Who's to blame?

Typical of the situation in Bangladesh, public opinion is deeply divided on the "facts". Some people (mainly but not only from the ruling coalition of BNP/Jamaat) claim the death threats are manufactured by the professors, etc. themselves, either to bring national or international attention on themselves or as a ploy to discredit the government, either way taking advantage of international anti-Islamic hysteria. Others (usually supporters of the supposedly more secular opposition party, the Awami League) are convinced that creeping fundamentalism is the most serious problem facing Bangladesh today.

Assessing the situation with any degree of accuracy is a treacherous task if one wants to avoid the minefield of highly polarised partisan politics. While one does not wish to overstate the case, the current government’s coalition partnership with Islamist parties does have a bearing on its rhetoric and responses. The stabbing of Humayun Azad was not imagined or self-manufactured. Typically, by refusing to act until the very last minute (if at all), at the least, the government is complicit if not directly responsible for the current environment of fear and insecurity.

Difficulties in analysing the course of events are compounded by the increasingly blurred lines between criminalisation and communalisation, in the context of a weak and corrupt State complicit in the criminalisation of politics, and a coalition government unwilling to defend basic human rights if that means offending Islamist coalition partners.

The overnight emergence of the vigilante group, the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), and the rumours swirling around their origins is a case in point. The JMJB has been terrorising communities in the areas under its control. Its stated aim is to rid the northern districts of left wing extremist groups known for their own terrorising tactics and extortionary practices. It is common knowledge that these smaller groups all have godfathers in the two main opposition parties, without whose support they would easily be captured and jailed by now. Presumably, the same holds for the JMJB.

The main rumours are 1) this is a turf war in which a new ‘gang’ is trying to establish supremacy in the locality 2) the group has been created/nurtured by some members of the ruling coalition who are using it to eliminate their political rivals by labelling the latter as left wing extremists. 3) the JMJB is an ‘organic’ organisation with ties to international Islamist groups, especially the Taliban. None of these are mutually exclusive explanations.