; also
transliterated 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:
; 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-Jezioraski 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 (
Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Dl, 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 referring to early Muslim), from the Arabic word
Salaf (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 Usmah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin Ldin (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 (ihd ) 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, Bangladeshs anti-crime and counterterrorism
commando force, known as the Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB), arrested 10 members of JMB, including Abdur Rahmans 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-Haramains 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 States 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.
(0)
Read more:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2006/03/dismantling_jmb_in_b_1.php#ixzz0kO
q0LW9n
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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Wikipedia | 1 month ago
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Bangla Bhai Interview Part 1 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
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
Jgrt Muslim Jnt Bngldesh (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 magistrate
Our 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, 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 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
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Join Date: July 25, 2003
Location: New Jersey/Currently in sunny UAE
Posts: 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
By
Shahriar Kabir
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 Gaibandha
Our 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.