Extremists want to destroy multi-cultural and multi-religious societies.
The recent blood-soaked attack by a Muslim militant force on a cafe popular with foreigners in Dhaka is yet another grim reminder that, for some people, political struggle can justify the cruelest violence.
In Bangladesh and so many other places, extremists want to destroy multi-cultural and multi-religious societies. Most of us do not want to live under those terms; our response, therefore, requires a cool head.
For many extremist groups, a preferred strategy is to sow panic, seeking to strangulate tolerant instincts and set different groups against each other. The violence seen across the border in Bangladesh is purposeful in its barbarity.
When foreign investors get nervous, when development projects fail, when the middle class flees abroad and when tourists stay away, the extremists have secured their short-term victory. Their long game is to completely pollute the relationship between religious communities, in this case Muslims and non-Muslims, hoping that eventually there will be no alternative to all-out religious war.
Curiously, those who are most adamant in their opposition to Muslims often prove the least savvy about the implications of this strategy. For extremists, part of the goal is to inspire extreme opposition.
So, in Myanmar, every time a prayer hall is desecrated, or a Muslim community gets attacked, militant forces have extra ammunition for goading division and hate. For them, the anti-Rohingya activism of Myanmar’s Buddhist nationalists fits perfectly the story of downtrodden Muslims, who need muscled-up support from around the world. Continue Reading …