Bangladesh’s shameful response

par j.james | Avr 21, 2016 | Bangladesh, Religious fundamentalism

Bangladesh’s shameful response to religion critic killings.
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Paul Fidalgo is communications director for the Center for Inquiry. Michael De Dora is director of the center's office of public policy, the organization's representative to the United Nations and the president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The opinions expressed in this commentary are theirs. [/su_column] [/su_row](CNN)An innocent young man is brutally hacked to death in the street by marauding thugs with machetes, and the government's response is to effectively blame the victim. This is the outrageous and absurd situation in the supposed democratic state of Bangladesh, where a bloody campaign of terror is being waged against secularists and atheists who have criticized radical Islam. But rather than act to protect the rights and safety of its people, Bangladesh's leaders are coddling the killers and chastising the dead. 
Last week in Dhaka, 28-year-old law student Nazimuddin Samad found himself surrounded by Islamist extremists, reportedly linked to al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. They hacked at him with machetes, and shot him to ensure he was dead, all because he had written posts on Facebook promoting secularism and criticizing radical Islam.  Continue Reading …

Bangladeshis joined IS

par j.james | Avr 20, 2016 | Bangladesh, Religious fundamentalism

20 Bangladeshis joined IS so far.

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A senior police officer has rubbished claims by the militant group that calls itself the Islamic State about carrying out attacks in Bangladesh.
“We have identified those involved in recent bomb explosions, attacks on mosque and killings. So far 50 persons have been arrested,” Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Trans National Crime (CT) unit, told the media yesterday.
He said many had confessed before the court but none of them said they were involve with IS or al-Qaeda. Monirul, also a DMP additional commissioner, blamed JMB and local militant groups for the attacks.
“The suspects admitted to their involvement with JMB and said they carried out the killings and attacks as part of their militant establishment.”         Continue Reading …                [/su_column] [/su_row]

Reject Islamic State Claims

par j.james | Avr 20, 2016 | Bangladesh, Religious fundamentalism

Officials Dismiss Islamic State Claims of Fighters in Bangladesh

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The latest claim by the Islamic State (IS) that it has launched a new front in Bangladesh and its local fighters are gearing up to launch attacks on India and Myanmar has been dismissed by the government in Dhaka, which says the militant group has no presence in the South Asian nation.
In an interview published in the latest issue of the Islamic State magazine Dabiq, Shaykh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, who was introduced as the head of the organization’s Bangladesh wing, said efforts to recruit “soldiers of the Khilafah (Caliphate)” in Bangladesh has gained “great momentum” with many Muslims joining its ranks. [/su_column] [/su_row] “Bengal (Bangladesh) is an important region for the Kh­ilafah and the global jihad due to its strategic geographic position… a strong jihad base in Bengal will facili­tate performing guerrilla attacks inside India… Also, jihad in Bengal is a stepping-stone for jihad in Burma,” Hanif said in the interview.
Hanif added that IS has succeeded in building a base by attracting Muslims following the organization’s campaign in Bengali language in the social media. Continue Reading …

ISIS and Bangladesh

par j.james | Avr 16, 2016 | Bangladesh, Religious fundamentalism

[su_row][su_column size= »1/3″]    [/su_column] [su_column size= »2/3″]  ISIS has claimed it has operations in Bangladesh, BuzzFeed News reported citing the latest issue of Dabiq, the propaganda magazine of the Islamic militant group.
A significant part of the issue of the magazine was devoted to discuss its operations in Bangladesh.
A number of secular bloggers have been killed in Bangladesh in hand of Islamist fundamentalists since last year.
However, the government has repeatedly rejected the idea of existence and operation of the global militant outfit in the country. [/su_column] [/su_row] The latest issue, released online on Wednesday, includes a profile of a young Bangladeshi named Abu Jandal al-Bangali who was killed during a battle in Ayn Issa, northern Syria.
Abu Jandal, it says, was a man who came from an affluent family in the capital city of Dhaka and had military connections. 
He was, it says, a passionate jihadi who immediately signed up for martyrdom operation after joining the ISIS training camp in Syria and deeply cared about jihad in his homeland.Dabiq also published a short letter by Abu Jandal addressed to “brothers in Islam,” whom he encouraged to be prepared to join ISIS. “Try to do regular physical exercise at home,” the letter said. “Don’t skip this point.”
Dabiq said Abu Janda al-Bangali came from Bangladesh to Syria and was killed during an operation. Continue Reading …