Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The proliferation of religious extremism and the growth of sectarianism coupled with incidences of violence in Bangladesh in recent times is an ominous sign of intolerance and fanaticism that are on the rise. The latest episodes of torching and bombing of several Ahmadiyya mosques in Brahmanbaria district clearly speak in volume the pathetic state of sectarian violence, which used to be a tolerant society not too long ago.
   Not too long ago, Bangalees in this small land used to live harmoniously not only with different sects of Muslims such as Ahmadiyya, Shia, Sufi, etc but also with non Muslims belonging to other religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. We never heard of any such incidences in those days. But in recent years, especially from the last decade, incidences of bombing or torching of prayer houses belonging to minority sects of Muslims are on the rise. Even sometimes, Hindu mandir or Christian church is also coming under attacks, especially at the time of any erupted fundamentalist violence, resulting from such as Babri mosque issue or US attacks on Talibans. At present, the fundamentalist parties/groups are so deep seated that nobody dares call them radicals anymore before them. Even we are to write out of scare, speak and move cautiously in society. And all these are going on under the ‘sneak’ patronage of the government. It is also alleged that the Jamaat is now busily engaged in placing their men in important positions of all the organs of the government. For this the ‘cunning and eloquent’ Jamaat men are using all kinds of ‘craftiness’ to achieve their goal.
   Bangladesh is among the countries most sparsely covered by the international press. The very strongly organized evil forces are advancing very cautiously in the target of waging a fundamentalist revolution in the country as Talibans in Afghanistan, and thereby establishing a fundamentalist state. They are getting deep seated quite rapidly in Bangladesh’s politics. In these circumstances, naturally we can foresee the fate of the nation. So the common question now being asked is: Is the country being taken over by radical Islamists?
   As in Pakistan, this nation of 140 million people—the second most populous in the Muslim world—though it once fought against fundamentalist Pakistan and achieved independence from it in 1971 —- is slowly moving away from its tradition of moderate Islam. Both the major political parties (BNP and Awami League) are harbouring or taking them as their allies, in turn, directly or indirectly, in order to counter each other in the short run. But it is well known to them that in the long run none of them will be spared by these deadly elements. The ruling BNP is becoming more and more dependent on the support of the Jamaat in a power sharing electoral contract while the Awami League (AL) is relentlessly and desperately trying to break up the BNP-Jamaat tie. Hence, the Jamaat finds itself in the cosiest situation, and is disproportionately and elatedly exploiting the dividends of the tie. And the BNP has ethically lost all its morality and spirit through being linked to such anti liberation forces. In the game of power credit is due to Jamaat that rose from a pariah status to the mainstream plank of an anti BNP movement (that forced the then BNP government to quit) in 1994—96 hand in hand with its principal detractor, the Awami League, and then used the arithmetic of votes in its alliance with the BNP to enter the sanctum of state power in one Great Leap, so to speak. That time the left parties’ comrades also swallowed the pill of alliance (with Jamaat) tacitly.
   However, going back to what I began with, Ahmadiyya is a minor Muslim sect in South Asia, which was started in the middle of 19th century by one Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in a village by the name Qadian located in Punjab. The followers of spiritual leader Mirza Ghulam Ahmad are called Ahmadiyya or Qadiani. Ahmad believed in the supremacy of the Quran and considered Mohammad as a prophet. His teachings however differed from Sunni and Shia sects. He placed reasoning over blind belief. There are some other minor differences too. However, who is a Muslim or who is not—this cannot be decided by one another’s opponents thru’ forceful declaration. If they (Ahmadiyyas) were a majority sect and would declare the same as the Sunni sect, then would they become non-Muslims? So, what’s the significance of such ‘declaration’? Religious affairs are all matters of eternal beliefs. In a broad sense, we all are believers of one Allah (Islamic name of Creator). Sects, classes, creeds, etc—these are all made up. Through declaration you cannot make me a non believer. I trust in Allah in my soul.
   The radicals do not consider Ahmadiyyas as being Muslims, and they waged a unilateral ‘jihad’ against them in Pakistan. This infighting between fanatics and Ahmadiyyas goes back to the 1950s when Qadiani mosques were attacked in Lahore. An extremist faction of Sunni sect named Khatme Nabuwat that believes in the finality of Mohammad (being the last prophet) abhors Qadianis because they (Qadianis) consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet. It took about a quarter century for that jihad to come to the shore of Bay of Bengal. We have noticed that extremists of Khatme Nabuwat have wildly got on Ahmadiyyas, calling for “war” against them, in various parts of Bangladesh, lately. They (extremists) want the government to declare Ahmadiyyas as non Muslims.
   Notwithstanding, freedom of religion has been secured as the fundamental right of a citizen. The constitution of the Republic, through article 41, ensures this right. But practically the provision of the constitution has been thrown away as soon as the Jamaat has entered the government. Everybody understands this very clearly that all this sectarian violence is occurring under the ‘sneak’ backing of Jamaat.
   The country’s progressive newspapers have been writing endlessly against the evil design of Khatme Nabuwat to dismiss the religious rights of Ahmadiyyas. The civil society is also sympathetic with this minority sect. The international community is also asking the government to effectively address the problem facing the oppressed community. US under secretary for foreign affairs Nicholas Burns during his (most) recent visit to Dhaka on a diplomatic tour raised most of the issues the alliance government is still at ease to confront. But the message that emerged from reports carried in the press is his _expression of hope for a free and fair general election to be held next year. It is believed his was indeed a kind of fact finding mission which will enable him to prepare a report on Bangladesh. Immediately thereafter, deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia John A Gastraight and in May last Christina Rocca, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia, were also on a diplomatic tour to Bangladesh. Burns’ report and those submitted by others who have visited or are visiting Bangladesh will be the basis of the US government’s policy towards Bangladesh.
   On extremism, Rocca said: “Extremist groups operate in the country more openly.... We have cautioned the government about the dangers posed to Bangladesh by extremism.” Rocca noted that “Bangladesh’s widespread poverty, educational shortcomings, endemic corruption, porous borders and lack of public faith in elected government risk increasing the attractiveness of radicalism.”
   If Nicholas Burns has focused in general all the irritating issues along with the positive developments now taking place in our country, Gastraight has taken up specific issues for immediate addressing. It is good to know that he held a meeting with the Ahmadiyya leaders and did some straight talks. Neither criticism nor constructive suggestions could move the government to act decisively against these zealots. The government, moreover, gave the impression that it has a tacit support for the fanatic movement against the sect. It made a blunder (or was it part of its policy?) when it capitulated to the Khatme Nabuwat’s demand for banning the Ahmadiyya publications. That was an encouragement for the religious bigots to press for their more outrageous demand for declaring the Ahmadiyyas non Muslims. The underlying cause of this (tacit) support lies somewhere else. As because Khatme Nabuwat is cozy with Jamaat, that hardly gives any reason to be lenient with this extremist group.
   However, the government did not—or better says it could not give in to the (extremists’) demand in the face of growing criticism from the press, civil society and human rights groups, diplomats from different embassies and high commissions in Dhaka and the international community. The Khatme Nabuwat also pushed ahead more aggressively with their agenda. Their movement grew so violent that the police had to pull down the signboards from the Ahmadiyya mosques to be replaced with ones on which ‘place of worship’ is written. What prompted the government to follow the policy of pampering the religious fundamentalists is best known to it, but it has caused irreparable damage to the country’s secular character and image abroad.
   We are happy that the US deputy assistant secretary has called the spade a spade and by doing so, he has given a message to the Bangladesh government. The ban on the Ahmadiyya publication should be withdrawn immediately. Gastraight has made known his feeling by saying that the government has the ability to protect the Ahmadiyyas. His intention is clear.
   In conclusion, for the sake of the country’s stability and economic growth that are now increasingly threatened by proliferated extremism, the government has to come down heavily on religious extremism. The sooner the extremist outfit (Khatme Nabuwat) is declared banned, the better it will be for Bangladesh. This cancer of extremism should be surgically removed as soon as possible. And the government is fully capable of doing this. The government must also nab urgently another much talked about Taliban style Islamist Bangla Bhai, who has created a ‘reign of terror’ in the northern districts of Bangladesh.
   Email: msaifulh2003@yahoo.com

Just the other day I was flipping through one of my grandpa’s books and realized, how little I know about him. When Dhaka University was established in 1921, Grandpa joined the Department of Physics as an Assistant Lecturer. At that time the world renowned scientist Satyandranath Bose had become head of the Physics department after Dr. Jenkins left the university a few months after its inception. One day Professor Bose gave each of the teachers of his department a number of complicated mathematical problems to solve to test their capability and asked them to return the problems to him after a week. Grandpa showed him the solved problems the very next day. Professor Bose was very impressed and said ‘You have a good acumen for Mathematics.’ Then he inquired if Grandpa was interested in pursuing higher studies in statistics. With Prof. Bose’s encouragement, Grandpa furthered his studies in statistics and mathematics and later on opened the department of Statistics in Dhaka University.
   Professor Bose once asked Grandpa to write a physics practical book in Bangla because he thought the students did not understand the experiments properly in English, a foreign language. Accordingly, Grandpa wrote a practical book in Bangla which Prof. Bose admired greatly. At that time just before Puja break a student came to Grandpa and wanted to borrow the book (actually it was still in a manuscript from) and promised to return the book after the vacation. But that student never returned. Grandpa was very concerned about the student –’What happened to him, is he alright?’ (‘chheleta kono bipoday poray nai tho?’) But he never grieved over the loss of his only manuscript.
   My beloved grandpa was born on June 30, 1897. On his birthday his near and dear ones in Dhaka always commemorate the day in a modest way at home, sometimes inviting one or two of his students or admirers. This is an old practice and even after Grandpa passed away to the next world in 1981, we still remember his birthday the same way. Although this year I am away (in Canada) on his birthday, Grandpa is in my mind and all those precious moments I spent with him are floating around in my head turning them vivid and alive.
   My mom was the eldest among grandpa’s eleven children. She was very fond of her ‘Abbu’, just the way I was crazy about my dad. So mom and I often used to debate on whose dad was the better human being and none of us ever accepted defeat. In fact, I’ve seen many nice men in my life so I do not subscribe to feminist ideologies or their movement.
   Mom and I used to visit her parents very often. That’s the privilege of staying in the same city with one’s parents. Grandpa’s three-story house in Segun Bagicha was full of trees, flowers, and aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was like a fairytale castle to me. I didn’t have anyone of my age in my grandparents’ house. Moreover I was a quiet observer, so after initial exploration I used to spend the rest of the time in Grandpa’s study scrutinizing my surroundings. Although my nickname is Shukla, Grandpa used to call me ‘Shuklal’ affectionately. From my early childhood I found Grandpa as a typical retired professor reading a book, solving a mathematical problem, or playing chess in his study. Every now and then people would come to escort him to some scientific or educational seminar to chair the event. I always remem ber his happy face and candid smile displaying all his clean white teeth. He was everybody’s favorite because of his sweet nature. Grandma used to keep beautiful birds and small animals in big cages. She even had aquariums full of colorful fishes. Although Grandpa was against locking up wild creatures at human habitats, he never prevented Grandma in pursuing her hobby. But after my Grandma died, Grandpa let the birds fly away by opening their cage doors.
   Teaching mathematics or related subjects was Grandpa’s passion. Sometimes he would get hold of an unsuspecting ‘victim’ to teach him/her mathematics for hours. That’s why young people of his household used to pass by his study cautiously lest they got caught. Later on when I was a student of BUET, I used to take all kinds of subjects to him from algebra, calculus to Statics, Dynamics, Laplace Transformation, matrix, Jacobean theorem and so on. Interestingly he never needed to flip through any book before showing me how to solve a problem. Everything was already in his head. Today if any of my children come to me with their studies, most of the time I redirect them to their dad to avoid the hassle of going through their books.
   Grandpa used to spend his spare time playing chess. I heard from my mom that he used to play chess with his bosom friend, our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Legendary Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chatterjee was also his friend and chess partner. When the movie ‘Devdas’ starring Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan was released, I turned into an instant celebrity by telling my Indian acquaintances that Sharat Chandra was my grandpa’s friend.  I remember when I was in school, most probably in grade eight, Sharat Chandra’s short story ‘Gafoor’ was part of our Bangla curriculum. During our yearly final exam there was a question ‘Why did Sharat Chandra write this story?’ I answered the question citing some speculative reasons without knowing the real reason. I learned later that Sharat Chandra wrote the story because Grandpa had asked him to write something portraying Muslims.
   Grandpa was very fond of my dad. Mom told me that during my dad’s MA exam Grandpa was on invigilation duty. After returning home that afternoon from the university Grandpa told everyone at the dinner table that he saw a very handsome young man who was writing his exam in such a dignified style that Grandpa was pretty sure that he was a prince – must be a Mughal descendant (‘nishchoi mogol bongsher chhelay’). Later on that ‘prince’ became his favorite son-in-law.
   During his advanced years Grandpa would often walk to my dad’s house in Dhanmondi-residential-area to clarify any questions that might come to his mind while studying the Quran. He often lamented the fact that he wasted his time before and didn’t start to study the Quran seriously until later in his life. He had enough time to write many books and to translate Plato’s ‘Symposium’, but alas, he didn’t find time to complete his translation of the Holy Quran.  Although my grandpa taught me many things, the best lesson I learned from him is that learning the Quran thoroughly with meaning and explanation and leading one’s life according to Quranic mandates should be a person’s first priority.

Having just returned from London and mainland Europe, it is interesting to see how Australian-Bangladeshis have responded to the London bombings.
   Whilst there is universal condemnation, there is also a consistent ‘but’ after any condemnation… ‘But the events in Iraq…..but in Palestine…. but US imperialism’ and so on.
   Ton y Blair, in his monthly address, agreed for the first time that the invasion of Iraq did help recruit bombers for the London atrocities. But he was even more adamant that this in no way justified the acts.
   It is clear that most Muslims do not agree. Most British citizens don’t agree either, as shown by last weeks Guardian poll where 65% of readers believed the invasion of Iraq contributed to the London attacks. Whether ‘contributed’ equals justification cannot be determined from the poll.
   But what is more worrying for me, as a Bangladeshi-Australian, is the inability of many Muslims to see the moral difference between the attacks in London and the invasion of Iraq. The purpose of the invasion of Iraq, regardless of the inadequacies of its political justification, was not to kill innocent civilians. The Americans do make an attempt to show regret for civilian deaths.
   The suicide bombers in London had the sole purpose of killing innocent civilians. In fact, they would measure their success by the number that were killed, and no group claiming responsibility for an attack has ever showed any remorse for the deaths they caused.
   The moral confusion on the part of Bangladeshi communities is further exacerbated by a growing sense of victimhood. There are regular cries that they are being branded with the same brush.
   I would actually claim the opposite was true. British authorities are fanatically attempting not to implicate Muslims in their attempts to find the perpetrators. When I was leaving London only a few days ago, the police presence was enormous. Whilst they were concentrated around the London underground, a significant proportion were guarding mosques and Islamic schools in order to prevent hate crimes. In Australia too, hate crimes have been few and far between.
   The London mayor, Ken Livingstone, went as far as embracing a local imam, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who has praised Palestinian suicide bombers in the past.
   Despite the enormous efforts by the British authorities to placate its Muslims, a large number still complain they are being made the scapegoats for the heinous crimes of the few. Granted, there was one serious hate crime in Nottingham where a man was beaten to death. This is tragic and regrettable. But if there was a similar attack launched by Hindus in countries like Pakistan or Bangladesh, the number of revenge attacks leading to deaths would number in the thousands.
   The sense of victimhood allies itself easily with the idea that their local plight is shared on a grander scale by their fellow Muslims suffering in Iraq, Palestine or even Chechnya. This is despite the immense complexity and differences in the nature of these conflicts. This is also despite the fact that Muslims are killing Muslims in Iraq on a large scale. In Muslim minds, this is outweighed by the greater injustice of the invasion.
   Furthermore, conflicts like the Balkans, where the US intervened to effectively save the lives of Muslims in Kosovo and Bosnia, are quietly brushed under the table.
   In the language of modern marketing, Islam is becoming an attractive brand to those of ethnic backgrounds distant to the Judaeo-Christian tradition who also feel alienated, disenfranchised or repressed. This brand remains consistent when applied to Palestinians, British-Pakistanis or Bangladeshi-Australians. In the same way that marketers are not ultimately interested in truth, this kind of Islam does not respect rationality and logic, but prefers emotion.
   This brand can then be used to satisfy the jihadist’s acts. Suicide is actually illegal in Islam but if Islam is deemed to be under direct threat from an outside force, Muslims are justified to fight back as they see fit. By coating a wide variety of conflicts under the same brush, jihadists can convince themselves that Islam is under attack on all fronts.
   Only this week, days after I returned from London, a group of Bangladeshi elders argued the bombings may have been orchestrated by the Americans because this would give them a reason to attack Pakistan. This was of course part of the wider fight against Islam. What is more frightening is that the men who had decided upon this crackpot theory would generally be considered moderates.
   Rather than feed a growing sense of victimhood, Australian and British authorities need to encourage Muslim communities to purge themselves of their extremism. The communities from the subcontinent in particular, from which the first London attacks stemmed from, can be accused of lukewarm desires to integrate into Australian society. Whilst most of their members will argue the terrorists were a fringe element, it is within communities where extreme views are relatively common that jihadists can exist with a degree of comfort. From this relative comfort, they are in a position to launch attacks.
   If the Bangladeshi community, as part of the wider Muslim one, does not take this responsibility now, both here and in Europe, future ‘encouragement’ may be far less gentle.