and a rickshaw. They also burnt a rickshaw at the PTIcrossing during a clash with the police. The Bangladesh Rural Development Board office at Tala in Satkhirawas vandalised by the pickets. The police arrested two Awami Leagueactivists. The correspondent in Barisal reported an almost peaceful observanceof the strike on the first day. There were some stray incidents inwhich 10 were injured. The police picked up two Chhatra League activists and a formerunion council chairman, Humayun Kabir, also an Awami League leader, atKalijira, but the pickets snatched them from the police in themorning. The pro-hartal activists clashed with the anti-hartal groups of theJatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the Juba Dal in the morning.

http://newagebd.com/front.html#1

60-hour HartalOver 100 hurt in clashes, cop beatings on day oneStaff Correspondent

A sitting and two former AL lawmakers along with more than a hundredothers were wounded as the opposition activists fought pitched battleswith the police at different places across the country yesterday, thefirst day of the 60-hour hartal.

The shutdown that started at 6:00am yesterday virtually crippled lifeand economic activities disrupting road and rail communication anddomestic flights.

The major opposition Awami League (AL) and its left-leaning alliesenforced the hartal in protest at the killings of former financeminister Shah AMS Kibria and four others in a grenade attack on an ALrally in Habiganj on Thursday.

The police picked up around 100 people from different parts of thecountry, 44 of them from the capital where the law-enforcers were inan aggressive mood. They clubbed the opposition leaders and activistsat several places.

In Dhaka, former state minister and Acting General Secretary of the ALObaidul Kader and the party's former lawmaker Haji Selim were injuredin the police action. The police beat them up during thedemonstrations.

In Hatia, Awami League lawmaker Mohammad Ali, Upazila Nirbahi OfficerImam Uddin Kabir and 50 others were injured in a series of clashesbetween the AL and BNP activists in the island in Noakhali district.

In Gaibandha, the police fired blank shots and lobbed teargas shellsinjuring 15 people when the protestors barricaded two trains atBonapara Railway Station.

Four express trains-- Jalalabad, Parabat, Jayontika and Paharika --got stranded at different stations until 5:00pm as a portion of railtracks in Rashidpur-Shatgaon section was uprooted, our Brahmanbariacorrespondent says quoting railway sources.

Long-route vehicles did not operate across the country.

Flights from Barisal Airport were not operated.

Of a few city service buses in operation in Dhaka and Chittagong, onewas set ablaze by unruly people in Agrabad in the port city. Theyforced the passengers to get down before setting the bus on fire inthe evening.

The protestors set fire to another bus at Mirpur section-10 anddamaged more than a dozen buses in Paltan and Motijheel areas in thecapital. A CNG autorickshaw of Channel-i also came under attack atArambagh.

All the educational institutions and most of the business and otherestablishments remained closed. No trading took place in the Dhaka andChittagong stock exchanges while transactions in banks were very thin.

DHAKA

The police chased and charged batons on the opposition leaders andactivists in Dhaka University, Paltan, Motijheel, Muktangan and BaitulMokarram areas. The hartal supporters clashed with the police atChawkbazar.

The police cordoned off the AL headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenueputting barbed wire fences in the morning and did not allow theopposition activists to bring out processions or stage demonstrationsin the area.

At least six AL leaders and activists including former MP ObaidulKader were injured when the police started dragging them from aprocession as it reached near Chamber Bhaban in Motijheel at about11:30am.

As Kader and some other leaders tried to snatch an activist from thepolicemen, the law-enforcers swooped on them. The police startedbeating and kicking the AL leaders and activists including the formerminister.

Witnesses said Kader fell to the ground when the police assaulted him.Later, he was taken to a private clinic. The police picked up at least12 AL supporters from the spot.

At that time AL lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor shouted at the police: "Ifyou do not let us protest the killing of our leader, please shoot us."

Paltan and surrounding areas turned into a battlefield at about

10:30am when the law-enforcers went on action to disperse theopposition activists. They charged batons on a Jubo Mahila Leagueprocession at about 11:45am.

At this stage the agitating female protestors pelted stones at therunning vehicles and on the police. Several policemen swooped onSramik League activist Shima Chowdhury who fell to the ground andsustained head injury.

In protest against the police action, the hartal supporters led byAsaduzzaman Noor staged a sit-in at Paltan blocking the road.

The police clubbed a procession of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL),student wing of the AL, in front of Rokeya Hall of Dhaka University(DU) leaving at least 10 BCL leaders and activists injured at about11:30am.

Two of the wounded BCL activists collapsed on the road receivingserious head injuries. Five of them were admitted to Dhaka MedicalCollege and Hospital (DMCH).

Six BCL leaders including central Vice-president Ashit Baran Biswaswere arrested during the demonstration.

Five other BCL activists were injured when the police charged batonson another procession near the Teachers-Students Centre on the DUcampus at about 7:45pm.

The police beat former AL lawmaker Haji Selim mercilessly near theDhaka Central Jail gate when he was leading a procession at about11:30am. As the law-enforcers clubbed Selim and others, the protestorspelted brickbats at them.

Haji Selim was rushed to the DMCH and later shifted to a privateclinic from where he was released after treatment.

Earlier, the police also charged batons on a procession led by HajiSelim near Chawkbazar soon after he came out of his Lalbagh housedefying police obstruction. From the early morning, a good number ofpolice cordoned off his house.

OTHER PLACES

Some 50 people including AL lawmaker Mohammad Ali and Upazila NirbahiOfficer of Hatia Imam Uddin Kabir were wounded when the AL activistsclashed with the ruling BNP men in the island throughout the day.

The lawmaker and the UNO sustained head injuries while 30 others wereinjured critically during the series of clashes. The warring groupsused sticks to beat their opponents. They pelted stones at each other.

Police and witnesses said the clashes ensued when the BNP activistsbrought out processions in the town amid demonstrations by theopposition activists in protest against the killing of Shah AMSKibria.

The BNP activists ransacked houses of seven AL activists and local

Proshika office while AL supporters attacked the house of a localchairman.

The authorities sent one platoon of additional police from Noakhali toHatia to bring the situation under control.

In Chittagong, some unidentified youths set ablaze a city servicepassenger bus near the Fire Brigade headquarters at Agrabad at around7.00pm. Firefighters rushed to the spot immediately and doused theblaze. None was hurt in the incident.

The police rounded up 157 people Friday night and arrested four hartalsupporters in the city during yesterday's hartal, our staffcorrespondent reports from the port city.

The Sylhet-bound Jalalabad Express, which left Chittagong RailwayStation the previous night, was stranded for a few hours at Nawaparastation yesterday morning.

Railway sources in Chittagong said Sylhet-bound train Upaban Expressfrom Dhaka faced similar obstruction at Srimangal station inMoulvibazar.

In Khulna city, the opposition activists damaged three trucks, twoautorickshaws, a bus of Parjatan Corporation and eleven rickshaws, ourcorrespondent reports.

Eight people including four AL leaders, two passersby and two BNPworkers were injured in a clash between the AL and BNP activists atPatgram in the early hours yesterday, reports our Lalmonirhatcorrespondent.

Our Barisal correspondent reports: At least seven opposition activistsincluding Swechchhasebak League leader Azizur Rahman Shahin werearrested and eight others injured in sporadic clashes in Barisalyesterday.

Pro-hartal advocates boycotted the courts while Dhaka-Barisal flightswere suspended.

In Satkhira, at least six people were injured in a clash betweenpickets and anti-hartal activists in the town, our Satkhiracorrespondent says.

Our Mymensingh correspondent reports: The police arrested 20opposition activists during the hartal.

Our correspondents from Rajshahi, Comilla, Bhola, Gopalganj andBandarban report that all the vehicles except rickshaws remained offthe roads during the hartal.

http://thedailystar.net/2005/01/30/d5013001022.htm

Sporadic clashes mark hartalBy Staff Reporter

The first day of 3-day hartal was marked by sporadic violence in which

at least 150 people were injured and an unspecified number picked upor arrested in Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country till eveningyesterday.

Fourteen opposition parties led by Awami League enforced the hartalfrom 6:00am yesterday in protest against the killing of former financeminister SAMS Kibria, MP, and four others on Thursday's grenade attackin the north- eastern town of Habiganj.

Pickets and police clashed at Gulistan Motijheel, Paltan, DhakaUniversity campus, Russel Square of the city. Awami League leadersObaidul Quader and Haji Selim were among the injured.

Railway sources said that several inter-city express trains wereobstructed at several places across the country yesterday. Railwaytracks were also uprooted at Rashidpur-Satgaon on Akhaura-Sylhet routeat about 1:20pm and distrupted train movement for several hours. Thetrain service was restored after 5:00pm.

Pro-hartal activists obstructed inter-city express trains inChittagong-Sylhet, Dhaka-Bahadurabad and Khulna-Syedpur routes.

Jalalabad Express Train was stranded at Noapara on Dhaka-Chittagongroute at 8:25am. Uttarbanga Express was halted at Islampur Bazar inJamalpur at about 8:30am, while Simanta Express on Khulna-Syedpurroute was detained by mobs at the outer signal of Syedpur RailwayStation at 8:40am. Another local train was held up at Bonarpara.

In Dhaka city, shops and business establishments on the main roadsremained closed. BRTC double deckers, some private buses, CNGthree-wheelers and some taxicabs were found plying different cityroutes. Movement of rickshaw remained normal.

Attendance in government offices and private establishments was thin.Education institutions remained closed. Buses did not ply oninter-district routes.

The pro-hartal activists took out group-processions in Kakrail,Paltan, Motijheel, Gulistan, Dhanmondi and Mirpur areas demandingresignation of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government for failing toarrest the perpetrators of the series of grenade attacks on theopposition leaders.

In Kakrail, Awami League Presidium member Motiya Chowdhury courtedarrest and boarded police van as police picked up a dozen of womenactivists at about 10:30am, while they were staging pickets fromShantinagar to Kakrail. They were released after an hour.

Police dispersed two processions of Communist Party of Bangladesh andJatiya Samajtantrik Dal at Paltan Crossing in the morning and arrestedfive activists from the area.

A procession led by Asaduzzaman Noor, MP was proceeding towardsMotijheel from Paltan Crossing when a minibus was damaged in front ofBaitul Mukkaram Mosque at about 11:00am. Police charged batons todisperse the marchers. They also picked up two persons from there.Later, the procession moved toward the DCCI Bhaban when Awami League

leader Obaidul Kader and other party leaders and workers were beatenup by police, witnesses said. Kader was rushed to a city clinic fortreatment.

Police charged batons on a procession of Bangladesh Chhatra Leaguenear Rokeya Hall at about 11:00am, leaving several protestors,including BCL leaders Ashit Baran Biswas, Suchana Howlader and Munniwounded. Seven BCL activists were also picked up from the scene.

Police charged at a procession of women workers of Awami league inJhigatala area at about 9:00 am as the angry workers attacked a policevan.

Riot police also chased and charged batons on brick-throwing picketsat Jhigatala at about 8:45am, witnesses said.

A procession led by former MP Haji Selim came under police action atnoon near at Chankhar Pool leaving Haji Selim and several othersinjured.

In Narayanganj, hartal was observed peacefully. The town AL organiseda rally at its office and demanded exemplary punishment to theculprits.

In Chittagong, pickets set ablaze a bus at Chowmuhini and anautorickshaw at Kadamtali in the morning after some motor vehiclesappeared on the street.

In Rangpur, the hartal passed off peacefully. Government officesfunctioned normally while presence in educational institutions wasvery thin and the financial institutions were open with limitedtransactions.

In Gaibandha, at least 16 pro-hartal pickets, including a ChhatraLeague leader were injured during a clash that erupted when thehartal-supporters halted Lalmoni Express and Padmarag Express in themorning. The opposition activists also barricaded a local train on theBonarpara-Shantahar route for two and half an hour during the hartal.

Our Sylhet Correspondent Reports: Hartal was observed peacefully inthe city. All kind of traffic movement in Sylhet remained suspended.

Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran led amotor-cycle procession chanting slogans in favour of the hartal.Police arrested six Chhatra League activists and seized a motor-cyclefrom the procession.

AL leaders in the rally strongly condemned the heinous attack in whichKibria and four others were killed.

Our Khulna Office adds: The hartal in Khulna was marked by sporadicviolence yesterday. Separate processions were organised by AL, ChhatraLeague, Juba League and Chhatra Union. A public rally was held at theCity AL office in the afternoon protesting against the Habiganjattack. A gayabana janaja was held after the rally for Kibria and fourothers.

Our Barisal Correspondent adds: Partial hartal was observed amidclashes, chase and counter chase, ransacking of vehicles and injury to11 picketers in Barisal

Tempos were ransacked and arrested pro-hartal picketers were snatchedfrom police in the city and outskirts.

S M Masud and Maksud Hossain, two BCL activists and Humayun Kabir,ex-UP chairman and AL leader were arrested.

But pro-hartal activists snatched them.

Long distance buses and plane services failed to operate. Postoffices, banks and financial institutions operated under close-door.

But river transports, rickshaws, inner city and short distance roadtransports operated normally during the hartal period.

Our Noakhali Corresponded reports: Hartal was observed in the districtalmost peacefully. Some ten pro-hartal activists were injured in aclash with Police and BNP activists.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_15810.shtml

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[osint] BANGLADESH: JMJB behind Jatra attack, nabbed terrorist says Dak Bangla

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Terrorist Organization Profile:

Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladeshprint view

Mothertongue Name: n/a

Aliases: Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh, Jama'atul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB)

Bases of Operation: Bangladesh

Date Formed: 1998

Strength: Unknown number of members

Classifications: Religious

Financial Sources: JMJB receives funding from a variety of sources. The organization collects membership dues and receives donations from private citizens.

Founding Philosophy: Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh) or JMJB is a radical Islamic vigilante organization mostly active in the north-western section of Bangladesh around the Rajshahi region.

[osint] BANGLAD 55a346ec050129

Dak Bangla

JMJB was founded in 1998 with aspirations of creating an Islamic state based on Sharia (Islamic Law) by way of an Islamic revolution. It claims it has "no links to any foreign organization," however, its ideals are similar to the radical Islamic organization al-Qaeda and many of its members were former Mujahideen who fought alongside Osama Bin Laden (al-Qaeda leader) in Afghanistan.

Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) is a well structured organization. It has divided Bangladesh into nine organizational divisions with a divisional office in each. The highest decision -- making body is the seven-member Majlish-e-Shura (Islamic law council). The top-ranking officials are Maulana Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam, more recently known by his nom de guerre Bangla Bhai. Maulana Abdur Rahman is the Amir "chief" and spiritual leader. The more notorious Bangla Bhai is the commander of the anti-Sarbahara (leftist outlaws) campaign and member of the Majlish-e-Shura.

Membership is divided in to three categories: Ehsar-fulltime activists who act on the directives of higher echelons, Gayeri Ehsar-comprised of part-time activists, and a third tier which involves people from all sections who indirectly cooperate with JMJB. The group claims to have a total of 300,000 members worldwide including 10,000 Ehsars (fulltime activists) in the region.

This organization came into the public eye on April 1, 2004 with the murder of an alleged member of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP). The PBCP is a left-wing extremist group in direct opposition to the JMJB agenda to "Talibanize" Bangladesh. The JMJB opposes democracy and the prevailing political system in Bangladesh, which it considers sacrilegious. It is currently targeting political opponents primarily from the Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) and the group has stated that they will continue until Bangladesh has been "swept clean" of all left-wing extremists.

Current Goals: JMJB activities had originally been confined to smaller vigilante operations. More recently, JMJB has expanded its tactics to include large-scale bombings in tandem with the group Jama'atul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB). Most notably, on August 17, 2005, JMJB/JMB terrorists set-off over 400 explosives nation-wide. The primary aim of these bombings was to spread terror and panic as most of the explosives were non-lethal. Although the bombings were eventually claimed by JMB, many officials believe JMB to be a military front for JMJB, while others consider the two groups to simply be aliases for each other. In any case, attacks committed by either JMB or JMJB are often attributed to both organizations.

Poverty and disillusionment is increasing the popularity of the radical extremist groups in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi youth are turning to these terrorist organizations in hope for dramatic changes in their government. JMJB continues to acquire new members and support worldwide and will attempt to carry out its final objective. As such, the group can be considered a highly active security threat to the region.

Key Leaders

Islam, Siddiqul Rahman, Maulana Abdur

Related Groups

Jamatul Mujahedin Bangladesh -- Ally Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) -- Enemy

U.S. Government Designations

Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO): No

Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL): No

Learn more about these U.S. Department of State classifications:

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)

Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL)

Other Governments' Designations

UK Proscribed Group: No

Australia Specified Group: No

Canada Specified Group: No

EU Specified Group: No

Russia Specified Group: No

Return to search

These data were collected for the Terrorism Knowledge Base® (TKB®), managed by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) until March 2008. START has neither reviewed nor verified these data, but is presenting

this information as a service to the homeland security community.

Original TKB® data current as of March 1, 2008.

Terrorist incident data is available in START's Global Terrorism Database.

Address comments or inquiries to gtd@start.umd.edu.

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Copyright © 2007 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to TerrorismUniversity of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA 301.405.6600infostart@start.umd.edu

http://www.start.umd.edu/start/Page Generated: April 06, 2010

   

Inside the Militant Groups-7Profiles show them interlinkedAbdur Rahman spawned allZayadul Ahsan

The confessions of the recent arrestees, intelligence reports and information gathered so far indicate most of the recent attacks on NGOs and cultural programmes and bomb blasts in the country, including that of August 17, were carried out under the leadership of Abdur Rahman.

 

The Daily Star investigation reveals that most militant organisations across the country are somehow woven in the same string, which points finger at Rahman.

The Daily Star has compiled brief profiles of Rahman and the seven militant organisations that have been running anti-state activities over the last decade.

PROFILE OF SHAIKH ABDUR RAHMANShaikh Abdur Rahman of Chorshi village in Jamalpur district is the mastermind of the August 17 series bomb blasts across the country. His father Abdullah Ibn Fazal was a notorious collaborator of the Pakistani army during the Liberation War. As a student Abdur Rahman joined the Islamic Chhatra Shangha (present Islami Chhatra Shibir), the student front of Jamaat-e-Islam, Bangladesh (JIB).

Rahman graduted from an Ahle Hadith madrasa in Jamalpur and later, as a son of a leading JIB leader, was sent to Saudi Arabia at party expenses for higher education at Madina University. On completion of his studies there, Abdur Rahman returned home and tried different trades and jobs. But his main portfolio was to work as an interpreter and translator. He has reportedly travelled India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among other countries.

In course of his job as a translator Abdur Rahman came in close contact with many diplomatic representatives from Middle Eastern countries. He went to Afghanistan to be inducted into jihadi movement. Completing the training, he returned to Bangladesh and formed the terrorist cell, Jama'atul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB).

Although JMB was formed in Jamalpur, it runs its terrorist activities in the North Bengal region. Rahman's relatives in Dinajpur and Rajshahi districts helped him expand his organisational activities in these districts.

In early 2002, the first conference of the JMB commanders was held at Khetlal in Joypurhat. At that time, local police arrested 17 terrorists, including Rahman's younger brother Ataur Rahman, in connection with terrorist activities. Following this incident the JMB commanders went underground and extended their terrorist activities around the country. After an accidental blast in Dinajpur, Abdur Rahman built his permanent headquarters in Rajshahi town and formed the so-called Bangla Bahini, with its leader Siddik

Ullah as his key associate.

Abdur Rahman also gave a public speech at a gathering at a local school ground. He also published a manifesto of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) as the public front of JMB.

Abdur Rahman is reported to have worked at the Saudi embassy in Dhaka between 1985 and 1990.

In an interview with The Daily Star on May 12, 2004, Rahman said, "We are called part of al-Qaeda, Taliban or Islamist militant organisation. But we are not like that. We would like to serve people in line with Hilful Fuzul [a social organisation founded by Prophet Mohammad (SM) to serve the destitute]."

He says his organisation is against the use of force. Nor does it want to go to power as a political party through elections. "If people of Bangladesh give us the responsibility of running the nation, we will accept it."

Profiles of 7 Islamist outfits

JAMA'ATUL MUJAHIDEEN BANGLADESH (JMB)Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was launched in 1998. Activists of the militant organisation believe in capturing power through armed revolution and running the country by establishing Islamic rule by a Majlish-e-Shura.

One of the objectives of the organisation is to rid Muslims of the influence of "anti-Islam forces" and practices that brought women out of their houses. The JMB activists carry out bomb blasts at cinemas, jatra functions, fairs, meetings and rallies.

Leaders: Shaikh Abdur Rahman is the "spritual" leader of the organisation while Ahab chief and Rajshahi University teacher Dr Asadulla Al Galib is also one of its policy makers. Moulana Akram-uzzaman, Abdur Rouf, Moulana Shahidul Islam, Moulana Mahadi, Shaikh Moulana Noman, Moulana Manjur Ahmed are other JMB front liners. Most of these leaders were trained in Afghanistan.

Funds and activities: Ahab followers and the teachers and students of Kwami madrasas collect tolls regularly for running the organisation. Besides, they get fund from local patrons and donors in Middle Eastern countries. They procure arms and explosives

from international rackets.

During interrogation at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), several arrested JMB men told police that the Ahab operatives and Kwami madrasa students are carrying out militant activities across the country.

The JMB leaders and activists energise their followers for jihad with motivational speeches, statements, leaflets and graffiti across the country.

After a bomb blast at a mess house in Dinajpur town on February 13, 2003, police arrested three JMB men with plastic explosives, three shutter guns and one revolver along with JMB publications.

Police arrested eight JMB members with 25 petrol bombs and documents on guerrilla warfare in Parbatipur upazila in Dinajpur on May 20, 2003.

When police went to Maheshpur village in Joypurhat on information that JMB activists were receiving training there on the night of August 14, 2003, the JMB men opened fire on the law enforcers and snatched away three shotguns, bullets and a wireless set.

So far 64 men arrested in the last two years admitted that they are JMB activists.

The statements of them and the seized arms and documents prove that some JMB members took arms training abroad and some of them are experts in bomb making.

Saying that the JMB propaganda and criminal activities have tarnished Bangladesh's image and characterised it as a fundamentalist state, the intelligence agencies suggested in 2003 a ban on JMB activities. The government finally banned the JMB on February 23 this year.

JAGRATA MUSLIM JANATA BANGLADESH (JMJB)

Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), an Islamist vigilante outfit that espouses Taliban ideals, was formed in 1998. It first came to limelight on April 1, 2004 when it made attempts to unlawfully free the country's northwestern region from the Maoist

outlaws.

While a section of the Bangladeshi media has indicated that the JMJB is an outgrowth of the Islamist militant outfit JMB, reports are there that it is a youth front of the militant group Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami known as Huji.

Objectives and ideology: The JMJB follows the ideals of the Taliban militia and propagates a movement based on jihad. Its chief Abdur Rahman says, "Our model involves many leaders and scholars of Islam. But we will take as much ideology from the Talibans as we need."

The JMJB leaders have often publicly stated that they do not subscribe to the existing political system of Bangladesh and that the JMJB will "build a society based on the Islamic model laid out in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith."

JMJB's agenda is the neutralisation of the left-wing extremists, especially the Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) cadres.

Leadership and organisation: Moulana Abdur Rahman is the self-styled ameer (chief) of JMJB while Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai alias Azizur Rahman alias Omar Ali Litu is the operations commander.

Bangla Bhai claims the outfit has 300,000 activists and about 10,000 full-time activists across the country and spends up to Tk 7 lakh on them a month.

The highest decision-making body of the JMJB is a seven-member Majlish-e-Shura (central council). Apart from Rahman and Bangla Bhai, the council includes Ashiqur Rahman, Hafez Mahmud, Tarek Moni and Khaled as its members.

Bangla Bhai who hails from Bogra said when he was a college student, he joined the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He claimed he quit the ICS in 1995.

The JMJB is a three-tier organisation -- the first tier consists of activists, called Ehsar, recruited on a full-time basis and act at the behest of the higher echelons. The second tier, Gayeri Ehsar, has over 100,000 part-time activists. The third tier involves those who indirectly co-operate with the outfit.

The whole country has been divided into nine organisational divisions. Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Chittagong have one organisational divisional office each, while Dhaka has two divisional offices and Rajshahi three.

Areas of activity: The JMJB is reported to have created strong bases mostly in northwestern districts of Rajshahi, Naogaon, Joypur-hat, Natore, Rangpur, Bogra and the southern districts of Bagerhat, Jessore, Satkhira, Chittagong and Khulna. But it has network in 57 districts mainly spreading to mad-rasas and educational institutions.

The outfit has also established at least 10 camps at Atrai and Raninagar in Naogaon, Bagmara in Rajshahi, and Naldanga and Singra in Natore.

There are reports that the JMJB recruits are being trained through recorded speeches of Osama bin Laden and video footages of warfare training at the al-Qaeda's Farooque Camp (now defunct) in Afghanistan.

Although some JMJB leaders have reportedly stated that the outfit's headquarter is in Dhaka they declined to give any specific location.

Linkages: JMJB's international linkages could not be known much, but Moulana Rahman in an interview on May 13 last year said, "We don't have links with any foreign organisation." He claimed not to have direct links with the Taliban either.

Reports indicate that the JMJB is supported and patronised by a section of leaders and activists of the ruling BNP. Deputy Minister for Land Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu has allegedly patronised the outfit.

Moulana Rahman allegedly secured help from Saudi charities to build mosques and seminaries across the country.

Activities: The JMJB activists are reported to have carried out over 100 operations, including murders and attacks on people they believe to be criminals, in different regions.

Its cadres reportedly force local youths to keep beards, wear clothes up to the ankle, and the women to wear veils. They also forced to stop playing music at hotels and restaurants in the northwestern

region.

The government banned the JMJB on February 23 this year.

HARKATUL JIHADThe Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji), established reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden, came to focus in 1992.

Abdur Rahman Faruqi was leading the Bangladesh chapter of Huji, but he died while removing mine in Afghanistan in 1989. Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid now leads Huji with Imtiaz Quddus as its general secretary.

Objectives & ideology: The Huji, inspired by bin Laden and the erstwhile Taliban regime of Afghanistan, aims at launching a jihad to unite the Muslim world and establish Islamic Hukumat (rule) in Bangla-desh, freeing it from the aggression and influence of the West and East.

Areas of activity: The southeastern coastal belt stretching from Chittagong through Cox's Bazar to the Myanmar border is the prime area of activity of the Huji.

The organisation reportedly maintained six camps in the hilly areas of Chittagong, giving arms and explosive training to its cadres. According to unconfirmed reports, there are six more Huji training camps near Cox's Bazar.

The Chittagong-Cox's Bazar coastal belt is infamous for piracy, smuggling and gunrunning and the Huji operatives may have links with these activities, many believe.

Its cadres allegedly infiltrate frequently into the bordering eastern region of India to maintain contacts with terrorist outfits of the region.

It could not be known where the headquarters or other offices of the Huji Bangladesh chapter are.

Strategy and cadres: The Huji has two sections. The activists of jihad section are those who train up Huji activists to prepare them for the jihad and assist Muslims fighting anywhere in the world.

The dawat and irshad sections publish and distribute books, booklets and leaflets, organise seminars and conferences to

motivate people.

It has around 15,000 members in Bangladesh, including local residents and foreigners. Rohingya refugees from Mynamar residing in different camps in Cox's Bazar constitute a significant portion of the Huji cadres.

The organisation also recruits cadres from students of various madrasas, most of which are financed by Arab charities.

Linkages: A large number of volunteers went to Afghanistan in the 1980s to assist the Mujahideen fighting against the Soviet army. After returning home, the Bangladeshi Mujahideen tried to launch a fundamentalist movement in the country and most of them later joined Huji.

Mufti Abdul Hannan, the prime accused in the plot to assassinate former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on July 20, 2000, was reportedly trained in Peshawar, Pakistani, and sent to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet army. After the recovery of a diary of Hannan's brother, the Huji is believed to have links with Pakistan also.

Finance: There are reports that Huji receives financial assistance from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan through several Islamist NGOs operating in Bangladesh, including Adarsha Kutir, Al Faruk Islamic Foundation, and Hataddin.

Activities: On February 19, 1996, army and police arrested 41 Huji men receiving arms training at a Cox's Bazar camp.

Three Huji activists attempted to kill eminent poet Shamsur Rahman on January 18, 1999 but failed. The law-enforcers also found Huji's involvement in a number of incidents, including the killing of journalist Shamsur Rahman on July 16, 2000, in Jessore. Police interrogations of the arrested Huji cadres revealed that Huji had planned to kill 28 prominent intellectuals.

Huji has been accused of plotting twice to assassinate Sheikh Hasina in the year 2000. Law-enforcers recovered a 76-kg bomb from Kotalipara in Gopalganj where Hasina was scheduled to visit on July 20, 2000.

Key suspect in the plot Mufti Hannan allegedly manufactured the explosives at his soap factory Sonar Bangla Chemical Industries

Ltd in Gopalganj.

Saying that Huji, presently working secretly, may emerge any moment, intelligence agencies advised the government two years ago to ban it.

SHAHADAT AL HIQMAShahadat Al Hiqma was launched on December 29, 1996, but it started activities openly in early 2001 under the banner of an NGO. In the Al Hiqma publications, Bangladesh's Liberation War has been termed a "terrorist activity."

Setting up their "NGO office" beside Kashiabhanga bypass in Rajshahi, the Al Hiqma men first allured the educated unemployed youths to join the organisation, promising them jobs.

Strategy: Hiqma believes "firearms are the only way to eradicate injustice." Its arrested leader Shamim Uddin admitted that they had mentioned in their leaflets about the formation of a special branch named "intelligence fighters".

Extremist connections: The names of five Islamist groups--Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Towhidi Janata, Iqra Islami Jote, Juma'atul al Sadat and Biswa Islami Front, all involved in extremist activities --have been found in the Al Hiqma leaflets.

These organisations have spread their network mainly in the northern region and Comilla and Jamalpur districts, maintaining contact among themselves through different NGOs and voluntary organisations for training and fund.

Al Hiqma has alleged contracts with Kashmir-based Islamist extremist group Laskar-e-Taiyaba and Nepal-based Maoist organisations for arms training and sharing of strategies, admitted several arrested Hiqma members, including Shamim.

He also said Dubai-based Indian godfather Daud Ibrahim provides him with funds.

Activities: Financed by JMB and Towhidi Janata, Al Hiqma launched "Hiqma Jihad" activities in Rajshahi in 1998 under the banner of Biswa Islamic Front.

Self-styled Chairman of Al Hiqma Syed Kawser Hossain Siddiqi at a press conference on February 8, 2003 in Rajshahi announced that

some cabinet members were with him. He numbered his activists to be about 36,000.

Although the government banned Al Hiqma the next day, they are still continuing their activities in the northern region.

After being arrested three times, Kawser is now in jail.

HIZBUT TOWHID (HT)Mohammad Bayezid Khan Ponni alias Selim Ponni of Karotia, Tangail founded Hizbut Towhid (HT) in 1994. Ponni's followers call him "Imam", placing him just behind the prophets.

Office and network: Ponni's house (No 4 on road-18) in Uttara Sector-7 in Dhaka has been used as HT head office. Besides, one Selim Clinic on the ground floor of a four-storeyed building on New Iskatan Road is also used as its office.

Barisal, Feni, Kushtia, Madari-pur, Tangail, Gazipur, Meherpur, Jhenidah, Noakhali, Khulna, Chittagong and Narshingdi are the areas of HT activities.

Activities: The HT chief, who left the country after the independence and returned in the '80s, published a book titled "This Islam is not at all Islam" in March 1996, which the government banned on May 10, 1998. Ponni challenged the ban but the matter is yet to be resolved.

He also published some booklets and leaflets on HT ideologies and objectives. His followers do not believe in traditional government system.

The HT activists use iron hammer and gul (tobacco dust) when they attack. They used a hammer to kill one Abdul Malek in Pagla Bazar in Fatulla, Narayangaj on September 26, 2003 when local devotees protested the HT activities.

HT followers term ajan "barking of dog" and do not say their prayers at mosques. They never exchange salam (Islamic greetings).

Mahbub Ali, Kushtia district HT ameer, has been working along with 40/50 activists. Sohrab Hossain Khan of Sakukuthi village in Gouranadi upazila of Barisal, an absconding accused of a murder

case, has also been leading HT activities from hideouts.

HIZB-UT TAHRIRIslamic thinker Tokiuddin Al Nakhani formed Hizb-ut Tahrir in 1953 in Jerusalem five years after Israel captured Palestine. Golam Mowla, a lecturer of management at Dhaka University, went to London in 1993 to do his PhD and got introduced with Nasimul Gani and Kawsar Shahnewaj, who were holding an open discussion at London Regent Park. After returning to Bangladesh by 2000, Nasimul and Shahnewaj set up an office for the organisation's Bangladesh chapter at a BBA coaching centre at Dhanmondi-6/A and launched Tahrir works with Golam Mowla.

Objective: Opposing the traditional way of politics, Tahrir men advocated for establishing Islamic lifestyle by changing the society. The organisation has designed a series of seminar and symposium to propagandise its ideology as they think to bring change in human thoughts first. They chose strategy to work as prophets to establish a khilafat (Islamic rule). Noting that Islamic state cannot be established for absence of unity among Muslims, they aimed at uniting Muslims and began distributing leaflets on their ideology among people.

Hizb-ut Tahrir, Bangladesh office is situated on the third floor of Khairunnesa Bhaban on Elephant Road. The organisation has no committee or constitution. But Mohiuddin Ahmad, senior lecturer of DU IBA Department, is serving as its co-ordinator.

With Dr Sayeed working as joint co-ordinator, DR Syed Golam Mowla, Sheikh Towfik of DU Public Administration, Kazi Morshedul Haque, Doctor Nasimul Gani and Kawser Shahnewaj are working with the organisation.

Activities: The organisation is running activities at different universities, especially private ones, and medical colleges openly and secretly. Members of the organisation hold weekly discussions at 7:30pm every Thursday at the Khairunnesa Bhaban. The members of Chittagong Tahrir hold discussions at Southern Province School on the third floor of Lim Tower in Chittagong every Friday afternoon.

Intelligence men fear that Tahrir may turn into an extremist organisation any moment for change in the leadership. They suggested close monitoring of the organisation.

ISLAMI BIPLOBI PARISHAD (IBP)Moulana Abdul Jabbar, a former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, formed IBP on June 29, 2001, after splitting from Jamaat in the early '80s. First, he formed a faction and named it Jamaat-e-Islami (Jabbar). Following clash with Jamaat, he renamed it Islami Samaj Bangladesh and continued until forming the IBP.

Principle & Objective: Terming people's sovereignty, rule and authority the most blasphemous act, the IBP identified it as an "unpardonable sin" and announced to establish an Islamic state.

Jabbar first took an office at Goran but shifted later to 4, South Basabo (Ohab Colony) in Dhaka. It has no other office in the country.

Leadership: Abdul Jabbar is the IBP ameer while Moulana Syed Humayun Kabir is the executive director (Qaiyem). Dr Muhammad Abul Khayer, Moulana Saiduzzaman Khan, Moulana Ali Sarker and Moulana Yasin are its members.

Activities: Jabbar sent a letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, issuing a three-month ultimatum to declare the country as an Islamic state. As the PM did not take any step even after the ultimatum ended, Jabbar formed a counter government with IBP. Saying that he had enmity with all the governments, Jabbar noted that it is a religious duty of all to revolt against the government. He claimed that his party is fully prepared to run the government and advocated for a presidential government.

Later, IBP held a meeting at Muktangan on January 28, 2003 and held several meetings at south gate of Baitul Mokarram. Police arrested so-called IBP-nominated PM Syed Humayun Kabir, a former ICS leader, on September 14, 2003 from Daudkandi, Comilla. Another IBP member Habibur Rahman and four IBP militants were arrested on September 10, 2003 and two others on the next day.

Police also arrested IBP member Ansar Ali from Sherpur on September 15, a day after a leaflet asking for ousting the government and forming an alternative cabinet was distributed in the district.

In 2003, intelligence agencies suggested banning the organisation immediately fearing that it might create trouble in smooth running of the country and be a threat to the country's sovereignty.

Bangladesh: New Destination for Radical Islamists  

by Anand Kumar 

The radical Islamists of Bangladesh have been playing hide and seek with international community for a long time now.  They used to lie low whenever world attention got focused on them. Moreover, the state always comes to their rescue, by denying their presence and hushing up any investigation in which Islamists are suspected to be involved. The world also had greater problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan to deal with. Hence it chose to ignore the Islamists forces in Bangladesh. Even countries like India did not take this emerging threat with equal seriousness as they have been doing with Islamic extremists active in Jammu and Kashmir. But when the cadre strength of some the radical Islamists group reached over 10,000 the threat became too serious for the world to ignore.  

There are at least fifty Islamist organizations active in Bangladesh. The numbers of their cadres vary. Some of these organizations take new names when they get adverse publicity. Some of the prominent Islamist organizations are Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Jamaatul Mujahedin (JUM), al-Hiqma and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). Besides a number of anti- Ahmadiyya groups are also active. These groups are using threat and violent methods to force Ahmadiyyas shun their religion. The government has already succumbed to their pressure and banned all Ahmadiyya publications last year.  

After the US started its 'war on terror' and dislodged the fundamentalist Taliban regime, Afghanistan and Pakistan no longer remained available as a safe haven for Islamic jihadis. The fugitives of Al-Qaeda and its allied groups started searching for new places to hide. A number of them migrated to Bangladesh. When the noose was tightened on the Jemaah Islamiah in Southeast Asia a number of its top leaders including Hambali tried to relocate to Bangladesh. Hambali was caught in the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok when he was about to relocate to Bangladesh.  

About the same time, the October 2001 elections in Bangladesh brought a right wing coalition into power of which Islamists are an important constituent. The Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic Oikya Jote, especially the latter is well known for its sympathies towards the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The IOJ’s membership largely duplicates that of the HUJI, which was founded in 1992 by Bangladeshi mujahedin returning from Afghanistan. This organization is funded by bin Laden so that the moderate Islamic state could be converted into a hard-line one.  

A new radical extremist outfit, Jama'atul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) came into limelight in Bangladesh on February 13, 2003 when a series of bomb blasts took place inside a tin-shed house in Chhoto Gurgola area in the Dinajpur town, leaving three persons injured. Besides arms and ammunition police also recovered subscription receipts and leaflets of this group. Among the arrested figured two employees of Hazrat

Aayisa Siddiqa Salafia Islamia Girls' Madrassah.  

Police were also able to trace a number of fanatics whose address was stored in the mobile phone recovered from the blast site. It also confirmed that the hideout belonged to Jama'atul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) and its militants had planned to bomb several functions in the area.  It was also revealed that the organization was doing its "underground work" in the region for more than a year and eight of its activists were arrested on May 20, 2002. Moreover, the madrassah teacher, Faruk, who was arrested after the blasts, was found to be the ringleader of the outfit which has about 25 activists and several hideouts in the area.  

It is strongly suspected that JUM became JMJB after it fought with police on August 15, 2003 in Joypurhat, and reports regarding its existence in 57 districts of Bangladesh were published. JMJB Amir (chief) and spiritual leader Mawlana Abdur Rahman was also earlier associated with JUM.  

Though Islamists now exist all over Bangladesh, some of their strongholds are in northern Bangladesh in areas bordering with India, Sylhet and lawless hilly areas of south eastern Bangladesh (Chittagong). As a large number of Muslims in Bangladesh are converts from Hindus, they have continued with part of their culture, like jatra (a folk theatre form) shows. Radical Islamists want to purge local Islam of these features. On January 14 and 15 this year, two such shows were bombed in Bogra and Natore districts in which two persons died and at least 60 others were injured. Islamists also hate functions celebrating Bangla language because they were opposed to Bangladeshi War of Liberation. Hence, these functions have become their primary targets.  

Sylhet city, last year witnessed six incidents of bomb and grenade blast that killed 12 and injured over 100 people. The much talked about incidents include the bomb blast at the shrine of Hajrat Shah Jalal during Urs on January 12, grenade attack on British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury after Juma (Friday) prayer on May 21, bomb blast at the meeting of Awami League (AL) stalwart Suranjit Sengupta MP in Sunamganj on June 21, grenade blast at a meeting of city AL on the night of August 7 and blasts in two cinemas in the city on August 5. The Shah Jalal shrine in Sylhet has been attacked a number of times because Islamists think that praying on a shrine is akin to idolatry. The Criminal Investigation department (CID), which has been asked to investigate these cases, has so far achieved nothing. In the name of investigation, it only harasses innocent people.  

The ruling party of Bangladesh uses these incidents to victimize opposition, Awami League by implicating their leaders and activists. In one such incident, police took AL leader and Bangladeshi expatriate SM Nunu Miah into custody and allegedly tortured him. He was later released at the intervention of British MP Oona King, who came on a short trip to Bangladesh.  

In recent times, a bigger threat has emerged in the form of Bangla Bhai who heads an

organization called Jagrato Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). JMJB has been active underground for the last six years to establish a Taliban-like rule before coming out in the open a year ago on the pretext of fighting Sarbaharas (outlaws). The militant band started operations on March 31, 2004, unleashing a violent campaign in which as many as 15 have been killed and several hundred others tortured, allegedly with police support on the plea of eliminating outlaws.  

Now Bangla Bhai has become so strong that he is running his parallel government. No one has the courage to touch him. Even when the Prime Minister Khalida Zia, ordered for the arrest of Bangla Bhai, it was not implemented.  

The Islamist forces who are sharing power with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are being used to cow down opposition. In August, 2004 they attacked the rally of Sheikh Hasina in the capital city, Dhaka and managed to nearly assassinate her. Islamists are targeting all popular leaders of opposition Awami League. They are threatening local Awami League leaders to quit the party and join their rank. Local AL leaders have alleged that the cadres of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) have threatened at least three Union Parishad (local body) leaders with death unless they quit their party. On January 22 this year, JMJB cadres made an attempt on the life of the Sripur Union Parishad chairman, Mokbul Hossain Mridha for his refusal to quit the Awami League.  

In the attack on Mirdha, a local villager was killed leading to a clash between villagers and cadres of JMJB in which three of Bangla Bhai’s men were lynched. Two days after this incident, the cadres of the Jagrato Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) armed to the teeth, gathered in thousands to display their might. They clashed with the police when it tried for the first time to stop them. In this clash, at least 50 people, including eight policemen, were injured at Bhabaniganj in Bagmara. Though, 64 JMJB cadres were rounded up, none of the prominent leaders of the group who led the attack were detained. The JMJB leaders declared the lynched men martyrs, as "they were killed while on a religious mission." Their family members also expressed pride over the deaths.  

It is strongly believed that the infamous militant leader Bangla Bhai has been able to elude police dragnet despite high-level government orders for his arrest, because of the strong political backing enjoyed by him. The sincerity of political leaders and police high-ups is in doubt as they have made contradicting statements about his existence. The local police administration tried to deny the involvement of JMJB in the attempt on the life of Mokbul Hossain Mridha. It accused the anti-government quarters for conspiring through publishing such reports centering on the “so-called” Bangla Bhai with a view to destroying the image of the government as well as the police force for political mileage. It also tried to term the attackers as ordinary criminals which is far from truth. State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar on January 26 promised that Bangla Bhai would be arrested as soon as he is found. But talking to BBC radio the same day, he denied the existence of the JMJB.  

Now it is believed that JMJB men have started gathering arms and are recruiting armed cadres from different parts of the country to take on the police. They are also believed to be recruiting people in Bangladesh for fighting Jehad in Iraq. The JMJB is striving hard to Talibanize Bangladesh society. The Bangladesh government is supporting them by giving legal immunity. If the international community does not come out of its slumber quickly, it will have another serious problem to deal with.

(The author can be reached at anandkrai@yahoo.com)

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WORLD AFFAIRS

A threat from militant Islam

HAROON HABIBin Dhaka

Bangladesh appears to be overtaken by religious extremism as the coalition that rules the country adopts a policy of appeasement of Islamists.

HE goes by different names - Siddiqul Islam, Azizur Rahman... . But `Bangla Bhai', the name that his students and colleagues at a college where he taught Bengali "fondly" gave him, stuck. Bangladesh's best-known and most radical Islamist, the highly visible "operation commander" of the new Islamic outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB), or Awakened Muslim Masses, quit teaching to preach militant Islam. He even took up arms training in Kandahar in

Afghanistan, where, it is believed, Bangladeshi recruits came to be called Bangla Bhais. The well-built man in his late 30s is known for his courage and organisational abilities.

Bangla Bhai, a sketch.

Hailing from Kurnipara village under Gabtoli thana of northern Bogra district, Bangla Bhai has been living in Bagmara in Rajshahi district, adjoining West Bengal, for several years. His headquarters is located there. When the print media started reporting his activities in the northern region in May, some of his antecedents came to light.

As a student, Bangla Bhai was an activist of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the militant student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a major partner of the Khaleda Zia-led coalition government. He first served as an irregular teacher at a private college.

Bangla Bhai said he had quit teaching to devote his life to the cause of Islam. In interviews with local correspondents, he denied having any connection with Al Qaeda or the Taliban or having received any military training abroad. But he commands a dreaded force which is carrying out extra-judicial executions of alleged Left extremists and also trying to establish an "Islamic administration". The private army, which is seen to be emerging as the Bangladeshi Taliban, is active in Bagmara, Atrai, Raninagar and Naldanga of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Bogra districts. Instances of extremism by the JMJB are many. On April 25, its cadre launched an attack on a traditional Bengali fair at Rajshahi killing a minor and injuring 40 persons. Its fatwa against women and acts of repression and extortion have drawn wide attention.

Bangla Bhai was first arrested by the police in 2002 when he led a killing squad in southern Bagerhat. But he claimed that no cases were filed against him. "I am a khadim (servant) of Allah and have come to Bagmara to fight against the terrorists of Sarbahara (the outlawed Left extremists who are equally notorious for rampant killing, extortion and brutal repression) and to root out injustice, crime, drug abuse and all other vices from society," he says. Sympathisers of the JMJB claim that several thousand Sarbahara men either surrendered or were caught. Those who were caught were tried and executed by the "Islamic court".

According to a Dhaka daily, 10 Left extremist groups, including the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP), or Sarbahara, are active in southwestern Bangladesh, seven outlawed outfits are active in 19 districts and three others operate locally. A distinctive feature of these ideological extremists is that some of their members are ordinary criminals interested only in extortion and killing.

Newspaper reports suggest that JMJB men have levied tax on villagers, ordered them to wear tupi (cap) and forced women to wear burqa or hijab. Those who defy are subjected to physical abuse or their property is damaged. They have already terrorised the masses in western and southwestern Bangladesh. They identify anti-social elements as per their own definition and mete out vigilante justice. In most cases, they kill their victims in gruesome ways and often mutilate their bodies. In the last week of May, one of the three alleged Left extremists caught by JMJB operatives was beaten to death and hanged upside down from a roadside tree in Bogra. The fate of the other two is unknown. In another act of cruelty, they sliced into pieces the body of an alleged Left outlaw. The pieces were exhumed from a grave near the outfit's main camp in Naogaon.

By all indications, a section of the government and the local police are aware of Bangla Bhai's activities. In a recent interview, Bangla Bhai admitted that he had contacts with a Deputy Minister and the Superintendent of Police of Rajshahi. "I personally met them. We have contacts with them. They are happy with our work," he said. It is alleged that the police condone the barbaric acts of Bangla Bhai and his cadre because they are hunting down the Left outlaws, whom the police have been unable to catch. JMJB activists, who normally operate under the cover of darkness, often target Hindu minorities and secular political activists, labelling them sympathisers of Left outlaws. "They have taken advantage of the villagers' aversion to Left extremists and their ultimate goal is to spread the ultra Wahhabi doctrine among the rural folk," said a leading secular writer and educationist in Rajshahi University. An elderly intellectual in Dhaka said: "Unfortunately, what we are seeing now is the normal follow-up of the fear expressed by the international press, which this government has preferred to project as a smear campaign orchestrated by the political Opposition."

If the official policy is to pit one outlaw against the other, it may be said that the sponsors of the new outlaws are, in fact, allowing a fire to fight another fire. Under mounting pressure from the media, the Opposition parties and donor agencies, the Khaleda Zia government finally issued an order to arrest Bangla Bhai, but it took over two weeks to travel a distance of 150 kilometres.

The police claimed they had begun a massive hunt for Bangla Bhai and his followers. Naogaon S.P. Fazlur Rahman said that the police patrol had been intensified. After the arrest order was issued, Masud Mia, Rajshahi S.P., claimed that the activities of the outlawed Islamists had stopped. But local sources confirm that Bangla Bhai and his cadre have only gone into hiding. Some informed sources even said that the local police were maintaining regular contact with the militants, a charge that has been denied. "We [the police] will give taka 50,000 in reward to anyone who provides information on their (Bangla Bhai and his political rival and PBCP regional commander Abdus Salam alias Tapu) whereabouts," said Noor Mohammad, Deputy Inspector-General of the Rajshahi police range. He told journalists recently: "We've asked the police stations to support them (JMJB) whenever they go to catch outlaws (Sarbaharas)." The

self-proclaimed militants have killed at least nine suspected Left outlaws since they started their "cleansing operation" on April 1. There is an allegation that the new outfit is supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

THE chief of the JMJB, Maulana Abdur Rahman, a graduate from a university in Saudi Arabia, served for five years in the Saudi embassy in Dhaka until 1990. He admits to taking help from elected public representatives, understandably of the ruling four-party alliance, and claims to have spoken to local parliamentarians who "extended their support". There is a strong allegation that some leading figures of Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the region are supporting the new outfit. The Maulana admits that activists of his group idolise extremist Islamic leaders and scholars, follow the militant ideals of the Taliban, and spearhead a movement based on jehad. Asked if the JMJB idolises the Taliban, the Maulana said: "Our role models include many leaders and scholars of Islam. We take only as much (ideology) from the Taliban as we need." He says his group does not aspire for political power, but "if Bangladeshis give us the responsibility of running the nation, we will accept it".

The JMJB has three tiers of workers and has so far trained 10,000 full-time activists. Since 1998 these activists have reportedly orchestrated in different regions over 100 operations, including murders and other forms of violent attack. The Maulana admits that his party's head office is in Dhaka but refuses to give its address. Reports suggest that JMJB men fought with the police on August 14, 2003, in northern Joypurhat under the banner of the Jama'atul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB). The police arrested 23 of them from a camp but they were later released mysteriously. After it was outlawed, the group assumed the name JMJB. Also, reports suggest that the JMJB is the youth front of the outlawed Harqat-ul-Jihad.

There is no open political support for Bangla Bhai. But a faction of the Islamic Oikya Jote (IOJ), a component of the BNP-led alliance, has voiced its support. "He has started a social movement in the northern districts," Prof. Abdul Kader of the IOJ told a news conference. He claims that some newspapers were running "distorted reports" on Bangla Bhai and the JMJB.

RAFIQUR RAHMAN/ REUTERS

At a rally in Dhaka organised by the Islami Oikyo Jote in February 2001 demanding a ban on foreign-funded NGOs.

Pro-liberation secular parties, which were all along critical of the government's `anti-liberation' policies, have blamed the Khaleda Zia government for supporting the "Bangladeshi Taliban". Except former President and Jatiya Party leader H.M. Ershad, all top Opposition leaders met with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina to find a way out of the crisis.

United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca expressed `concern' over the activities of Bangla Bhai and other forms of religious extremism, during her recent visit to Dhaka. Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri said India was "closely monitoring" the new Islamic militancy.

RELIGIOUS extremism is not new to Bangladesh. While the extremists were cautious and careful before, they are now better placed, thanks to "state patronage".

A survey by Manav Unnayan Gaveshana Kendra, a non-governmental organisation, found that the fundamentalist organisations, which have become strong economically through various commercial investments, earn a total of taka 500 crores annually. Their activities began to be noticed in the late 1990s when a series of bomb blasts rocked secular, cultural and political events, killing nearly a hundred people. The latest major incident on April 21 was the bomb attack on the newly appointed British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury at the Hazrat Shahjalal shrine in northeastern Sylhet. The incident left three persons dead and nearly a hundred injured. The Bangladeshi-born envoy survived miraculously. Scotland Yard's investigations have reportedly indicated the involvement of religious extremists in the blast.

While truckloads of illegal arms and ammunition on their way to Bogra were recovered last year, on June 1, the police busted a secret arms training centre for students of madrassas and arrested two suspected militants in the remote hilly village of Hathazari in Chittagong. They discovered training equipment at the centre, which intelligence sources said was run by Mir Anis, cousin of a Minister and a teacher at a local women's madrassa. Intelligence sources said madrassa students trained in arms before they fanned out across the country to carry out subversive activities. On April 2, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized from the Chittagong port. No breakthrough has been made in the probe into the arms smuggling. India has already expressed its fear that the deadly cargo was heading for its troubled northeastern region.

RAFIQUR RAHMAN/ REUTERS

Women, mostly employees of NGOs, at a rally in Dhaka in February 2001, to protest against edicts issued by clerics.

Ministers and key leaders of the BNP are tight-lipped about Bangla Bhai, but not Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami, the Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who spoke twice on the issue. While denying that his party had any "knowledge" about the new outfit, Nizami, at a meeting with the Overseas Correspondents Association, Bangladesh, expressed his apprehensions that the "exaggerated" media reports could lead up to an Afghanistan- or Iraq-type external intervention in Bangladesh. His ire was not unexpected because the media had seen a link between his fundamentalist party and Bangla Bhai and other such outfits.

Some quarters believe that the "policy of appeasement" adopted by the Khaleda Zia regime is the reason for the quick emergence of political Islamists. "Wherever the religious extremists are out to carry on their campaigns, ranging from a virulent attempt to receive government approval for declaring Ahmadiyas non-Muslims to the cleansing operation against the outlaws, the administration gives unmistakable indication where its sympathy lies," said an editorial of Bangladesh Observer. When the aggressive rallies of the religious extremist groups attack or lay siege to Ahmadiya mosques, the police give the impression that they have long forgotten to use force.

In Rajshahi, the police even escorted the JMJB's huge bus-truck procession on May 21 coinciding with a hartal by all Opposition parties. The police also did nothing when a religious extremist outfit called the Khatme Nabuat assembled in Chittagong for a showdown with the Ahmadiya sect recently. The signs are alarming. When an administration appeases religious extremists, they turn ruthless monsters. Going by the developments, there is growing apprehension among liberal thinkers. Is Bangladesh going to be overtaken by religious

extremism? Does the Khaleda Zia government really want this to happen? Or, will the secular forces that have been fighting political Islam finally allow it to happen?

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Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh

Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), known in popular usage as the JMJB, is a vigilante Islamic radicalist organization based in Bangladesh, especially around the country's north-western region, which gained worldwide reknown for its efforts to create an all-Islamic state based upon only the Quran and the Sunnah through an armed Islamist revolution, similar to the ideals espoused by al-Qaeda, the radicalist Taliban movement of Afghanistan, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat of Algeria and the Jemaah Islamiyah organization of South East Asia, and its vigilante military operations conducted against the Bangladeshi political establishment, the army and law-enforcement officials, extreme-left Communist outfits and petty criminals. The organization was the feature of a January 2005 New York Times article based upon the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh. Islam ( Arabic al-islām اإلسالم,  listen?) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means pertaining to the root(s). In various fields of endeavor, it can mean: in sociology: one who advocates thoroughgoing analysis or change at the root in politics: can refer to a supporter of a revolutionary social movement can refer to... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān ُق*رآن, .ْل also ;َأtransliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Sunna redirects to here, which can also refer to Sunne or Frau Sonne, a Scandinavian sun goddess, also known as Sol. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Look up Revolution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary This article is about revolution in the sense of a drastic change. ... The Taliban (Pashtun and Persian: طالبان; students), also transliterated as Taleban, is an Islamist and Pashtun nationalist movement which ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, despite having diplomatic recognition from only three countries: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. ... Jemaah Islamiyah, sometimes rendered Jemaah Islamiah, is a militant Islamic separatist movement, suspected of killing hundreds of civilians, dedicated to the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and the south of Thailand and the Philippines. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in January • 29 Ephraim Kishon • 25 Philip Johnson • 23 Johnny Carson • 22 Parveen Babi • 20 Jan Nowak-Jeziorański • 17 Virginia Mayo • 17 Zhao Ziyang • 15 Ruth Warrick • 14 Rudolph Moshammer Recent deaths Ongoing events • Tsunami relief... The New

York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Formed in the late 1990s, the leaders of the JMJB, the acting administrators of the Majlis-e-Shura, its decision-making committee, organized a news conference through which it heralded its intention to create an all-Islamic state based upon only the Quran and the Sunnah and its emphatic rejection of the Bangladeshi political establishment for its governance through man-made legislation and political processes such as democracy. Soon after, in 2004 the organization was banned by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government and measures were taken to eradicate its missions and presence. Legislation refers 1. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bangladesh Nationalist Party (বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Dôl, BNP) is the most popular political party of Bangladesh. ...

The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh espouses a strict Salafi-based ideology and is particularly active within the north-western region of Bangladesh, where in 2003 and 2004, they established a vigilante Islamic state in which Shareeah law was the method of governance, thus being an active rival and posing a significant challenge to the democratic Bangladeshi political establishment. Many of its members and leaders were former Mujahedin who fought in Afghanistan and who personally knew Osama bin Laden. Its captured activists have stated that they were trained and hoped to join their Jihadist comrades in Afghanistan and Iraq in fighting against the U.S.-led coalition and the democratic political establishments in place within those countries. A Salafi (Arabic سلÙ�ÙŠ referring to early Muslim), from the Arabic word SalafسلÙ� (literally meaning predecessors or early generations), is a practitioner of Salafiyyah (Salafism). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Osama bin Laden UsÄ�mah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin LÄ�din (born July 30 or March 10, 1957) (Arabic: ), commonly known as Osama bin Laden (Arabic: ), is usually considered to be the figurehead of al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist network that has been involved in attacks against civilians... Jihad (ǧihād جهاد) is an Arabic word which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, which means exerting utmost effort or to strive. The word connotes a wide range of meanings, from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith, to holy war. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ...

Their leaders include Bangla Bhai, Shaykh Abdur Rahman, Shaykh Abd as-Samad as-Salafee and Dr. Asadullah al-Ghalib. The JMJB is extremely critical of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which it deems as heretic due to the latter's participation in the Bangladeshi political establishment and patronization of secularism and sacrilege of Islamic values and principles. Siddique ul-Islam, known popularly as Bangla Bhai (The Bengali Brother), also known as Aziz ur-Rahman, is a Bangladeshi Islamic radicalist and the military commander of the radical vigilante Islamist organization Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), known in popular usage as the JMJB. Most active... Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is the largest and most influential self-titled Islamic political party in Bangladesh. ... Blasphemy is

the defamation of the name of God or the gods, and by extension any display of gross irreverence towards any person or thing deemed worthy of exalted esteem. ...

The JMJB are attracting a large number of activists and operatives, from mainstream secular universities and colleges as well as traditional Islamic schools, and is growing rapidly throughout the country and gaining popular support amidst the poor and under-priveleged percentage of the population, who have traditionally been overlooked by the Bangladeshi political establishment. A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ...

Links

New York Times article on the JMJB Alternative link - [1]. JMJB firm on attacks to herald Islamic revolution

Dismantling JMB in Bangladesh By Bill RoggioMarch 14, 2006 2:07 PM The arrests of leaders Rahman and Bangla Bhai are leading to further arrests and deaths

of al Qaeda linked JMB

The arrests of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh commanders Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai have cascaded into further successful operations to root out the al Qaeda linked terrorist organization. During a series of raids, Bangladesh’s anti-crime and counterterrorism commando force, known as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), arrested 10 members of JMB, including Abdur Rahman’s son, and killed a bomb making expert in a firefight. The string of operations following the arrest of Rahman is a textbook example of exploiting the arrest of a high-profile terrorist commander.

There is plenty of supporting evidence that Islamist terrorist groups in Bangladesh, including JMB, receives financing from overseas Islamist Non-Government Organizations. Some of these NGOs have intricate links to al Qaeda, including Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a Saudi based charity. The United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Nations have designated several of Al-Haramain’s international branches as an al Qaeda supporting entity for providing “financial, material and logistical support they provided to the al Qaeda network and other terrorist organizations.” Bangladeshi Al- Haramain is on the list. The Kuwaiti based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society is also present in Bangladesh, and its Pakistan and Afghanistan offices have been placed on the U.S. Department of State’s Terrorist Exclusion List.

The Daily Star takes a further look at the links between Rahman, JMB and al Qaeda, based on statements from intelligence officials and JMB members. Excerpted:

The duo [foreign militant trainers, Khaled and Javed] came to Bangladesh to train up Rohingya rebels in 1995 and stayed at Galib's Nawdapara den in Rajshahi. The foreign militants first trained up Rohingyas and then local militants on Rahman's orders for four to six years. Sources said their primary target was to send the recruits to the Afghan war front as a backup force. The training ultimately focused on rearing militants inside the country following a decision by Galib and Rahman at a meeting at Sadrul Alam's house in Chittagong in 1998, investigators said... Sources said Rahman went to Saudi Arabia for higher studies at Madina University on Galib's recommendation... Galib, at an Ahab conference in Rajshahi in 1997, introduced a number of guests from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka...The guests include Pakistani Nasser al Rahmani, an alleged leader of Saudi Hizbullah, who carries a bounty of $5 million declared by FBI for his link to al Qaeda... A leader of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) in 2004 told The Daily Star about 20 of their leaders and activists worked with al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. They also said VCDs given to JMJB recruits contained Laden's recorded speeches and footage on warfare at al Farooque camp in Afghanistan. A team of The Daily Star obtained one such VCD titled "The Solution, the Preparation" recorded in the once Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The 50-minute disc was screened for new JMJB members at Razakar Ramjan Kaya training camp in Bagmara in 2004. "Bangla Bhai showed his new recruits video footage on Afghan wars and mobilised support for an Islamic movement," said a police official asking not to be named... The JMJB sources had also claimed 44 Bangladeshis once served Laden in Afghanistan, some of them as his bodyguards... The whereabouts of most of these Afghan returnees are unknown, but they include JMB chief Abdur Rahman, a JMJB source then said.

The India Monitor also weighs in on al Qaeda in Bangladesh: India has already provided evidence to the Americans of the scores of terrorist

camps being run in Bangladesh by al Qaeda with the connivance of fundamentalist forces and certain sections of the Bangladesh Government during the recent visit of US President George Bush. The US administration was also informed about the clandestine help being provided to these terrorist groups by Pakistan.

After the disclosures of the Indian Government, the US administration is believed to have applied pressure on Bangladesh leading to the arrest of Siddiq-ul-Islam alias Bangla Bhai of the Jagrata Muslim Janata of Bangladesh (JMJB) by Bangladesh Police.

The arrests and subsequent exploitation of intelligence on JMB is a major victory in the War on Terror which is largely being ignored by the Western Media. Perhaps Bangladesh is not a “sexy” location to cover the fight against al Qaeda, but the success there is certainly noteworthy. al Qaeda and its affiliates thrive at exploiting the security situations in failed and semi-failed states (or what Thomas P.M. Barnett refers to as the “gap” and “seam” states, respectively.) That Bangladesh is taking the threat of JMB seriously, and acting to resolve the situation without outside influence is an encouraging development.

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Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2006/03/dismantling_jmb_in_b_1.php#ixzz0kOq0LW9n

Bangladesh-Islamists Attack NGOs as Part of Jihad 

by Anand Kumar

Not satisfied with attacking progressive individuals, Islamist extremists of Bangladesh have now started targeting progressive institutions of the country. In the last one month they have bombed the offices of some of the leading local as well as international non-governmental organizations in Bangladesh. This has not only disrupted the functioning of organizations engaged in development sector in a least developed country, it has also made the workers of these organizations fear for their safety and security.  

Most government institutions are known for rampant corruption. In fact, corruption is so widespread in the country that it has been ranked as the most corrupt nation of the world, three times in a row by Transparency International. In such an environment however, some commendable work has been done by few non-governmental organizations.  But the recent wave of attacks against such organizations would seriously affect their functioning.  

In Bangladesh, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are engaged in poverty alleviation, removing illiteracy and empowering women through micro-credit schemes. The micro-credit schemes implemented in Bangladesh with the help of several NGOs have been hugely successful. They have made the country a model of micro-credit scheme across the world. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), the countrys largest NGO, has been at the forefront of the countrys fight against poverty. Another prominent NGO, Grameen Bank is known worldwide for its pioneering work giving small loans to the poor to help them set up businesses.  

But unfortunately, successes of these organizations have also earned them the wrath of a section of Bangladeshi population which subscribes to the extremist ideology. Because of this a series of attacks have taken place on the offices of these organizations.  These were  

* Extremists attacked the Mohimaganj BRAC office in Gaibandha district on 10 February in which three of its employees were injured in two powerful bomb blasts. It is suspected that the activists of Jamaat-ul-Mujaheedin, an extremist outfit active in Shaghata and surrounding areas were involved in the attack.

* Another attack took place on the BRAC office in Kalai upazila sadar in Joypurhat district on February 13. In this attack two persons were killed.

* A similar attack was made on the BRAC office in Porsha sub-district in Naogaon district on

February 15 that severely injured four of the office staff. 

*  On the same day, three powerful hand grenades were recovered from the premises of a BRAC office in Rangpur Town.

*  Three bombs were hurled on February 16 at the Grameen Bank branch at Nabagram village in Ullapara sub-district of Sirajganj district, leaving two bank employees critically hurt. 

*  The office of an international non-governmental organization, 'Caritas' was bombed in northern Dinajpur on March 1. 

With these incidents Bangladesh has joined the company of Afghanistan and Iraq where humanitarian and development organizations are targeted. By targeting these organizations and their workers terrorists draw the satisfaction of retaliating against the West. These are also soft targets as it is difficult for the Islamic militants to attack military installations.  

These attacks have created terror among the workers of the NGOs in Bangladesh. It forced leaders of the Federation of NGOs in Bangladesh (FNB) to convene a meeting where they urged the government to take stern action against all kinds of terrorist activities to keep the ongoing development activities running. They also discussed the role of NGOs in the face of such attacks. They felt that extremists were actually targeting developmental activities.  

These bomb attacks were also criticized by the main opposition party Awami League and its chief Sheikh Hasina who accused the four party ruling alliance of protecting and patronizing the attackers. Sheikh Hasina alleged that after assuming the office, the alliance government had struck the progressive NGOs, like Proshika. She also felt that the "motivated" statements of the prime minister and ministers were "misleading the investigating officers and impeding the process of a neutral inquiry."   

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led coalition has been critical of the NGOs from the very beginning. It planned to get control over them by trying to enact the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation (Amendment) Act 2004. This bill was designed to give government authority to remove NGO chief and other officials whenever it liked. The government also wanted to prohibit involvement of NGO staff in political activities. It defined the term "political activity" in such a way that many of the good and effective programmes of NGOs like campaign for good governance, voter education, against corruption, advocacy, policy analysis, women empowerment and legal aid could easily be shown as linked with politics to punish these organizations. However, this proposed Act had to be withdrawn under the pressure of donors and protest of the NGO community.   

But the government was successful in weakening the NGOs by splitting their oldest forum ADAB. It has created a new forum FNB which is generally hostile to ADAB. The government also tried to restrict the activities of some of the leading NGOs of Bangladesh like Proshika. It restricted their flow of fund and detained some of their senior staffs including Kazi Faruq, the Executive Director of Proshika. These steps of government hampered their

developmental activities and made millions of people suffer. But the government was not bothered as long as its political aims were served. It is, in fact encouraging extremists to act against the NGOs by allowing the attackers to go scot-free. Probably the government wants to use these extremists to cow down the NGO community in Bangladesh.  

Enormous evidence has emerged in recent times which prove beyond doubt that Islamist extremists of Bangladesh are involved in attack on the NGOs. Some of them were 

* A Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) operative, Shafiqullah, who was arrested from Chaksadu village of Gabtali sub-district on January 16, has disclosed to police that its cadres plan to continue bomb attacks on movie theatres all over the country. He also admitted that JMJB has been responsible for a number of bomb attacks on NGOs. He said the JMJB bomb squad would continue attacks on NGOs like BRAC and Caritas and on cultural activities that they consider as anti-Islamic until an Islamic revolution takes place in the country.   

* Twelve militants of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh, (JMB) were arrested from a mosque in Natore, on February 1. The arrested militants told the police that JMJB has plans to carry on attacks on the NGOs and they were undergoing training in preparation for attacks against NGOs. One of the militant said, "We were jogging inside the mosque to train ourselves both mentally and physically against NGOsonce upon a time the East India Company captured our country in the name of business; NGOs are the new form of the company. They are patronising anti-Islamic activities and taking people away from religion. We must prepare ourselves both physically and mentally to face them." The leader of these militants, Forman Ali, said that they hate NGOs, as "they are spoiling our women and plotting to control our country."  

*  Police arrested four militants -- Mohbul Hossain Mahabub, Amanullah, Mamunur Rashid Mamun and Asir Uddin Kenu -- during training at the Kalibari Mosque in Thakurgaon on February 18. These militants revealed that they were followers of Galib, Salafi and Abdur Rahman. They also disclosed that their leaders while addressing at different mosques in Dinajpur and Thakurgaon on several occasion asked them to oust NGOs, terming it a part of jihad. They informed police that they had joined this Jehad encouraged by their speech. They also admitted that they were carrying out anti-NGO propaganda at the direction of Bangla Bhai, operation commander of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), and Dr Asadullah Galib of Rajshahi University.   

These attacks along with other incidents of political violence raised international concern and under the Donor pressure, government banned Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on February 23. But no serious action was taken to check the activities of these organizations and only some local level activists were arrested. During interrogation, the arrestees disclosed several names including those of JMJB leader Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, his spiritual leader Moulana Abdur Rahman and Ahle Hadith Anodolon Bangladesh (Ahab) chief Dr Asadullah al Galib. Most of the senior leaders of these organizations are still free and are in hiding.

 The government arrested Asadullah al Galib, a professor of Arabic in Rajshahi University and chief of Ahale Hadith Bangladesh along with three of his associates on February 23. They were shown arrested in five cases, including for murder, bomb attacks, and the robbery of various NGO offices in the four districts of Bogra, Gopalganj, Naogaon, and Sirajganj. The intelligence sources of Bangladesh are sure that Galib is linked with banned militant groups Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB). He is also suspected to be involved in militant actions since a number of zealots arrested on charges of attacking NGOs and cultural functions admitted to carrying out the attacks at the directives of Galib and his second-in-command, Shaikh Abdus Samad Salafi.   

Though Galib denies his link with terrorist activities and taking part directly in armed activities for an Islamic revolution, he himself has admitted that some of his followers think activities of some development organisations is anti-Islamic and that it is their religious duty to stop those activities.    

The bomb attacks on local as well as international NGOs active in Bangladesh is a clear cut attempt of the extremists to destroy anything that stood for progress, modernity, and empowerment of women. They have been emboldened by the failure of government to catch culprits in previous such incidents. In a poor country like Bangladesh where the state is not able to provide all the services needed by the people, NGOs are playing a significant role. Moreover, they have largely managed to stay away from partisan politics. Still Islamists are targeting them because they think that NGOs are creating awareness among the people about their rights. They are empowering women. This is not to the liking of extremists who oppose progress. For them Islamic revolution means return to backwardness and darkness. They think that increase in poverty would increase attendance in Kaumi Madarsas and reduce attendance in other schools. This will help them achieve the goal of so called Islamic revolution. 

(The author can be reached at anandkrai@yahoo.com)

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Acting tough

HAROON HABIB in Dhaka

At long last the Bangladesh government takes some action against Islamist militancy by arresting two of its top leaders.

JAHANGIR KABIR JEWEL/AP

Siddiqul Islam alias`Bangla Bhai'.

ISLAMIST militancy in Bangladesh apparently suffered a setback in the first week of March with the arrest of two of the movement's most important leaders. On March 2, the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Shaikh Abdur Rahman, the founder of the Jamaat'ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who is considered the spiritual guide of Islamist militants in the country. The organisation is allegedly responsible for several bomb attacks that have occurred in Bangladesh over the past few years, especially the countrywide bombings of August 17, 2005. The RAB also arrested Siddiqul Islam, known as `Bangla Bhai', the `operations commander' of the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), a sister outfit of the JMB.

The Shaikh's arrest from a house in north-eastern Sylhet followed a 31-hour-long operation that involved peaceful negotiations. `Bangla Bhai', on the other hand, suffered injuries in the operation to capture him from a remote village in northern Mymensingh. Both were arrested along with their wives and children and a few associates. Huge quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered from them. Although Shaikh and `Bangla Bhai' demanded interaction with mediapersons and a few government leaders including Ministers, the authorities did not allow it.

On March 13, the RAB raided another hideout of the militants in Comilla, some 160 km from Dhaka, and killed Shakil, said to be a bomb-maker. The wife and two children of Shakil, also known as `Mollah Omar', died in the operation. During the operation, the RAB caught Shaikh's son Nabil Rahman and some others.

Both Shaikh and `Bangla Bhai' fought in the war against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in the 1980s, were closely associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the main coalition partner of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh National Party-led ruling alliance, and were sentenced to 40 years in prison in absentia in February 2006. `Bangla Bhai', nearly 40, is also one of the seven members of the JMB's highest decision-making body, Majlis-e-Shura. The JMB and the JMJB have been working underground for the past six years to establish a Taliban-like government in Bangladesh. The JMJB's operational base was the northern region of Rajshahi and the organisation allegedly enjoyed the protection of a section of the ruling alliance and the local administration.

During interrogation, Shaikh confessed to the RAB that the bombing of cinema halls and attacks on the country's leading intellectuals were carried out by his men. "He has taken all responsibility for the August 17 attacks and for the attacks on the professors," Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, RAB Intelligence Director, told mediapersons. "We have been questioning him about the motive behind the attacks and initially he was saying that it was to establish Islamic law."

The JMB chief admitted links to various jehadi leaders and organisations, and his organisation's plans to establish Islamic rule both in and outside Bangladesh. He said that he had received huge amounts of money from them and invested it to increase his organisation's strength, but refused to disclose their names. "I travelled all over the world, mainly Islamic countries, to establish relations with some Islamic leaders, who encouraged me to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh, by providing mental and financial support," a leading Bangladesh daily quoted Shaikh.

The capture of Shaikh and Bangla Bhai may have weakened the JMB and the JMJB, but the jehadi networks have not yet been dismantled. News reports indicate that thousands of JMB activists, especially members of its suicide squad, remain beyond the reach of the police and are planning to carry out more attacks.

An unholy nexus

Within hours of Shaikh's arrest, Khaleda Zia addressed the nation and claimed that "Bangladesh [had] proved before the world that it could successfully combat terrorism in the name of Islam". She said that her government, by arresting the militants, had achieved what powerful nations had

failed to do. However, a close look at the rise of Islamist fundamentalism in Bangladesh, reveals that her claims do not stand up to scrutiny. In fact, it reveals a connection between a section of government leaders and the militant leadership.

Even at the height of militant violence in the country, the Khaleda Zia government refused to blame the JMB or the JMJB. Instead it interpreted the violence as part of an "anti-Bangladesh campaign" and suggested that foreign nations were behind it. For instance, the government appointed a one-man Justice Zoinul Abedin Commission to probe the attack on the Awami League headquarters on August 21, 2004 in which former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped death but over two dozen of her party workers died. The commission's conclusion was that local hoodlums in collaboration with a foreign country's intelligence agency was behind the attack.

Moreover, there is ample evidence for the Jamaat-e-Islami's link with the JMB and the JMJB, though the party, which opposed Bangladesh's war of liberation from Pakistan, has refuted the charge. At the height of the militancy, a senior Minister in the Cabinet and the ameer (leader) of Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, claimed that there was no one by the name of `Bangla Bhai' and that he was a creation of the media.

SHAMIM NOOR/REUTERS

Shaikh Abdur Rahman after his arrest.

The confessional statements and the backgrounds of captured JMB activists, including Shaikh and `Bangla Bhai', have pointed to a close link with the Jamaat. Works of Maulana Sayedi, a Jamaat theoretician, and a few books written by Golam Azam, the founder of the Bangladesh chapter of the Jamaat were recovered from the captured militants. Jehadi books written by Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami were also recovered from the JMB's Comilla hideout. But it is

alleged that the government agencies did not include the Jamaat literature in the list of items seized from the militants.

The covert links between the Jamaat and a section of the government were first made public by a BNP leader. Abu Hena, a Member of Parliament elected from Bagmara, Rajshahi, said he had informed the Prime Minister and the State Minister for Home about the dangers posed by `Bangla Bhai' but nothing was done. "It is unlikely that `Bangla Bhai' has risen to the top without any knowledge of the administration," Hena said.

Behind the scenes

Why did the Khaleda Zia government crack down on the JMB leadership now? Some analysts say that since the general elections are approaching and the ruling alliance knows there is a perception that the government was behind the emergence of Islamist militants, it had to act. The Opposition parties and a large section of society consider the arrests of Shaikh and `Bangla Bhai' "a drama". They believe the Khaleda Zia government arrested them when it realised that they were no longer safe. Some political observers allege that the government timed the arrests to coincide with George W. Bush's visit to South Asia in order to persuade him to include Bangladesh in his itinerary. The Bush administration had been putting pressure on the government to crackdown on militancy.

Another reason could be the government's need to improve its image. An abnormal hike in the prices of essential commodities, acute shortage of power and the politicisation of administration had alienated the people from the government.

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While working as the reporter of NTV, one of the popular TV channels of Bangladesh, I took this interview of one of the top leaders of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) Bangla Bhai. It was the first and only interview in any TV channel. ------ To learn more about Bangla Bhai's Interview visit my website www.Faridalam.com

Bangla Bhai Interview Part 2 by Farid Alam

While working as the reporter of NTV, one of the popular TV channels of Bangladesh, I took this interview of one of the top leaders of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) Bangla Bhai. It was the first and only interview in any TV channel. ------ To learn more about Bangla Bhai's Interview visit my website www.Faridalam.com

More on Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh

Description from Wikipedia

Jāgrātā Muslim Jānātā Bānglādesh (Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh), also known by the acronym JMJB, is an Islamist organisation based in Bangladesh, especially around the country's north-western region. The Government of Bangladesh has classified JMJB as a terrorist organisation. It is reported to be affiliated with al-Qaeda though there have never been any proof or confirmations of this claim. The organisation was the feature of a January 2005 New York Times article based upon the rise of Islamic radicalism in Bangladesh. It was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings in Bangladesh.

The group is led by Siddiqur Rahman, also known as "Bangla Bhai", and Shaykh Abdur Rahman. Both of them are wanted by the Bangladesh Government for terrorism. Several lesser leaders, for example, the head of the military branch, have been captured.

Formed in the late 1990s, JMJB came into spotlight through its murder spree in the North-western region of Bangladesh. Soon after, in 2004 the organization was banned by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government and measures were taken to eradicate its missions and presence. Its captured activists have stated that they were trained and hoped to join their Jihadist comrades in Afghanistan and Iraq in fighting against the U.S.-led coalition and the democratic political establishments in place within those countries.

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MJB firm on attacks to herald revolution

Arrested activist confesses to magistrateOur Correspondent, Bogra

The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) is determined to carry out attacks on all forms of 'anti-Islamic' activities until an Islamic revolution comes to the country, an arrested JMJB operative told a magistrate on Monday evening.

A band of trained members are scattered across the country with a mission to bomb various cultural programmes, including a Valentine's Day programme, said a source, adding that JMJB considers such activities a violation of Islamic Shariah.

He, however, refused to speculate whether Monday's bomb attacks on the Valentine's Day party at Dhaka University was carried out by JMJB.

The JMJB operative, Shafiqullah, arrested with explosives from another operative's house on January 16, also revealed, during a statement given to the First Class Magistrate Mostafijur Rahman Mirda, details about a teacher of Rajshahi University (RU) who is allegedly leading JMJB operations.

"Dr Asadullah Al Galib, a teacher of the Arabic department of RU, is engaged with JMJB and is leading them to undertake an Islamic revolution," said Shafiqullah.

Dr Asadullah denied a similar allegation made by Bangla Bhai operatives in Natore, saying it was an attempt to frame him.

Shafiqullah, also a member of the JMJB bomb squad, said he was introduced to the RU teacher Asadullah as well as JMJB chief Abdur Rahman Shahi Bhai at an Islamic occasion at a graveyard in Narayanganj.

The three discussed many operations of JMJB including the training for carrying out bomb attacks on cultural programmes.

Many hard-liners of the Ahleh Hadis, an ultra-militant Islamist group, also took training in Narayanganj, he added.

"I was also introduced to Joynal of Gabtoli in Bogra, who was also present at the Islamic occasion. I often go there for training," said Shafiqullah.

He was also introduced to Hamid, a student of the Arabic department at RU and an active member in such operations, he told the magistrate.

He also said JMJB operatives had often held meetings at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and the Kakrail Mosque, where they discussed many plans of action.

"We use bombs that will injure people but not kill them," he added.

The RU teacher and JMJB chief also impart training to youths in the hopes of sending fighters to Iraq and Afghanistan, Shafiqullah added.

Many students undertook training for Islamic revolution in different parts of the country, he added.

He said Shahi Bhai is the chief of JMJB with Bangla Bhai (Siddiqur Rahman) his commander of operations.

In Natore, our staff correspondent reports, seven of the 12 Jama'atul Mujahidin members in their confessional statements to a magistrate on Monday also confirmed that the chief of Bangla Bhai is their leader too.

They also confessed to their involvement with the Islamic movement spearheaded by Dr Asadullah.

Police and court sources said that Farman Ali, one of the arrestees, admitted that he was one of the leaders of Jama'atul Mujahidin at Natore.

He said he joined the group during Ramadan at the invitation of Khabbar Ali, ameer of the Mujahidin in Natore district. Dr Galib is the leader in the northern region of the country, he added.-Dailystar

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  #2   February 15, 2005, 12:26 PM

rafiq Cricket Legend

 Join Date: September 22, 2002Location: ChicagoPosts: 3,347

There seems to be a lot of people who support groups like the JMJB. They get up in arms when they read articles like these. Wonder if they have any comments?

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  #3   February 15, 2005, 01:39 PM

oracle Super Moderator

 Join Date: July 25, 2003Location: New Jersey/Currently in sunny UAEPosts: 3,712

Rafiq

I really would'nt get too worked up about these groups. They are created to distract attention from the daily real life situation of the of the working poor, or shall we say the not-working poor.

If you are a keen reader of history just ponder this- did'nt the British in their empires create all sorts of groups too? I mean groups that had peculiar political, religious theories and agendas.

Why did they do it? Think about it for 20 minutes.

And usually these groups and ideas sprang up in times of real economic distress. More to come...

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Jamat-i-Islami of Bangladesh and the Regional Jihadi Networks

ByShahriar Kabir

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-- BanglaCricket -- English (US)

Most national dailies of Bangladesh published on May 21, 2004, the gruesome photographic testimony of brutality of Bangla Bhai, the self-proclaimed militant fundamentalist, from greater Rajshahi area. Picture showed dead body of Abdul Qayum Badshah (52) of the Raninagar of Naogaon district, hanging from the branch of a tree. It has been alleged that Badshah was a member of Sarbahara Party. The Jihadi outfit, Jagrata Muslim Janata of Bangladesh (JMJB) brutally killed him and hung his dead body from a tree to warn the anti-fundamentalists of dire consequences that anyone opposing them.

Such grisly pictures were familiar during the liberation war of 1971. The Pakistani army used to kill the Bangladeshi freedom lovers and hung their dead bodies from the trees. They would at times hang them alive from the trees upside down and light fires below to roast living human beings. Alternatively, they skinned them alive while hanging. Again we saw such pictures in Taliban's Afghanistan. They killed pro-communist President Najibullah and hung his dead body publicly in Kabul. This was to demonstrate to their socialists and communist opponents what brutality the Mullah Omar's Taliban were capable of. Now again after eight years, with Talibanist coalition Government of Bangladesh, we visited similar pictures of fundamentalist brutality.

Three days after the publication of the vicious picture of hanging dead body of Badshah an appeal was published in Daily Janakantha, under the title, 'Aro asankhya gachhe asankhya lash jhule thakar aggei kichhu karun' (Please act before numerous more trees have innumerable more dead bodies hanging from them). This appeal was a letter from Shafiqpur High School's Head Master Mahmud Musa, a victim himself, who wrote as follows:'I am the Head Master of Shafiqpur High School of Rani Nagar Sub-District, Naogaon District of North Bengal. My home is also in the same village. In the last fifteen years I built this High School on own paternal property step by step, with help of education loving public of the area and public representatives. With persistent personal effort, and in my small way, thus I had managed propagation of education in the area. On May 8th last the JMJB cadres attacked and razed to ground my four roomed inherited paternal living quarters. This incident was published in various national dailies on May 16th, 2004. On the same day another seventy houses were razed to the ground including that of another Head Master and an elected chairman. In these conditions I and other member of my family have taken shelter in near by town. Before the tragedy of destruction of our ancestral house and leaving the village could be absorbed, the JMJB cadres abducted my elder brother (Abdul Qayum Badshah) on Wednesday May 19th. The next day they killed him after public announcement in the microphone, all over the area. Later they hung his dead body from a road side tree in the neighboring Baman village, of Nandigram sub-district, of Bogra District. Newspaper readers have seen this picture on last May 21st. I heard that these butchers are looking for me. They will probably kill me with similar brutality and display my dead body, if they can find me. I am also frequently hearing similar threats of life to other members of my family. Another brother of ours has stayed back in the village risking his life, because it is

now the harvesting time. They have once abducted him and after torturing him in their camp have let him go. Our family has a well- established reputation in the area. Our family has a tradition of association with progressive politics and culture. My father and brother both were established in literature and social work in the area. We were also trying to perpetuate this tradition to the best of our ability. Probably that is now considered to be my family's crime and mine.The state of Bangladesh has a government and an administration. The country has a police and an army. This area has an elected MP, who is a deputy minister. This district also has a responsible minister. There are many human rights organizations in this country. There is a civil society. There is a government and an opposition party. I want to earnestly appeal to all of them and their sense of responsibility and conscience. I want to let them know that a citizen and an ordinary teacher is now dangerously threatened and is at high risk of life. Will you not come to the aid of this teacher, who is a refugee from his own home with friends and family, due to danger to his life? Will none of you feel responsible enough to stop this medieval terror? Do these goons who have destroyed my home and killed my brother perpetrate it in my fate to continue to see horrors? Those who are not threatened today, how are they assured that they will not be threatened tomorrow? Who is giving them this assurance? Their silence today may turn too dangerous for tomorrow. It may be too late then. I appeal to the government, the administration and conscientious citizen - 'Please do something'. And please do it before you observe many more dead bodies dangle from road side trees.'

The writer of the above letter Mahmud Musa came to see me on 26th May. He came to inform me about the helplessness of his whole family. I asked him if his murdered brother was actually connected with the 'Sarbahara Party'. Mahmud Musa said, 'May be, but I do not know.' He stated, 'Suppose my brother had done some crime, there is a government, a police, a judicial court and law. If my brother was ordered hanged after the judicial procedure, I would have no complaint. But who is this Bangla Bhai? Is he the court or the government? By which law has he ordered the execution of my brother?' I asked Mahmud Musa if there were any pending cases against his brother with the police. The younger brother of the murdered confirmed that there were, some. But he claimed them to be all false cases. For example he said there is a case with date of crime 30/2/2000. Obviously there was never a 30th February. I asked him, what proof he had that Bangla Bhai's JMJB had killed his brother. Musa said they (JMJB) have themselves announced and the newspapers have carried this in their report. Bangla Bhai's 2nd in command Hemayet Hussain Himu, Jamat Amir (a leading position of Jamat-i-Islami party) of Raninagar sub-district. Muffajjal Hussain and Jamat's former worker Abul Master lead a JMJB armed gang which abducted Badshah and three others. They have hung the dead body of Badshah on a roadside tree, the other three are still missing. I asked Mahmud Musa further whether they have filed a case (FIR) in the police station. He said, 'No, not yet.' Badshah's family is out of the area due to the militant acts of Bangla Bhai. He himself is unable to go back to his

village. Additionally, police does not accept complaints against Bangla Bhai.

Police's refusal to accept complaints against Bangla Bhai is very normal. It is published in the newspapers that the Police O.C. follows around as bodyguard of Bangla Bhai, the militant fundamentalist leader. The district A.S.P., the divisional D.I.G. are also the protectors of Bangla Bhai, hence in the greater Rajsahi area there is no one with enough courage to complain against Bangla Bhai. Then he revealed why the fundamentalists were mad at his family. Their family is a politically conscious family of the area. Family wise they have been associated with left movements and he once was a member of left-oriented National Awami Party of Bangladesh. Badshah and Musa's father Abdul Kader was a participant of the Tebhaga movement. Ila Mitra personally knew Abdul Kader. His grand father Sakim Sardar and great grand father Kasim Sardar were known to Rabindra Nath Tagore and had hearty relation with him. Patisar, the famous Tagore Zamindari, skirts Raninagar area. In the Ahmed Rafiq's research paper on Tagore there is a description of Rabindranath's friendly relations with Kasim Sardar of Raninagar. In their family they still learn and practice Rabindra Sangeet. They also have a tradition of reading modern literature. They had family relations with Ismail Hussain Siraji. The books that police party confiscated from their house included books by Aroj Ali Matobbar and Ahmad Safa. Musa said JMJB did not allow this year's Rabindra Jayanti celebration at Patisar. They said, 'you can't sing Rabindra Sangeet'you have to sing Hamd and Naa't.'

Musa does not know when they will be able to go back to their home, destroyed by Bangla Bhai. Due to the terrorist activities of militant Bangla Bhai, hundreds of people have left the area. This has been admitted by Maolana Abdur Rahman, JMJB's Amir and spiritual guru of Bangla Bhai. In an interview with Asaduzzaman Samrat of Ajker Kagoj, Maolana Rahman explained that in the greater Rajshahi area, in seven sub-districts, in this task of suppressing 'the Sarbaharas' they had active cooperation of Post and Telecommunication Minister Barrister Aminul Haq, Housing and PWD Deputy Minister Alamgir Kabir, Land Minister Ruhul Quddus Talukdar Dulu and Member of Parliament Nadim Mustafa. In Bagmara, where their activities are at the peak, even M.P. Abu Hena is not opposing their action. They are getting full cooperation of the administration. He said there is widespread support among ordinary people of the area. In a short time they have arrested fifty people and found huge amount of weapons. More than five thousand Sarbahara have surrendered. (Ajker Kagoj, 13 May, 2004). The atrocities of Bangla Bhai, under the shelter of two BNP ministers, three MPs and Police has become so widespread that he has not been bothered by the arrest warrant ordered by the Prime Minister (before her departure for China). He is very safely and openly moving around in the area, without any cover. On May 23rd last Bangla Bhai's storm troopers have marched in Rajshahi under police protection and displayed their arms. They came to the city riding on hundreds of motor cycles and mini-buses and submitted a memorandum to the administration. The police officers have congratulated the so-called Jihad of Bangla Bhai against the Sarbahara group.

The militant activities of Self-styled militant fundamentalist Ajijur Rahman, alias Siddiqul Islam, alias 'Bangla Bhai' are being published in Bangladeshi national daily newspapers again since April 1st week of this year. In August of last year, militant fundamentalist organization Jamiatul Mujaheedin (JM)'s members were in the limelight, when they attacked police to decamp with arms, ammunitions and the wireless sets. At that time reportage on their activities continued for about 20/21 days. In January of 1999, militant fundamentalist organization Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami's (HUJI) killers were in the news when they attacked poet Shamsur Rahman at his home. At that time Dhaka newspapers serially published story of their fundamentalist militant activities. But the present coverage of Bangla Bhai's JMJB is more widely covered. The organization was once secret and after a few arrests 'the reportage subsided. This time however the reportage is continuing even after eight to nine weeks and will not subside till fundamentalist militant Bangla Bhai is arrested and JMJB banned.

In 1999 and in 2003 we were stunned and frightened to know the countrywide militant fundamentalist network of HUJI and JM, respectively. Like the underground tunnel network of a sly fox the network of these militant organizations are spread all over the country. The reason JMJB is getting more reportage is: HUJI and JM are not open organizations, but JMJB, is. Hadn't HUJI's potential killers were not caught on January 18, 1999 while trying to kill poet Shamshur Rahman, we would not have known about their presence in Bangladesh. Initially only three were captured who admitted their association with HUJI. Later, based on their admission police arrested another forty eight persons of which one was South African and another Pakistani. All these facts have been published in various national newspapers.

On 24th January, 1999, Daily Ittefaq had published, based on an investigative report, that twenty eight other prominent artists, poets and novelists were on the hit list of HUJI. In a publication, Afghan Atlas, published from Nebraska University, USA an important research paper states, 'Bin Laden has ISI's logistics and intelligence support. HUJI and quite a few of Pakistan's militant organizations have connection to bin Laden. HM has connection with Dhaka based Jihadi Islami, the organization whose assignment is to recruit Bangladeshi and Indian Muslims to fight in Kashmir.' At that time the Pakistani citizen Mohammad Sajjid and South African Ahmed Sadeq Ahmed had admitted to police that bin Laden had given them two crore Taka ( more than 300,000 US dollars) to build a Taliban-style militant group in Bangladesh. This money they had spent via 821 madrassas. (Reuters, Jan 28, 1999).

In spite of such concrete proof, police submitted such weak charge sheet, that the superior court criticized police for weak charge sheet. It has been seen in the last seven years that whether it is JM or HUJI police arrested them when there is hue and cry in the newspapers later they submitted such weak charge sheets that criminals were let go or released on bail. There is never any problem for them

to get out of the jail. Last year the militant cadre of JM, who were arrested red handed with arms and seditious pamphlets, they had no problem to get out of jail on April 2nd of this year. The present Inspector General of Police has been alleged to be a collaborator of the genocidal Pakistani army of 1971 and the current Home Secretary is known to have a Jamat connection. Thus it can be clearly surmised why to arrest or keep in custody the militant fundamentalists or to judiciously run the criminal cases against them is not on cards for the Khaleda-Nizami government.

Whenever there have been any allegation against any activities of the militant fundamentalists, immediately the Jamat-i-Islami chief and Industries Minister of the coalition government Matiur Rahman Nizami states that Jamat has no relation with militant fundamentalists. On last 24th May he again stated in a news conference, 'Jamat does not have any relation with so called JMJB or Bangla Bhai. Jamat does not have any relation with Hijbut Tahrir, Hijbut Tawheed, JM or similar organizations.' (Janakantha, 25th May 2004). On the same day at a news conference sponsored by Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee(EGDNC) and South Asia People's Union Against Fundamentalism and Communalism, Professor Kabir Choudhury said, 'On January of this year in Sylhet, at Hazrat Shah Jalal's Mazar, there was bombing and five persons were killed. In February, the powerful voice against fundamentalism, Professor Humayun Azad was attacked with machete and he survived narrowly. Again on May 21, at the same Mazar of Hazrat Shah Jalal, an attempt was made on life of the newly appointed British High Commissioner to Bangladesh. In this attack another three persons were killed and nearly hundred were injured. Even though the British High Commissioner survived the attempt on his life, he is still in the hospital. Even though the investigative reporters of Bangladesh's national dailies found a member of the coalition Jamat-i-Islami responsible for the terrorist act, the coalition government, in an attempt to protect Jamat, has taken no action.'

The U.S. Asst. Secretary of State Christina Rocca expressed displeasure about the activities of Bangla Bhai, during her 3 day visit to Bangladesh, on May 18th, last. She asked Jamat leader Matiur Nizami about Bangla Bhai's whereabout. (Janakantha, 20th May 2004). Obviously, before coming to Bangladesh she must have done her homework on the related information and documents of proof in this regard. If Bangla Bhai did not have any relation with Jamat, Ms. Rocca would not have asked Nizami about this issue, since the issue is not about his Industries Ministry, but his party Jamat-i-Islami. No one else is expected to know better than Nizami in this regard. The chief of Jamat is an influential member of the present cabinet. Thus there is no possibility asking Nizami under arrest and oath about his party's relation to JMJB, Jamiatul Mujaheedin or other militant organizations of Bangladesh. If such hypothetical scenario ever happens, the close links between Nizami's Jamat-i-Islami and the Islamic extremist organizations would have been divulged in a second.

In August of last year, JM militants had a clash with police and a few were arrested, Jamat as usual said they had no connection with Jamat. Again on

May 20th of this year, Nizami repeated the same story to Ms. Rocca. But in last August all Bangladeshi newspapers had published reports about relation between Jamat and Jamiatul Mujaheedin. When police raided the house of Montajurul Islam, the chief accused of Khetlal militant attack, the documents they found not only had distinct proof of Jamat connection to JM but also to al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Also in August of 2003, three books written by Maolana Masud Azhar were found in the Jamiatul Mujaheedin office in Jaipurhat. Pakistan based Jaish-e Muhammad's commander Masud Azhar's name flashed across the newspaper headlines in the sub-continent in December of 1999, when Indian Airlines flight number IC 414 was hijacked. The Islamic extremists hijacked the passenger plane to Afghanistan with a primary demand to release the militant leader Masud Azhar. The Indian government was forced to release him to meet the demand of the hijackers. When he was arrested in India he had submitted in his deposition the following facts: He was born in Bhawalpur in Pakistan on July 10th, 1968. His father was a Deobandi type strict religious person. He joined Harkatul Mujaheedin(HM) during his student days and went to Afghanistan as a Jihadi per instruction of the organizational head Maolana Fajlur Rahman Khalil. In 1993 catching an Air Emirate flight he flew in to Dhaka, Bangladesh accompanied by Sajjad Afghani. Then he went to Karachi but Sajjad Afghani went to India. In January 1998 he again came to Bangladesh, on a Portuguese passport, to enter India. On January 29th he boarded a Bangladesh Biman flight to New Delhi. In February, on his way from Delhi to Srinagar he was arrested. (www.stratmag.com/issue2nov-15/kargil.html)

At the time of Khetlal terrorist attack, Jamat declared, that the principal accused Montajurul Islam was expelled from their party two years earlier. But according to published newspaper reports Montajurul had applied for becoming Roqan (Jamat-i-Islami's senior hierarchical position) of the Jamat and these papers were found by the police. While Police is not admitting publicly to the news reporters any connection between Jamat and JM, they admit that diaries found in the terrorist hideouts provide full list of workers and leaders of Jamat and Shibir.".The following were also found during search there:1. Election leaflets of Abbas Ali Khan, ex-Amir of Jamat. 2. An application for monetary help from Sirajul Islam, a local Beniapara madrassa student to the Jamat funding organization Baitul Maa'l. 3. A Baniapara Ahmedia Madrassa receipt book for donations received. 4. A copy of Dhaka's Bengali daily Bhrorer Kagoj dated February 13, 1995. The newspaper had the head lines in Bengali: 'Rajshahi University declared closed 'two dead in Chhatradal- Shibir clash 'more than 150 injured. 'After militant-police confrontation, police informed that in the hideout they also found:1. Many books and publications belonging to Jamat and Shibir.2. Monogrammed diaries of many Shibir activists.

The recent full day's investigation has yielded that the building where the militants had congregated for training was owned by Jamiatul Mujaheedin leader Montajurul Islam. In the concerned area processions were taken out under the leadership of

Montajurul, more than months before the January 20, 2003 brutal murder of five persons in the Pir place of Begunbari sub-district. He had openly declared in these rallies that they would oppose and annihilate any anti-Islamic activity in the area, soon after which the brutal murders were conducted. The absconding militant leader was seen in the open, hobnobbing with the Jamat leaders and was also actively building armed JM organization. Many sources in the area inform that he regularly trained more than 100 persons military and guerrilla tactics and warfare, in his private compound. Additionally, a letters have been found which clearly establishes Jamat and Jamiatul Mujaheedin connections. In this letter district Jamat secretary Abdul Matin Sardar had given Montajurul Islam significant number of organizational directives. (See Bhorer Kagaj, 2oth Aug, 2003). In all Dhaka newspapers including prestigious 'Daily Star','Prothom Alo' and 'Janakantha', in their investigative reports have stated that the Bangla Bhai's, JMJB is the open manifestation of banned organization JM.

It has been noticed that whenever the government is under pressure from donor nations they ban the fundamentalist organizations and arrest some of their operatives. Then soon after the banned organizations and operatives resurface under a different name, with the same activities. The jailed activists are soon released, as usual. The jailed militants came out of prison on April 2nd, 2004. The same day's Janakantha carried the news that in Rajshahi, under police protection, the militants attacked and mercilessly butchered a person named Babu, who was allegedly a Sarbahara activist. They shouted slogans like, ' Nara e Takbir, Alla ho Akbar.' Since then for the next eight weeks, the news of Bangla Bhai's of JMJB has been reported in Bengali media with clear reference of the organization's link with Jamat and Afghan Taleban. The brother of Badshah,(the Hanging dead body of May 21), Mr. Mahmud Musa informed that Jamat's Raninagar Amir, Mufajjal Hussain was in the team of Badshah's abductors.

In the long sixty three years of Jamat-i-Islam's history, there is no example of any of their leaders ever accepting the blame/responsibility for any of their misdeeds. In 1953 Jamat's Chief Maududi was charged with murder of thirty thousand innocent Ahmadiya in Pakistan's Lahore, after a riot in which that many had lost their lives. Maududi was prosecuted, proven guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. Yet until today, Jamat has not acknowledged that they were responsible for the massacre of innocents. During the Bangladesh's war of independence, Jamat-i-Islami's militant wings like Razakar, Al Badr and Al Shams were formed simply to assist Pakistan army's perpetration of genocide, which they did in the name of protection of Islam. They tortured and murdered the freedom fighters and intellectuals in large numbers, which were published in their own party paper 'Daily Sangram'. Now, however, they say that they were not involved in those murders but Awami League was. I had retorted to this blatant lie in a BBC interview. I stated that if we had to assume that Nizami or Jamat were not involved in the

preparation of the list of intellectuals till the last days of 1971's Bangladesh liberation war, then we had to assume that Nizami was an Awami League activist in 1971. In that context we were supposed to believe that 'Daily Sangram' was the party paper of Awami League. This is the same daily, which published vivid details of many massacres by Al Badr of freedom fighters with glowing tributes. And lastly, Nizami himself wrote many columns to inspire Al Badr cadres to kill the freedom fighters, in this ignoble newspaper.

There is a commonality of purpose between the Nizamis and the JMJB, JM and other Islamist fascist outfits. Every one of them has a goal to establish an 'Islamic state' in Bangladesh like the one under the Taliban in Afghanistan, with a Koran and Shari'a based law. Where is the difference between Jamat and these militants, in goal and ideal? It is now quite evident the main pillars of Jamat's politics are: lies, deception and slyness. When Matiur Rahman Nizami says that he and Al Badr have no connection with 1971's mass murder of the Bangladeshi intellectuals, or Bangla Bhai or Montajurul have no connection with Jamat 'the lies became very glaring and self-evident. If every thing is false then why does police look for Shibir activists after the bomb attack on the British High commissioner, at Shah Jalal's Mazar in Sylhet? Why did Christina Rocca ask Nizami, and not others, 'What about ' Bangla Bhai?'

According to the psychologists, continuous lying develops into a type of mental disorder. Nizami is so much overtaken by this disorder that soon a day may come when Nizami would say, 'I have no relation with Jamat' or may be-'I am not Nizami.'. Nizamis may think that the people of Bangladesh are fools, as they perceived them in 1971. They claimed then that without Pakistan there would be no trace of Islam in the face of earth. In 1971, the people of Bangladesh buried Pakistan, the beloved land of Nizami and his likes, to create Bangladesh. In 1971 also Jamat had a two member representation in the cabinet and they jubilantly performed all the murders and atrocities. They are repeating the story, now, again. Had any one in March, 1971 envisioned that the burial of Pakistan and Jamat would have been conducted only nine months later, in these very banks of Buri Ganga in Dhaka? The Dhaka of 1971 is now a metropolis. The progeny of the three million martyrs and this old city are waiting eagerly and are counting the days for the upcoming disaster of Jamat.

===========================================================Shahriar Kabir is a writer and a human rights activist in Bangladesh.

 

Allahar Dal militant arrested in GaibandhaOur Correspondent, Gaibandha

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday arrested a militant of banned Islamist outfit Allahar Dal from Shams village under Sundarganj upazila.

Acting on a tip-off, Rab raided the house of Sundarganj upazila leader of Allaher Dal Kutubuddin and arrested him from there.

During interrogation, Kutubuddin confessed to his involvement with the activities of Allahar Dal. He was entrusted with the responsibility of regrouping the militants, he said.

A few days ago, Sunderganj police arrested 13 militants of Allahar Dal from Nayansukh village under the upazila.