Fundamentalism, militancy and terrorism

IT has been an anomaly of sorts over the past two months. We have had joyous celebrations, been dumbfounded with despair and then sought solace within our national identity.
On the one side we have had the festivity of our cultural ethos, our identity as a Bangali brought to the fore with the commemoration of Falgun, the Ekushey and our Independence Day. We have had music, drama, artistic expressions and publication of books. We have reaffirmed the secular nature of our being. This appreciation of pluralism in our society was a continuation of the democratic process that had earlier seen the conclusion of the electoral dynamics both at the national as well as the Upazila levels.
On the other hand, on a parallel track, we have had a defiance of discipline through a horrifying mutiny, and also watched with dismay and horror the re-emergence of the JMB terrorists and militants. Both were ominous to say the least. I shall however confine myself today to the issue of militancy and terrorism.
Dozens of JMB militant operatives, including women have been arrested. There has also been discovery of arms, explosives and grenade making materials from their hideouts as well as from foreign funded Madrasas and orphanages. There were also CDs and samples of jihadi militant literature. It was also significant that this shadowy militant resurgence had been achieved with funding (allegedly received from sympathisers living in the Middle East and the UK) through illegal channels. Hints of suspicion have also surfaced that some local NGOs were involved in this clandestine exercise.
Fortunately, this time round, the law enforcement agencies and other associated intelligence gathering operatives, including the Rab were on the ball. This permitted pre-empitve action and senseless mayhem was averted. One wishes that our other intelligence agencies were equally capable. This might have enabled us to avoid the disastrous mutiny that occurred within the BDR ranks in Dhaka and elsewhere.
The other day I ran into an old friend and former colleague who now resides permanently in Europe. His wife, a European, was also visiting Dhaka with him (nearly after fourteen years). I asked her if she had noticed any change in Dhaka after so many years. She said, 'Yes, I have.'
As expected, she referred to various aspects of the city-the traffic jams, pollution and the demographic explosion. She also interestingly added another facet. She pointed out that the 'Pakistani element' appears to have increased within our society. I was taken aback and asked her to explain.
In response, the pointed out that she had noticed a large number of women wearing hijab and/or burkha. She also mentioned that there appeared to be many young men, sporting beards, wearing caps and kurta rather than pant and shirt.
I have subsequently discussed her views with some sociologists. Eventually, all of us came to the conclusion that there was an evolving shift in our sartorial behaviour, particularly in our emphasis on external aspects of our religion. We also agreed that this phenomenon was especially applicable in a certain section of the population and that this was probably being caused because of the conservative influence of our millions of non-resident migrant workers based in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. There was also consensus that this was contributing indirectly to expanding enrollment of children in the rural hinterland in non-secular educational institutions like Madrasas instead of regular schools.
I believe that fundamentalism is directly linked with militancy and terrorism. This inter-active phenomenon is true not only in the case of Islam, but also for those in the Hindu, Christian or Jewish faiths. Classical examples exist in the treatment meted out by fringe Hindu extremists towards Muslim and Christian minorities in India. There are also examples of unacceptable behaviour meted out by Christian and Jewish zealots in some other countries.
Militancy and terrorism are cacti that flourish through the perversion of humanism that is common in all religions. It sometimes assumes a political character. It can also emerge from ethnic presumptions. Classical examples of this in the political arena in Bangladesh have been evidenced through the activities of Harakat ul Jihad-i-Islami Bangladesh (HUJI-B) and that of Jamiatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB). The quest for acceptance and recognition of indigenous identity has also led to terrorist activity within our borders. The Parbatya Chattogram Janoshangati Samity (PCJSS) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is an example of that.
Our political leadership has unequivocally reiterated more than once that counter terrorism will receive special attention. I believe that such a course of action will be essential if we are to meet our development targets and also ensure stability and security not only for the common people but also for potential investors within our economy.
Terrorists always target infrastructure. They do so to create confusion and lack of confidence in the governance format. In our case, we have to be particularly careful because we have such a thin spread of capacity-in transportation, in energy, in communications networking, in ICT and public utilities. Destruction of existing facilities will severely impair our economic chances.
We have a tough task. It is this, which persuades me to hope that our government will undertake a hands-on, pro-active approach in creating employment opportunities for both the rural poor as well as the thousands who graduate every year from religious schools.
Functional, vocational training must be made compulsory and part of the syllabus in all religious as well as in secular educational institutions. Those graduating from Madrasas must realise that there are alternative avenues of employment and that they do not necessarily have to become religious teachers only.
The dynamics of countering terrorism will also require greater coordination and sharing of information between the relevant intelligence agencies within the country and also with assigned organisations in the neighbouring countries. This will facilitate the tackling of this growing menace, which does not respect frontiers.
Lastly, at all levels of our educational system, there should be a conscious effort to enhance the secular aspects of education-music, art, foreign languages and sports. We must not lag behind in this age of globalisation.
Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador. Email: [email protected]