Is Islamic Terrorism Making A Comeback In Bangladesh?
(ANALYSIS) As Bangladesh grapples with political instability for a year since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country following mass student-led protests in August 2024, Islamist radicals have been trying to make a comeback in this South Asian nation of 173 million people.
In March, the banned Islamist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, which seeks to establish a global Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law, carried out a mass rally with 2,000 people in Dhaka while chanting anti-government slogans. Over 35 members of the group were arrested under anti-terrorism laws but the Islamist group has been demanding that the interim government under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus revoke its ban.
Around five months before the event, Hizb ut-Tahrir established its student wing, Swadhin Bangladesh Chattra Sangsad (SBCS), at Dhaka University, aiming to mobilize students in support of establishing a caliphate in Bangladesh. The group also hosted an online International Khilafah Conference to promote its vision of an Islamic caliphate and disseminate its ideology globally, which was attended by Hizb-ut Tahrir leaders and members worldwide.
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To build international backing, Hizb ut-Tahrir created a WhatsApp group called “Prabaashi Muslim Network” uniting South Asian U.K. members to support its Bangladesh agenda.
In February, the Bengali-language Islamic State-supportive At-Tamkeen Media Foundation created a room on Element, an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform which is used by the Islamist extremists. At-Tamkeen Media is an unofficial media outlet that spreads Islamic State propaganda online, targeting the Bengali-speaking community. Some Bengali-language posts now carry the Maktabatul Himmah label and feature original content, this may signal the start of an unofficial IS-supportive Bengali media wing, which indicates its support among online Bangladeshi users.
In September 2024, the al-Naba newsletter of Islamic State published an editorial calling for a “genuine Islamic revival” in Bangladesh. The editorial, titled “Bangladesh and Shari’ah Rule,” drew parallels between Bangladesh's political shift and the Arab Spring, predicting that there will be an eventual failure of the regime change. Islamic State propagandists argue that “ideological and methodological disruptions” in Bangladeshi faith hinder Shari’ah implementation, insisting that only Jihad can bring necessary change.
Terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State–Khorasan (ISK), have exploited Bangladesh's political turmoil, making strategic statements to promote radical ideologies and rally support. AQIS has praised what it perceives as resistance to corruption and secularism.
Inclusion of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) into the interim government following the fall of Hasina-led government and lifting the ban of BJI’s student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, may not have been the best step to initiate “democratic reforms” by the interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
After the political unrest leading to Hasina’s exodus last year, weapons and ammunition stolen from police stations have ended up in the possession of criminals and extremist groups. A large number of stolen 5,800 firearms and 300,000 rounds of ammunition are still missing, contributing to growing instability. During the period of political violence, alongside criminals, at least, 98 militants escaped from prisons.
Several prominent members of terrorist organizations — including Ansar al Islam leader Jasimuddin Rahmani and Harkatul Jihad al Islami-Bangladesh leader Atik Ullah — were granted bail, raising concerns about the reemergence of inactive militants, renewed recruitment drives, and the potential for fresh attacks.
An Australian government report released this summer stated that the security situation in Bangladesh is volatile and can deteriorate quickly with politically motivated violence and clashes between rival groups being common. Additionally, there has been rising rates of rape and murder since the fall of the Hasina Government.
Despite facing accusations of authoritarianism, Sheikh Hasina’s government proved successful in suppressing radicalism and maintaining national security, particularly following the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack that killed 20 people, which had exposed the presence of extremist elements in the country.
Despite Hasina denying any domestic presence of jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda, Bangladeshi diaspora groups in Europe in a letter to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) claimed that between February 2013 and June 2016, at least 14 human rights defenders (HRDs) and activists were murdered in Bangladesh, and extremist groups pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Although the intelligence agencies, law enforcement and civil society in Bangladesh are divided over their political allegiance since many are still "Hasina loyalists", there is an urgent need for all to come together to combat the growing threat of militancy and restore stability.
At the same time, the U.S. and the European Union must take initiative to restore peace in Bangladesh since a politically destabilized Bangladesh becoming a safe haven for Islamist radicals will also threaten US and EU interests in the broader Asia-Pacific.
Sonia Sarkar is a journalist based in India. She writes on conflict, religion, politics, health and gender rights from Southeast Asia. Her work has appeared in a range of international publications, including the South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia and Al Jazeera.