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Saturday, April 3, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Religious extremism and our youth




SEEING a group of militant youths arrested by the security forces makes us ponder as to what positive contributions they could have made, had they not been led astray. As conscientious citizens, we need to act now to stop the rot before it gets out of control; failure to act could result in situation as is prevailing in Pakistan and in many other Muslim countries. We need to study why and how religious extremism enters into the society's mainstream, how it thrives and what measures we could take to prevent our youth from becoming extremists. This article would address some of these issues.

Religious extremism, leading to violence and acts of terrorism, is a phenomenon that is plaguing the Muslim community worldwide; Bangladesh is no exception. While the mainstream Islamic societies continue to abhor extremism and violence, there is a small minority support base that gives the extremists space to grow and flourish.

Denial of a cancer that is growing in the society's body could only lead to a catastrophe; but that had been our position for nearly a decade. While extremism grew in the society, our official position was that Bangladesh was a moderate Muslim state and religious extremism did not exist here. Acts of terrorism were blamed on the political opposition as a convenient scapegoat. When such acts could no longer be camouflaged under any pretext, and especially as the international pressure to act against the militants intensified, the government went into action. By the end of 2006, many of the perpetrators of the acts of terror were arrested and brought to justice. However, our efforts so far have remained limited to punitive measures against lower ranking activists, leaving the masterminds unidentified and undisturbed. Despite numerous arrests and prosecution, law enforcers continue to arrest more militants and unearth weapon caches. We are yet to fully understand how the militants are recruited, how they arm, train and organize. Extremist rank and file will continue to grow unless we have a strategy to fight them ideologically, politically, socially and culturally.

One of the root causes of the growth of religious extremism in the Islamic societies had been the absence of democratic traditions and institutions. While royalties and dictatorships suppressed democratic forces, religious leaders with political aspirations were propped up as a countervailing force, giving birth to what is now known as "Political Islam". For example, in Pakistan and Bangladesh, Islamic political parties, such as Jamaat-e-Islami, were showered with official favour during the military and quasi-military rules when democratic and left-leaning parties were suppressed.

Many of the foot-soldiers of extremist organizations in Bangladesh such as Jamaat-e-Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami, Bangladesh (HUJI-B) were from rural, unemployed poor and had been recruited from obscure madrassas or mosque-based seminaries. Common threads for recruitment into extremist organizations were, therefore, poverty, joblessness, frustration and lack of exposure to modern education. We, therefore, need to address these issues of vital importance.

People suffering from endemic poverty and social injustice are easily attracted to organizations calling for a social revolution. Radical Islamic parties call for Jihad to establish an Islamic Caliphate, where equity and justice would prevail. Their slogans, however utopian those might be, attract a section of the Muslim youth. Islam in South Asia was based on spiritualism and humanism that encouraged multiculturalism and pluralism. However, it is increasingly being challenged by a strict, literal interpretation of Islam emanating from certain quarters.

We need to invest more in education in terms of money and infrastructural resources. Our education system should cultivate liberal views and shun narrow, parochial outlook towards other religions and cultures. Traditional madrasa education system, where a child gets to study only among his coreligionist and is exposed to a particular set of religious edicts, calls for serious evaluation. Government of Bangladesh has taken up a number of reform measures in respect of madrasa education, but how far those would be implemented in the face of opposition from the Islamists remain to be seen. We also need to create jobs for millions of young people unemployed or underemployed. Our education system is ill suited to face the challenges of the 21st century. It is tied to a past that produced useless clerks and nothing more. We need to update the system so that we produce technically skilled, ethically sound, well-informed youth who would take up challenging, well-paid and satisfying jobs. That would be one serious antidote to extremist ideas.

Youth in Bangladesh is deprived of many amenities that are considered essential for healthy growth of mind and body. We do not have enough parks and playgrounds, clubs and libraries, entertainment and recreation centres where young people could spend their leisure time in useful pursuit. As the saying goes, "An idle mind is a devil's workshop." Unless we keep our young people engaged in useful, challenging and satisfying activities, they would be prone to extremist ideologies. One who plays cricket, loves to play guitar, goes to a weekend camping is most unlikely to end up as an extremist.

Parents have a major responsibility to see that their children do not fall victim to extremist ideology. When someone is arrested for extremist activities, it comes as a rude shock to the parents. Parents often report that they were totally ignorant of the activities of their wards. While they were under the impression that their child was taking religious lessons, the child, in fact, was undergoing Jihadi indoctrination. While most of the JMB and HUJI activists were madrasa educated rural youth, in case of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) the recruits were educated children of the urban elite. The parents often missed the warning signals; by the time they realized, the child had already been thoroughly indoctrinated. While it is neither possible nor desirable to monitor all the activities of the child, the parents should ensure that the child grow up with a well-rounded view of the world we live in.

While we deter the youth from religious extremism, we should not forget those who are already in jail on charges of extremist activities. Because these people are not criminal in the ordinary sense, their continued detention would only harden their ideological belief, and given the opportunities offered by the jail conditions, they are likely to influence other convicts in Jehadi ideology. We shall thus end up with a far greater problem. Therefore, we need to start a de-radicalisation programme in the jails to bring those convicted extremists back to the society's mainstream when they are eventually released.

Religious extremism that leads to money laundering, arms smuggling, terrorism and other criminal activities are a serious threat to national security. Like many other Muslim societies, Muslim youths in Bangladesh too are increasingly vulnerable to the extremist ideology of armed Jihad. Bangladesh's widespread poverty, poor education, large-scale unemployment and a burgeoning youth population create an ideal condition in which such ideologies thrive. Therefore, we need to take effective countermeasures to protect our youth our most valuable assets. A deliberate, well-planned, multi-dimensional strategy to fight the scourge of extremism is the answer.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=132688


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[ALOCHONA] U.N.: Bhutto Commission Report Complete



U.N.: Bhutto Commission Report Complete
 
 
The U.N. commission that investigated the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will not reopen its probe in response to the Pakistan government's claim that two heads of state may have new information, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to delay the release of the commission's report on his wife's killing from Tuesday until April 15 and the U.N. chief agreed. (See TIME's photoessay "Bhutto's Village in Mourning.")

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Tuesday he didn't know why Zardari made the request. But Pakistan's presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said the country asked for the delay so the commission could attempt to question two heads of state who he said had called Bhutto before her death warning her of "serious threats to her life."

Babar declined to say which heads of state he was referring to, saying it would be unethical, but he said questioning them "can make the report more credible." It was unclear why the commission had not spoken to them.

Nesirky was asked Wednesday whether the three-member commission planned to question the two leaders. "The commissioners have seen a considerable amount of relevant information, including what's been in the news media in recent days," he replied. "After conferring in the light of that latest information, they continue to say to us that they have concluded their work," Nesirky said. (See TIME's exclusive video of Benazir Bhutto.)

Bhutto was killed in a Dec. 27, 2007, gun and suicide-bomb attack as she was leaving a rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, where she was campaigning to return her Pakistan People's Party to power in parliamentary elections.

The government at the time of Bhutto's murder, led by President Pervez Musharraf, blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant commander with reported links to al-Qaeda. Officials at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency also said Mehsud was the chief suspect.

But Bhutto's party repeatedly hinted that Musharraf or his allies were involved and demanded a U.N. probe, claiming it was the only way the whole truth would be revealed.

The secretary-general agreed to appoint a commission to assist Pakistan by determining the facts and circumstances of Bhutto's death and it began work on July 1, 2009.

Under terms agreed to by the U.N. and the Pakistani government, the commission was to determine facts and circumstances surrounding the assassination but Pakistani authorities would determine any criminal responsibility.

Nesirky stressed that the secretary-general and the Pakistani government have not seen the commission's report and will not see it until its official release on April 15.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1976842,00.html



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[ALOCHONA] Naxals greet PC with a blast



Naxals greet PC with a blast

Ahead of Home Minister P Chidambaram's visit to naxal-hit Lalgarh, Maoists blasted a powerful landmine targeting a CRPF vehicle which left a jawan injured.
Bomb Disposal Squad inspecting the spot after a landmine bast at Bamal under Lalgarh Police Station in West Midnapore district on Saturday. PTI
 
Union Home minister P Chidambaram arrived here on Saturday for a two-day on-the-spot visit of the Naxal-hit Lalgarh region.Going ahead with his scheduled visit, the minister appeared to send a firm signal to the Left wing rebels that the Centre is determined to restore the civil administration in the troubled zone in the West Midnapore district.

So far, there has been no plans for cancellation of his scheduled trip to Lalgarh and Midnapore town on Sunday despite a powerful landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists on Saturday at Bamal village, targeting a CRPF vehicle, left a jawan injured.

The rebels detonated the mine, barely 4 km from the helipad next to Lalgarh police station, when at least a dozen CRPF personnel were aboard the vehicle which was going to Lalgarh from Dharampur, the police said.Chidambaram's special chopper is slated to land on the helipad on Sunday morning and from here he is to proceed to the Lalgarh police station to hold a high-level meeting with the police and the administrative officials.

The security has been beefed up in and around Lalgarh following the blast, with around 1000 CRPF personnel deployed along with special anti-Naxal force. The Union Home minister who held a closed door meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacherjee in the wake of his arrival from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, is believed to have discussed the successes and failures of the first phase of `Operation Greenhunt'.

Chidambaram who would be visiting the Midnapore town later in the day to hold a special meeting with the civil administration along with top security officials of both the state and central governments, looked determined to send a strong signal to the Maoists that the Centre is in no mood to call off the operation midway, specially when it was showing some signs of success.

"The flush-out operations in the thickly forested jungles of Lalgarh and adjoining region have been paying dividends with eight suspected rebels having taken into custody and recovery of huge cache of ammunition from the Maoist hideouts," a senior police official claimed on Saturday. A CRPF chopper has been closely monitoring the situation from the sky.

Security has been tightened in the three districts of Midnapore, Bankur and Purulia where the Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) has called for observing a 2-day 'bundh' in protest against Chidambaram's visit. This is the first time that Chidambaram will be visiting a Maoist stronghold since the launch of 'Operation Green Hunt'.
 
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/61875/

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[ALOCHONA] Stella Moon, made in Bangladesh



Stella Moon, made in Bangladesh
 
Chittagong, Apr 3 (bdnews24.com) — Bangladeshi made Stella Moon, a container ship, was delivered to Denmark on Saturday. Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan and Abdullah Hel Bari, chairman of Ananda Shipyard, one of the leading shipbuilders of Bangladesh, officially handed over the ship. Captain Michael Sorensen of Stella Shipping accepted it on behalf of the Danish company.

Stella Moon, with a capacity of 29,000 tonnes, is 81.35 metres long and 13.15 metres wide.
The $7.5 million (Tk 52 crore) ship was the second cargo manufactured for Denmark, , Ananda's administration manager Mosharraf Hossain told bdnews24.com.
The Bangladeshi company earlier exported six cargo ships to Mozambique, and 12 more cargo ships are being built for Germany.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Bag Snatchings In Bangladesh; Unrest In India; Bombers In Moscow



Bag Snatchings In Bangladesh; Unrest In India; Bombers In Moscow

By LARRY HABEGGER

Russia: On March 29, two suicide bombers detonated bombs in the Moscow Metro system, killing 39 and injuring at least 70, and on Wednesday double suicide bombings in Dagestan killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more. Security has been tightened throughout Moscow. Frequent checks of ID papers, especially for foreigners, are likely. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow advises visitors to carry identification at all times.

Bangladesh: A U.S. Embassy Dhaka employee riding in a rickshaw recently was yanked out and dragged along the street when a thief reached from a passing vehicle and snatched her purse. The incident serves as a reminder to be careful with purses, backpacks or other bags with straps in places where bag snatching from vehicles is common.

India: Three days of Hindu-Muslim clashes caused two deaths, at least 80 injuries and a curfew in Hyderabad. Tensions remained high despite a heavy police presence. Hyderabad has experienced sporadic unrest over a push to carve a new Indian state out of Andhra Pradesh called Telangana.


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