Bangladesh’s Growing Jihadist Movement at Home and Abroad

Between November 16, 2015 to December 1, 2015, Singapore authorities arrested 27 Bangladeshi Jihadist supporters.  Singapore police were able to arrest the men utilizing the country’s city-state International Security Act (ISA) as the group had threatened armed jihad against the Bangladesh government.  The group told authorities that they followed the teachings of al-Qaeda teacher Anwar al-Awlaki.

The 27 men detained were construction workers and had lived in Singapore anywhere from two to seven years. Singapore has a high population of migrant workers from Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

The New Age Newspaper, found that the jihadists had visited the Anguilla Mosque, located in the Little India section of Singapore. They often passed jihadist reading materials and leaflets while meeting on every Sunday. They also visited the mosque on Serangoon Road to try and recruit new members.

Members of the group were encouraged to return to Bangladesh and wage jihad on the Bangladesh government. They also sent monetary donations to groups linked to terror activities in Bangladesh.

While questioned by Singapore authorities many in the group cited reasons for committing jihad based on religion; fighting for the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East, and killing Shi’ite Muslims because they are  deviant in nature. Bangladesh population has 89% as Muslim and the majority are Sunni.

This was the first terrorist network consisting of all foreigners that Singapore authorities had ever caught. The Singaporean Jemmah Islamiyah has been involved in terrorist incidents overseas and several Singaporeans were arrested last year for attempting to go over seas and fight for the Islamic State.

Authorities have already repatriated 26 of the jihadists back to Bangladesh where 14 have already been jailed. The last member is currently serving a twelve week jail sentence for attempting to leave Singapore over illegal and clandestine means.

In October 2015, a New York Times editorial, reported that U.S. officials warned the Bangladesh government that terrorist groups with ties to the Islamic State were plotting attacks. However, Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, called several incidents since the story conspiracy tactics used by domestic opposition to tarnish the government.

Police and authorities also refuse to acknowledge the idea that the Islamic State may be operating in Bangladesh.

Islamist groups in Bangladesh are  angry over the Dhaka government’s refusal to acquit Motuir Rahman Nizami, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami,  and charged with war crimes during the 1971 conflict with Pakistan. He was part of a student wing of Jamaat, called al-Badr Pro-Pakistani Militia, and killed writers, doctors, journalists, and professors. Motuir Rahman Nizami, is currently sitting in Bangladesh’s death row, and is expected to be executed this year.

Riots and protests have become more frequent in Bangladesh as supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami have violently demonstrated continued support for the terrorist network. Jamaat-e-Islami was officially banned from participating in politics in by the Bangladesh courts in July 2013.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have also made their presence further known in Bangladesh with a sharp increase of violence throughout 2015. The murders of secularist bloggers and publishers; attacks on police; mosque bombings; and an influx of British jihadists with connections to the East London Jamaat-e-Islami network.

There is a Sunni Islamist that is growing in parts of Bangladesh and the Dhaka government needs to begin taking action before its too late. One ex-military advisor noted, “ISIS has its eye on Bangladesh.” Prime Minister Hasina has had a zero tolerance policy for terrorism, but critics say her methods of reprisal violate human rights. Singapore authorities may have saved Bangladesh from a major catastrophe, but the next time the warning may be too late.