effort to define terrorism in bangladesh @

1. Terrorism in Bangladesh
An Overview
Mahmud Naser Jhony
Addl. SP /Bangladesh Police
B.P : 8112147642

2. Presentation Outline
 What is terrorism
 Bangladesh : An Overview
 Islam in Bangladesh
 Brief background on terrorism in Bangladesh
 Govt. response
 The current level of threat
 Terrorist financing
 Bangladesh’s Efforts at Counter Terrorism (CT)
 Conclusion

3. What is terrorism
“Acts or omissions constituting threats to unity,
integrity, security or sovereignty of Bangladesh,
creating panic among the people, or obstructing
official activities and possessing explosive
substance, chemical or fire arms for that
purpose would be regarded as terrorism. (Anti
Terrorism Act 2009, Bangladesh)”

4. Bangladesh : An Overview
 BD achieved independence in 1971 -
War of Liberation.
 BD borders India on the west, north
and north east, Myanmar on the east
and Bay of Bengal on the south.
 Strategic location between South and
SE Asia – acts as land bridge; trade
corridor for Nepal, Bhutan & NE
Indian states.
 Secular Republic and Multi-Party
Democracy with Islam as state
religion.
 Strong economic development &
GDP growth of around 6% over the
past several years
 Socio - Economic Challenges–
poverty, unemployment, corruption,
lack of infrastructure, environmental
disasters, population density, rapid
urbanization etc.

5. Islam in Bangladesh
 Fourth largest Muslim nation in the world
 Approx. 89.7% of the pop. are Muslims; remainder Hindus (9.2%),
Buddhists (0.7%), Christians (0.3%) and others (0.1%).
 Majority of Muslims practice a moderate form of Islam influenced by
Sufism
 Practice of Islam in Bangladesh always defined by tolerance, moderation
and pluralism
 People and the state are secular in nature
 Bangladeshi Identity

6. Brief background on terrorism in
Bangladesh
 Rise in terrorism between 1999-2005 – Afghan Mujahideen returnees -
desire to turn BD into an Islamic state
 Some of the main Extremist groups in Bangladesh:
 Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
 Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
 Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB)
 Hizb-ut Tahrir (HT)
 Hizb-ut Tawhid
 Allah’r Dal
 Attacks by extremists on secular and democratic institutions

7. Background on Terrorism in
Bangladesh Cont.
 Compared to other countries in the world, terrorism in
Bangladesh is a recent phenomenon and can be traced to
the end of the Soviet-Afghan War in 1989
 Many of the Bangladeshi volunteers returned from the
war in Afghanistan to form their own terrorist groups
 In the 1990s two of the most dangerous terror outfits
were Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh(HUJI-B) and
Jama’atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB).

8. Background on Terrorism in
Bangladesh Cont.
 These organizations, while drawing
inspiration from the Wahabi sect of Islam
practiced in the Middle East, manifested
doctrines focusing on transforming the
domestic political arena.
 Rejecting the democratic system of
governance, HUJI-B and JMB aim to
establish Sharia Law in Bangladesh through
what they called jihad

9. Background on Terrorism in Bangladesh Cont.
 Significant attacks included :
 Ten people were killed and more than 150 were injured when
bombs were thrown on a cultural function in Jessore in 1999.
 The 2001 attack on the Ramna Botomul by HUJI-B during
Bengali New Year Festivities killed ten people and injured
many.
 The following year, JMB carried out near-simultaneous
explosions in cinema halls in Mymensingh which killed 15
people and caused grievous injuries to many.

10. Background on Terrorism in Bangladesh Cont.
 HUJI-B carried out a deadly terror attack in August 2004,
which killed 24 and injured over 200 people. It was widely
perceived that the target of this attack was the then
opposition leader and current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina
and her party leadership.
 In August 2005, JMB conducted a country-wide bomb
attacks in 63 out of 64 districts of Bangladesh. More than 500
bombs were simultaneously exploded.

11. Government Response
 The present government in Bangladesh has left no stone
unturned to counter terrorism since it assumed in power in
January 2009.
 Significant measures included:
 Proactive law enforcement – arrest of over 700 militants by
law enforcement agencies
 Execution of seven prominent leaders of JMB and JMJB in
2007
 Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009
 Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2009

12. Current Level of Threat
 Due to various measures taken by the Govt.the terrorist elements, faced with
logistical and financial difficulties, have not been able to undertake any
significant attacks since 2005.
 JMB, which once reportedly had 2,000 full time members, have been
primarily rendered dysfunctional.
 However, the new and arguably bigger threat is posed by radicalization of
youth.
 Contemporary groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir, that pursue a doctrine of
proselytizing and an active dissent of democratic values, constitutes the
current extremist threat in Bangladesh.

13. The current level of threat
 Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international organization that advocates
the unification of all Islamic countries under a Caliphate to be
governed by Islamic Law and ruled by a Caliph.
 What makes HUT different from all other terror/radical
groups in Bangladesh?
 It is an international group present in more than 40
countries with its HQs in London,U.K.
 Claims to be non-violent but advocates an Islamic uprising
against the present form of governance.

14. The current level of threat
 Has a clearly defined manifesto and doctrine
 Members include educated young professionals including
academics as well as students of public and private
universities.
 Undertakes regular publishing including a detailed legislation,
thousands of leaflets and an international journal.

15. HUT in Bangladesh
 In Bangladesh HUT was formed in 2001 and poses social,
political and national threats
 In Bangladesh, HUT is pursuing a national policy aimed at
transforming the domestic political arena as part of a larger
campaign to unite all Islamic countries under a single Islamic
Caliphate.
 Their recruitment campaign is aimed at young educated
University students as well as professionals.
 They have developed a counter discourse for promoting
legitimacy crisis of the present governance system of
Bangladesh.
 There is a need to create a counter-narrative to Hizb-Ut-
Tahrir ‘s ideologies.

16. Terrorist Financing
 The sources of terrorist financing in Bangladesh is
extremely difficult to identify due to the paucity of
reliable information. Despite this several intrinsic
trends are recognized:
 Law enforcement officials have stated that terrorists
undertake drugs and arms smuggling to finance their
activities, although there is no concrete evidence to prove
this
 Some of NGOs in the country have been associated to
TF. In 2010, Green Crescent, a U.K. based NGO was
charged with storing arms and Jihadi books

17. Terrorist Financing Cont.
 The misappropriation of funds for Zakat or Islamic charity to
fund terrorism has also been reported
 Counterfeit currency is also used to finance terrorist activity
as exemplified by the arrest of a JMB terrorist in 2010 with
large quantities of fake Indian Rupees and Bangladeshi Takas
 In July 2012, Islami Bank and Social Islami Bank of
Bangladesh came into the spotlight due to their alleged link to
terrorist financing by a US Senate Report

18. Government Response to Terrorist
Financing
 The government has taken the intiiative to amend the Anti-money
Laundering Act, 2012 and the Anti-terrorism Act, 2012 to bring
them at par with the global standard.
 The concerns and recommendations of the global anti-money
laundering watchdogs -- Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and
Asia Pacific Group (APG) -- on money laundering will be
accommodated in the process of amending the Act.
 Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Anti Money Laundering
Department (AMLD) under Bangladesh Bank have been entrusted
to monitor on any financial irregularities commited by financial
institutions and NGOs.

19. Counter terrorism
 Overall terrorism does not pose an existential threat to
Bangladesh
 Radicalization, particularly of youth is of primary concern
 Urgent need to create a counter–narrative to terrorist
ideology
 Need to involve the participation of Islamic scholars, youth
and community in awareness and educational initiatives
 Local terrorists have International linkages particularly with
South Asian and some South East Asian groups
 Continuous update of the capabilities of the FIU and Money
Laundering Act is required to counter Terrorist Financing
effectively.

20. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts
 Hard Power Measures
 The Bangladesh Police – SB, CID, DB (SWAT)
 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
 Directorate General Forces Intelligence (DGFI)
 National Security Intelligence (NSI)
 Soft Power Measures
 National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention (NCMRP) –
17 member committee
 National Committee for Intelligence Coordination (NCIC)
 NCMRP - recent meeting agreed to organize rallies of teachers
of schools, colleges and madrassas in all seven divisions for a
campaign that Islam has always been against any kind of militancy
or terrorism.

21. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts Contd.
 Legal Measures
 Money Laundering Prevention Act (MLPA) 2002,
2009 & 2012
 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1992, 2009 & 2012
 BD Bank and Anti Corruption Commission are mainly
responsible for administering the MLPA 2012 & for
implementing a number of terrorist financing provisions
in the ATA 2009.
 Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU): undertakes the role in
supervising AML/CFT preventative measures.

22. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts Contd.
 The Government has blacklisted 12 Extremist Groups, of
which the first 5 are banned:
1. Harkat-ul Jihad Islami Bangladesh (HuJI)
2. Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
3. Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB)
4. Shahadat-e-al Haqima (SAH)
5. Hizb-ut Tahrir (HuT)
6. Hizb-ut Towhid
7. Islami Samaj
8. Ulema Anjuman al Baiyinaat
9. Islamic Democratic Party
10. Touhid Trust
11. Tamir ud-Deen
12. Allah’r Dal

23. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts Contd.
 Education
 A strong National Education Policy (2010) – reforming
of Madrassa curriculum
 Awareness campaign - Govt guidelines to 114,000
schools, colleges and universities to warn students
about dangers of religious militancy
 Govt initiatives to introduce anti-extremism chapters
in text books

24. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts Contd.
 Ministry of Religious Affairs has undertaken a number of
programmes to counter religious extremism
 Activities include:
 Publication of Islamic books and periodicals
 Organizing the training of religious clerics and Imams of mosques
 Providing employment to poor and under-privileged Muslims
 Monitoring sermons in over 200,000 mosques to ensure clerics did not
misinterpret Islam or promote violence.
 Campaigning for Secular and Moderate Cultural Values
 Civil Society actions - Sampradayikata-Jangibad Birodhi
Mancha (a platform against communalism and militancy)

25. Bangladesh’s CT Efforts Contd.
 A significant initiative is the Bangladesh Leaders of
Influence Project (2007-11) – Asia Foundation/USAID
– help to increase tolerance
 The Government has used billboards, television ads
and leaflets to emphasize the evils of extremism
 The media has portrayed the violent and bloody side of
terrorist attacks

26. BD in Reg’l & Int’l CT Efforts
 Supports regional counter-terrorism initiatives
under SAARC and BIMSTEC
 Subscribes to 13 universal anti-terrorism
instruments
 Banned all terrorist groups blacklisted by UN
Security Council resolution 1267
 Agreed to the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime (i.e. Palermo
Convention)

27. Conclusion
 The Bangladesh government has made great efforts to eliminate
violent extremism and terrorism not only nationally but beyond
its national boundaries
 With limited resources, Bangladesh's success in CT in a majority
Muslim country is an impressive achievement and recognized by
the Int’l Community
 The threat of terrorism from a number of extremist groups
remains real
 But more needs to be done

28. Conclusion contd.
 Hizbut Tahrir & Transnational Terrorist Groups pose a
real and dangerous threat
 Poverty, misinterpretation of Islam, unemployment and
lack of education need to be addressed
 Adoption of set of strategic communication tools is
required to CT
 Bangladesh needs to adopt a comprehensive National
Counter Terrorism Strategy to address the gaps

29. Thank you