When Bangladesh was still mourning over the terror attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant on July 01, 2016 that left 29 people dead, including 20 hostages (18 foreigners and 2 locals), two police officers, two bakery staff and five gunmen, the latest Ashkona incident on December 24, 2016 where two militants including a woman were killed and a baby girl was injured in separate suicide blasts to escape arrest has reminded us all and made it clear that militants are still active in the country and even a section of women are joining militant groups. It is undoubtedly alarming.Â
During police raid on a militant hideout in the capital's Ashkona, a mother with a kid did not hesitate to detonate her suicide vest while a 14-year-old boy fought a gun battle with the police until his death, turning down the call for surrender. Their extreme desperation shows to what extent a woman and a teenager can be radicalised. For centuries - from the assassins of Alamut against the Persians in the 12th century to the Japanese Kamikaze pilots - those who are prepared to kill themselves to inflict damages to an enemy, are often young men brainwashed into believing their deaths in encounter can guarantee them a place in the heaven. These human bombs die with smiles on their faces with the impression that the moment their blood is spilled, all their earthly sins will be forgiven. Inside their minds flows a feeling of hatred against an enemy which is so huge and strong that suicide attacks are the only way to score a significant victory.
Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and ability to cause mayhem and fear. But the question is: who carries out these acts, and what motivates them? A commonly accepted narrative frames these attacks as a modern phenomenon of self-destruction perpetrated by psychologically impaired, morally deficient, uneducated, improvised individuals and, most of all, religious fanatics. But the analysis of more than 1500 suicide attacks between 1981 and 2008 by Professor Riaz Hassan, Flinders University, Australia reveals far more complex motivations: "humiliation, revenge, and altruism" drive the individual to engage in, and the community to condone suicide bombing. Altruism is a fundamental condition accounting for human co-operation for organization of society and its cohesiveness. The organizations work to guarantee individual suicide bombers that they will be remembered as martyrs dying for their communities. This use of martyrdom imbues the role of suicide bomber with reverence and heroism, rendering it more attractive for the recruits.
However, there is no consistent standard guideline or single explanation for radicalization and terrorism. If we look at the portfolios of Holey Artisan attackers, they do not match our perception. Most of them were from well-off families and had English-medium education backgrounds and some were foreign university educated. Even a year back they were as normal as any other young boy who grew up among us, played with our kids on our backyards showing no signs of radicalization. And then, something went wrong, they had crossed an invisible threshold and had no demands or statements left to make. Killing was the only statement. However, if one were to question these attackers about what are they doing and why, I am sure that they would present a justification based on religion. Â Indeed, religious slogans and quotes from the Qur'an are constantly on their lips. But these young gunmen do not seem to have read the Qur'an in its proper context. When these texts are not read in their proper textual and historical contexts, they are manipulated and distorted. These misguided radicalized groups of Muslims pick and choose portions of the Quran and religious texts, interpreting them as instructions to pursue killing as a part of their 'jihad'.
If we go back to history we shall find that terrorism is driven by politics even when other justifications are given for the killing of innocents. A lack of political inclusiveness in states or grievances against a certain political order may cause individuals to join or create terrorist groups. If we look at the attacks on the West by ISIS or their affiliated groups we shall see that it is not over theological differences between Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Their grievances expressed are broadly political in nature, and address, explicitly and implicitly, issues such as economic oppression, colonialism and political corruption. They live in oppressive, autocratic, or dysfunctional societies that offer them few opportunities for economic advancement and none for political participation. As a consequence, they become radicalised. Â While their radicalism is outwardly religious and religion may serve as a catalyst for their radicalisation, the true underlying motivation is a sense of outrage that is politically and economically induced. Â
Interestingly, every time this type of incident occurs in Bangladesh, both the ISIS and Al-Qaida claim responsibility of the killings. But one is not sure as to whether the killers are indeed organically linked to either of the terror groups. It is of no use to argue or debate over whether the terrorists are home-grown or affiliates of ISIS or Al Qaida, rather it is a high time for all of us to acknowledge the ground realities that there are groups ideologically linked with such international outfits, the mandate of which is to kill innocents in the name of religion. These young men carried out operations like trained troops and it seems that they went through rigorous training and had ideological motivation. Therefore, to stop the menace, we need to find those evil Pied Pipers who are luring our young men into the distorted path of 'murder' and 'suicide', both acts categorically condemned by the religion they profess to be defending. Â
We are in a crisis. Over the last few years, there have been a number of targeted killings that took place in Bangladesh where several bloggers, religious individuals, writers, and advocates of different opinions were killed. The tragedy is that rather than finding solutions, we prefer mudslinging and blame-game. But we can not afford this game anymore and what is of paramount interest is to tackle this crisis. A crisis is also a test for leadership that brings in its wake an opportunity to reunify the nation. Now is the time to realize that we are all in the same boat and have a common problem. Therefore, instead of finger pointing or making rhetoric, effective strategies have to be drawn up to deal with the challenge. We must combat this evil not just with more efficient, sophisticated security measures but with a political will. We must fight this terror ideologically by finding ways to stop our young people from being radicalized. Â
afsarulhaider@gmail.com
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Combating terrorism: We are all in the same boat
Abu Afsarul Haider | Published: December 28, 2016 22:09:15 | Updated: October 20, 2017 05:47:20
Combating terrorism: We are all in the same boat
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