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In the 7th century, Islamic faith first came to the Bengal with the first Arab merchants and the spread of Sufi saints and tourists across the region. Islam became a blend of ancient traditions, folk cultures, habits, and Hindu and Muslim rituals and symbols, throughout the centuries. For instance, women could enter mosques without covering her head. But from early to the mid-19th century one Syed Ahmed coming from Haj started extending fanatic-conservative teachings to refine Islam through the termination of degenerative influences brought about by a Muslim’s association with Hindus. Every male was to put on the clean white cloth, their beards were to be cut in a precise and uniform fashion, and, Wahabis were to eat together, pray together and form domiciled communities centralized around defined geographies. The Wahabis sought justice by proclamation of jihad, no matter it was morally or ethically correct. The reason was that jihad is a crucial one of the five Pillars of Islam to which the Wahabi in their ultra-conventional orthodoxy were obligated. Their deep faith in the ideology was the force driving their fanaticism and violence.

Since 1947 the history of Bangladesh was tarnished with Islamist political violence, tensions appeared between the Bengali ethnic majority of East Pakistan and Islamic nationalists of West Pakistan. Bengali freedom fighters confronted strong opposition from the Pakistani armed forces and Islamist militias under the control of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party, during the Independence War of 1971. Most of the perpetrators did extreme violence and atrocities against civilians were members of Jamaat culminating innumerable killings and cases of rape. Bangladesh became the ideal breeding ground for extremist behavior, with the rise in political Islam (Rahman L 2018). The alliance of BJI with the government opened the door for oil-rich Arab states to invest in the nation. They provided financial and developmental aid particularly in the scope of building new mosques and Islamic seminaries (Hasan 2011). The first wave of radical Islam or Wahhabism exactly began by the Arab funded religious institutes. Wahhabism is a kind of puritan Islamist ideology that believes in the strict and literal interpretation of the Quran; including the notion of jihad as a tool of warfare to bring about the original Islamist way of life. This external fund makes religion potentially discordant, procreating fundamentalist splinters, and becoming critical to stability. Jihadi entrepreneurs even benefit from the opportunity: exploiting 250,000 Bihari and 300,000 Rohingya refugees languishing in Bangladesh, as people increasingly seek religious reassurances alienated by chaotic politics, utilizing Wahhabi money. Siddiqui Islam as Bangla Bhai masterminded the over 500 bomb explosions encouraged by global Wahhabism, in 2006.

Media reports in India are concerned over Bangladesh has the potential to become a platform for extremist Wahhabi-oriented terrorism.” A letter was sent to the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh in December 2004 by Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) threatening to kill the Indian cricket team if they enter Bangladesh. They were also appeared to build many radical mosques and madrassas in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh to maintain several terrorist trainings camps in that region. Rohingyas from refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh was recruited by Al Qaeda to fight in Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Chechnya. After 9/11 Islamic extremists waging jihad against this or that enemy also resort to networking across boundaries—a phenomenon not unknown to Bangladesh where JMJB (The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh)’s Siddiqui Islam and JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) ’s Shaikh Abdur Rahman meshed similar external and local experiences and purposes (Islam M 2016). Too much of nationalism negatively impacting minorities, especially Biharis, Hindus, and Rohingyas.

Bengali Muslim women were supposed to preserve orthodox notions of Islam which is derived from Middle East tradition. Their influence is also thought to be behind the rising trend among Bangladeshi women to wear black burqas, they should cover herself entirely, and should be separated from men. As the father, son, or brother becomes the breadwinner, if he tells his family that women should wear the burqa, then his word is not contested. This process of wahhabisation of Islamic values in Bangladesh also by the local mollah, members of Hefazat-e-Islam, Tabligh Jamaat, Ahle Hadith, and Ahle Suna, all have highly contributed to reinforcing this operation. Nevertheless, modernists advocated reform which included education for women, relaxation of extreme purdah norms, and women’s participation in public life (Jahan, 1995). So, there is a conflict between Bengali/secular and religious nationalism. Women became the markers and bearers of Bengali culture. Due to more and more Bangladeshis migrated to the Middle East (mainly to Saudi Arabia) and were exposed to the cultural practices and brought these conservative practices based on Wahabi Islam back to Bangladesh (Kabeer, 1991; Harrison, 2015). The Hindus are called “Malaun” disgracefully by some radical Muslims. The meaning of this slur is accursed or deprived of Allah's mercy. It is an Arabic word. This word is used by very few people who lose temperament and annoyed by Hindus. This is used in particular intention to abuse Hindus because of their religion and custom of idolatry.

Bangladesh also witnessed an increased presence of globally connected networks such as Hurkatul Jihad-I-Islami Bangladesh (HUJI-B), and other groups such as Ahle Hadith Andolon]][[ (AHAB), etc. These groups reject the secular/liberal laws and systems of governance and demand an establishment of Islamic law and systems in Bangladesh. They have carried out attacks against state officials, scholars, and online activists, since 2013. Countries that are deeply affected by Wahhabi social and political thought lag behind their economic peers in terms of gender-related development due to the underlying social, methodological, and theological assumptions endorsed by Wahhabi Islam. Bangladesh’s common heritage is threatened by the import of the Wahhabi-style mosque and contributing to changing the identity of Bengali Muslims. Some Islamist groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam, Ahle Hadis, and Ahle Sunnat, monitor many mosques by which makes it hard for people to enter and stay in the mosque according to their needs.

References:

Hussain, I. (2007). Fundamentalism and Bangladesh: No Error, No Terror. South Asian Survey, 14(2), 207-229.

Islam, M. (2016). Crisis of Islamist Extremism in Contemporary Bangladesh. Economic & Political Weekly, 51(40), 5.

Past, A. R. EXCERPT FROM–The Social Dynamics of Terrorism in Bangladesh: A History.

Rahman, L. (2018). Origins, Evolution, and Current Activities of Sunni Salafi Jihadist Groups in Bangladesh. ABC Journal of Advanced Research, 7(2), 71-80.

Syed, J. (2016). Targeted Killings in Bangladesh: Diversity at Stake. The Huffington Post.

Hashmi, T. (2011). Islamism beyond the Islamic heartland. The politics of religion in South and Southeast Asia. Routledge, Oxon, 26-44.

Khan, S. E. (2017). Bangladesh: The changing dynamics of violent extremism and the response of the state. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 28(1), 191-217.

Schwartz, S. (2011). The Terrorist War against Islam: Clarifying Academic Confusions. Academic Questions, 24(1), 59-73.

Dorsey, J. M. (2018). Rolling back militancy: Bangladesh looks to Saudi in a twist of irony. The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

Blanchard, C. M. (2010, March). Islam: Sunnis and Shiites. Library of Congress Washington DC Congressional Research Service.

Nazneen, S. (2018). Binary Framings, Islam, and Struggle for Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh. Feminist Dissent, (3), 194-230.