Madrasa | Terrorism

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Activist refers to madrasas as hotbed of terrorism in Bangladesh

He made the remarks at a recent anti-communal rally organized by the Samajik Protirodh Committee at the premises of the central Shaheed Minar.

He said, "This work is by those who were on the side of Pakistan during the independence struggle of 1971, whose job is to trade in religion. They did not want Bangladesh to be independent. They should leave this country. We have defeated them once in 1971 and we have to defeat them again."

Dr. Fauzia Moslem, President of the Central Committee of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, presided over the gathering while Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of the Manusher Jonnyo Foundation; Rokeya Kabir, Executive Director of Bangladesh Nari Pragati Sangha; Rasheda K Chowdhury, Executive Director of Gonosakkhorota Obhijaan, spoke.

Justice Shamsuddin Ahmed Manik, Adviser to the Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee; Sadeka Halim, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Dhaka University; Advocate Salma Ali, President of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association; Golam Quddush, President of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote; Politician Pankaj Bhattacharya; Asif Munir of Projonmo Ekattor; Kajal Debnath, Advisor to the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council; Ranjan Karmakar, Executive Director, Steps Towards Development; Falguni Tripura, coordinator of the Indigenous Women's Network, expressed solidarity at the meeting.

Golam Quddush, president of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, said, "I could not believe it if I did not personally witness the events in Comilla and Rangpur. The wounds inflicted on their hearts by the attacks on temples and homes, cannot be healed with money. In order to prevent such incidents, we have to take care that our politics is not communal."

In Bangladesh, such religious forces have been constantly accumulating energy. According to Professor Abul Barkat, author of the book "Political Economy of Madrasa Education in Bangladesh", the number of Alia Madrasas increased from 2,721 to 14,152 and the number of Qawami Madrasas increased from 13,902 (government figures for 2015) to 33,000 between 1970 and 2008 (Bangla Tribune, January 20, 2020). Of these, 70,000 mosque-centered maktabs and 4,000 Hafezia madrasas (as of 2008) were not included.

Qawami madrasas, which are beyond the control of the government in terms of textbooks and examination quality, have been recognized for their Dorah-e-Hadith degrees in 2017. This gives a glimpse of their growing authority. This degree is recognized as equivalent to a government postgraduate degree.

Not only that, the way they publicly demanded the removal of Lady Justice, the universal symbol of law, from the High Court premises, and in the end succeeded, is another striking proof of their strength and unwavering will. This claim was made on the pretext that the idol was not compatible with the ideology of Islam.

The establishment of arbitrary madrasas in Bangladesh is a matter of great concern. Many of these madrassas have been found to have fueled Islamic militancy and jihadist activity. According to a survey, Islamic militant camps have been set up in many such organizations. These camps have international connections. Weapons are taught in all these places for the purpose of brainwashing the students and establishing an Islamic state. Audio and video cassettes with instructions from Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar are played to incite students to indulge in sabotage.

Surprisingly, most madrasas do not observe national days like Independence Day, Victory Day and Martyred Intellectuals Day. Even opposing the freedom struggle or taking up arms against the freedom fighters of 1971 is glorified as part of the teachings of jihad in all these places. In some of these institutions, the national flag is not hoisted on any occasion and students are not allowed to sing the national anthem.

A study conducted by the Department of Anthropology at Jahangir Nagar University found that students and teachers of these madrassas were in favor of religious leaders declaring 'fatwas' against women. They see the development work of NGOs, freedom of the press, family planning, women's empowerment and advancement, women-leadership, Western education, Bengali language and culture as obstacles to the enthusiasm for Islam in the country. At present, they blame Western education, modernity and women's progress for the decline of social values. After passing out of these so-called educational institutions, these students could not find work anywhere other than mosques and madrasas and eventually became members of Islamic militant groups and became involved in jihadi activities. It is seen that they are involved in Islamic terrorist and subversive activities all over the country. They were responsible for the simultaneous bombings across the country in 2005.

International Islamic NGOs, including the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society in Kuwait, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Saudi Arabia, and other terrorist organizations banned worldwide for their links to Al Qaeda, whose bank accounts were frozen in Pakistan after the 9/11 US towers were destroyed. Other Islamic NGOs that have come to the fore include Al Fujairah in the UAE, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami in Saudi Arabia, and the International Islamic Relief Organization.

All these organizations provide free food, education and accommodation to the students of Madrasa. Their poor parents are told that sending their children to these madrassas will not only provide them with food but also help in the revival of Islam.

The infinite power of these organizations to persuade the youth to jump into jihad by brainwashing them can be understood from the incident that took place on December 24, 2016 in Ashkona area of ​​Dhaka. A female militant carrying a four-year-old child blew herself up during a police raid on a secret camp in what became known as the first female suicide bomber in Bangladesh. In the same incident, a 14-year-old boy fought a gun battle with security forces until his death, ignoring a surrender order. It is not difficult to understand from this extreme reckless attitude of a woman and a teenager what level of violent mentality is sown in them.