Combating Extremism: Still relying mostly on force

When countries across the globe have multi-pronged approach to tackle militancy and extremism, Bangladesh is still relying on the use of force.

There was no change to its strategy even after the attack carried out by Islamic State (IS)-inspired militants on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka a year ago that left 20 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officers, dead. During the commando operation, a restaurant staffer was killed.

After the attack, for which Bangladesh was in the headlines worldwide, the government reinforced the law-enforcement agencies' capacity to dismantle the terror networks.

It, however, failed to expedite counter-militancy awareness initiatives and mobilise a social movement against it.

The government did not act on what local and international researchers and security experts have been pressing for -- a multi-pronged approach involving various stakeholders fighting militancy. They said a distorted religious ideology could not be defeated only by using force.

Some awareness campaigns were launched but those fizzled out due to a lack of political will.

Even though the government has been successful in preventing attacks following heightened vigilance and operations, experts and researchers said the success did not guarantee that there would not be any future attacks as militants could regroup, regain strength and launch attacks.

Explaining the situation, Prof Ali Riaz of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, said, "Force alone is not, and has never been, the best strategy, let alone only strategy, to defeat an ideology.”

Prof Riaz, a researcher and writer on Islamic education, said in case of violent extremism, force could only be a part of a larger counter-terrorism strategy and to counter the militant ideology it was necessary to acknowledge and address both the drivers of extremism and the enabling environment.

In the fight against extremism, devising a campaign to make people aware of the scourge of radicalisation, how militants distort religion to misguide people, and spreading the real messages of Islam is vital, security experts said.

In Bangladesh, an innovative campaign began eight-and-half years ago under the banner of “Committee for Resistance and Correction Militancy”.

Different ministries, the police department, all intelligence agencies, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion, Ansar and VDP and also the Prime Minister's Office were involved in it. Responsibilities of each ministry and agency had been outlined.

The primary objective of the move was to launch a massive awareness campaign across the country. Films and documentaries were supposed to be shown even in villages coupled with ad campaigns and discussions. Monitoring of suspects, collecting intelligence and foiling militant's plans were included as parts of the campaign but the moves have faded.

Teachers and imams had vital roles in this campaign. Teachers were supposed to brief students on the plague of militancy while imams were to deliver anti-militancy sermons before Juma prayers.

None of these happened as they were supposed to.

Even the committee formed to execute the plan failed to sit for meetings regularly.

The home secretary acknowledges this.

"We have revived the committee and it is going to resume the awareness campaign in a greater way," said Home Secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed, adding, "We can't be successful in our fight against religious extremism until we stop radicalisation in society. We need to kill the distorted ideology."

According to Prof Ali Riaz, the most important downside of the fight against militancy in Bangladesh was the absence of a comprehensive counter terrorism strategy.

He said Bangladeshis always rejected extremism and the July 1, 2016, attack provided an opportunity to build a comprehensive social movement involving people of various political persuasions.

"Central to the counter-terrorism strategy should be counter-radicalisation programme as well as de-radicalisation and disengagement. These are essential. But those seem to have been either ignored or had received lukewarm support," he said.

The Holey Artisan attack was a wake-up call for the government to fight militancy in all possible ways. But its efforts, which did not involve force, were largely confined to speeches of some ministers and politicians and issuance of some dos and don'ts.

Home Minister Asaduzzamn Khan and Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque focused on holding discussions with clerics to spread the message that Islam does not support or permit violence or killings.

The discussions began in 2015 but the effort lost momentum.

In the wake of continued attacks on religious minorities, foreigners, intellectuals and secular writers, and just 11 days before the Holey Artisan attack, a section of religious scholars led by Bangladesh Jamiatul Ulema Parishad Chairman Moulana Fariduddin Masud issued a fatwa (religious edict) against militancy.

Prepared in the light of Quran and Hadith and signed by over 1 lakh clerics, the new edict said Islam forbade terrorism and denounced the killing of innocent people in the name of Islam.

Speaking on the fatwa, Masud had then said, “This fatwa is more powerful than 100,000 weapons and would be able to curb terrorism greatly.”

The document containing the fatwa was supposed to be distributed across the country and imams were supposed to mention the fatwa during Juma sermons.

The reality was, however, different. The Islamic Foundation, assigned to distribute the document among imams, did not do its job properly.

“It is now at Baitul Mukarram Mosque from where, if anyone wants, can collect. We don't know how many people got the copy and whether it is being used in sermons,” said an Islamic Foundation official.

De-radicalisation and rehabilitation of detained militants is another big issue in combating violent extremism and the government is yet to do anything on this front.

Militants need re-education so that they understand that their ideology is wrong, counsel to remove the hatred brewing in them, reconnection with their families, and rehabilitation in society.

Worldwide, militant leaders, who persuade people to join militancy, are kept in separate prison cells and are de-radicalised. 

There are intelligence reports on how Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) chief Jasimuddin Rahmani spread radicalism in prison but there was no initiative in prison to keep those militants separate, according to sources.

Some 20 countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Yemen have launched programmes for de-radicalising and rehabilitating militants.

Although the effort failed in Yemen due to a lack of political will, Singapore has been reaping great benefits.

The Singapore government, NGOs and religious scholars partnered in a multi-pronged approach under the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG).

Formed in 2003, the RRG initially counselled detained members of Indonesia-based militant outfit Jemaah Islamiyah but later broadened its arena to counter misinterpretation of Islam.

The RRG is also reconnecting detainees with their family members and counselling them, which helped de-radicalise the militants and prevent their families from being radicalised.

Following revelation of involvement of migrant workers in militancy, Singapore put more emphasis on building awareness among all staying in the country through new motivational and recreational programmes.

It also heightened watch on the internet.

So far, Singapore has been able to prevent the rise of militancy and attacks.

Instead of devising a long-term comprehensive counter-militancy, de-radicalisation and rehabilitation strategy, Bangladesh came up with a new formula. It asked militants to surrender and promised them of no arrest and a reward of Tk 5 lakh, which many experts say might be counterproductive.

Nowadays, militants largely use the internet to spread radicalism and to communicate. Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, YouTube and Protectedtext.com are being widely used to motivate people, train them, and plan operations.

The law enforcement agencies have limited monitoring capabilities of the digital world. They can only shut down secret Facebook groups they discover and digital IDs of militant suspects.

Another problem in the anti-militancy drive is suspects getting released on bail and re-engaging in extremism.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said they could do little if courts granted bail to suspects. He also put the blame on the police for weak investigation and charges against suspects and failing to provide strong evidence.

He recommended a coordination cell comprising all concerned.

The government has not been able to reveal any major success in preventing terror financing in the country.