Islamist Militancy In Bangladesh

This book seeks to investigate not only the causes of radicalization but also how radicalization has unfolded since 2009 based on an exhaustive review of the relevant literature and two stints of fieldwork in Bangladesh involving 71 in depth interviews of highly credentialed individuals. This book looks at both local and global factors that have served to provoke young Bangladeshis, many of whom are from relatively well-educated backgrounds, to become religiously belligerent and eventually to turn into terrorists. Ideology, it is argued, plays a pivotal role in the radicalization process, and justifies violence. Most importantly, ideology proffers solutions to the micro and macrocauses of commonly identifiable youth disaffection. This book mainly focuses on the Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s exploitation of religious beliefs and their construction of a mobilizing, apocalyptic narrative that strikes a chord with the young, middle-class Muslims. Both organizations target them for recruitment. The book ends by proffering what is called a ‘Pyramid Root Cause model,’ which attempts to tie all the causative variables of radicalization into a connected explanation of what has been happening in Bangladesh over the last decade. This book is of interest to scholars of political Islam, international politics, and security studies, including terrorism and the politics of South Asia.

In an unprecedented show of force, organization and skill, two proscribed Islamist militant organizations exploded more than 450 bombs within a span of less than an hour throughout Bangladesh on 17 August 2005 sending a strong message that they were a force to be reckoned with. This catastrophic event, followed by a number of suicide attacks, forced the then reluctant Bangladeshi government, a coalition of center-right parties with two Islamists among them, to acknowledge the existence of a network of militants and take action against this threat. Against this backdrop, this book is the first academic study on the growing Islamist militancy in Bangladesh. It examines the relevance, significance and trajectories of militant Islamist groups in Bangladesh, exploring the complex web of domestic, regional and international events and dynamics that have both engendered and strengthened Islamist militancy in Bangladesh. The three factors - domestic, regional and international aspects - are each discussed separately and their connection and links are analyzed. It goes on to consider possible future trajectories of militant Islamism in Bangladesh. This book addresses an issue of great importance for contemporary Bangladeshi politics, and will be of interest to scholars of international politics and security studies, including terrorism and the politics of South Asia.

This book seeks to investigate not only the causes of radicalization but also how radicalization has unfolded since 2009 based on an exhaustive review of the relevant literature and two stints of fieldwork in Bangladesh involving 71 in depth interviews of highly credentialed individuals. This book looks at both local and global factors that have served to provoke young Bangladeshis, many of whom are from relatively well-educated backgrounds, to become religiously belligerent and eventually to turn into terrorists. Ideology, it is argued, plays a pivotal role in the radicalization process, and justifies violence. Most importantly, ideology proffers solutions to the micro and macrocauses of commonly identifiable youth disaffection. This book mainly focuses on the Islamic State and Al Qaeda's exploitation of religious beliefs and their construction of a mobilizing, apocalyptic narrative that strikes a chord with the young, middle-class Muslims. Both organizations target them for recruitment. The book ends by proffering what is called a 'Pyramid Root Cause model,' which attempts to tie all the causative variables of radicalization into a connected explanation of what has been happening in Bangladesh over the last decade. This book is of interest to scholars of political Islam, international politics, and security studies, including terrorism and the politics of South Asia. Shafi Md Mostofa is an assistant professor of World Religions and Culture at Dhaka University's Faculty of Arts and an adjunct lecturer of the University of New England, Australia.

A perennial frontier for Islamic orthodoxy, Bangladesh is witnessing an alarming rise in Islamist-inspired assassinations and terrorist attacks. In July 2016, the world's attention fell upon a café in a leafy Dhaka neighborhood as the barbarity of a distant 'Caliphate' was visited on this corner of South Asia. Twenty-nine died in the assault on the Holey Bakery, affixing an unbidden nightmare to the image of a supposedly tolerant Muslim nation. Joseph Allchin probes Bangladesh's recent and distant past as he investigates how it has become the latest front in world extremism. Delving into the local and global differences between political actors, he exposes the determining influence still exercised on most allegiances by the long aftermath of the country's independence struggle, and scrutinizes the careers of two long-term rivals: current prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and Khaleda Zia, who held the office in 1991-6 and 2001-6. This unerring investigation examines the relationship between radical Islam and the Bangladeshi political class, exposing the forces driving the conditions for extremism that bedevil the country's present and future.

Blending reportage and analysis, Allchin investigates the Bangladeshi body politic to discern how Islamist radicals hope to reshape their country.

The past decade has seen a marked policy focus upon Bangladesh, home to nearly 150 million Muslims; it has attracted the attention of the world due to weak governance and the rising tide of Islamist violence. This book provides a broad-ranging analysis of the growth and impact of "political Islam" in Bangladesh, and reactions to it. Grounded in empirical data, experts on Bangladesh examine the changing character of Bangladeshi politics since 1971, with a particular focus on the convergence of governance, Islamism and militancy. They examine the impacts of Islamist politics on education, popular culture and civil society, and the regional and extraregional connections of the Bangladeshi Islamist groups. Bringing together journalists and academics - all of whom have different professional and methodological backgrounds and field experiences which impact upon these issues from different vantage points - the book assesses Bangladesh’s own prospects for internal stability as well as its wider impact upon South Asian security. It argues that the political environment of Bangladesh, the appeal of Islamist ideology to the general masses and the dynamic adaptability of Islamist organizations all demonstrate that Bangladesh will continue to focus the attention of policy makers and analysts alike. This is a timely, incisive and original explanation of the rise of political Islam and Islamic militancy in Bangladesh.