Featured

Popular Support for Suicide Terrorism in Bangladesh: Worse Than You Think

In March 2014, Dan Mozena, then U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh is “a moderate and generally secular and tolerantthough sometimes this is getting stretched at the moment—alternative to violent extremism in a very troubled part of the world.” While Mozena’s statement reflects the general perception that Bangladesh is a success story of a moderate, secular, Muslim democracy, this view never rested on strong empirical grounds. Indeed, since Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, the durability of both secularism and democracy have been undermined by numerous military coups—many of which involved multiple counter-coups before a clear “victor” emerged—in 1974-75, 1977-1980, 1981-82, 1996, and 2007. (In 2012, the military announced that it had thwarted yet another coup in January of that year.)  Bangladesh’s two mainstream political parties are known more for their rivalry, corruption and incompetence than for governance. Since independence, Bangladesh has experienced creeping Islamism that continues to enjoy popular support, and increasingly, Bangladesh is the site of Islamist violence. Between January 2005 and June 2015, nearly 600 people have died in Islamist terrorist attacks, but 90 percent of those have taken place since 2013. That the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claim many of these recent attacks casts a pall over Bangladesh’s ostensible success story.

Read More- Lawfare Blog

Image courtesy of the Guardian

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

In March 2014, Dan Mozena, then U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh is “a moderate and generally secular and tolerantthough sometimes this is getting stretched at the moment—alternative to violent extremism in a very troubled part of the world.” While Mozena’s statement reflects the general perception that Bangladesh is a success story of a moderate, secular, Muslim democracy, this view never rested on strong empirical grounds. Indeed, since Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, the durability of both secularism and democracy have been undermined by numerous military coups—many of which involved multiple counter-coups before a clear “victor” emerged—in 1974-75, 1977-1980, 1981-82, 1996, and 2007. (In 2012, the military announced that it had thwarted yet another coup in January of that year.)  Bangladesh’s two mainstream political parties are known more for their rivalry, corruption and incompetence than for governance. Since independence, Bangladesh has experienced creeping Islamism that continues to enjoy popular support, and increasingly, Bangladesh is the site of Islamist violence. Between January 2005 and June 2015, nearly 600 people have died in Islamist terrorist attacks, but 90 percent of those have taken place since 2013. That the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claim many of these recent attacks casts a pall over Bangladesh’s ostensible success story.

Read More- Lawfare Blog

Image courtesy of the Guardian

About SOFREP News Team View All Posts

The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In