Is Islamic State Bengal Province in the Making? The Caliphate’s Lingering Shadow over Bangladesh

March 11, 2025

Recent jihadist propaganda materials from the so-called Al-Bengal Media, a seemingly unofficial Islamic State mouthpiece, suggest an intensified ideological push to establish a wilayat (province) in Bengal. These efforts, rooted in IS's broader ambitions to maintain its global foothold despite territorial losses in Iraq and Syria, warrant a closer examination. Is an Islamic State Bengal truly in the making, or are these just remnants of a dwindling jihadist movement struggling to stay relevant?

Poster Propaganda: A Renewed Push?

ANIMESH ROUL

MLM: Qasim Gujjar: Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant Behind Attacks in Kashmir Designated as Terrorist by India

August 02, 2024

Executive Summary: On March 7, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs designated 41-year-old Kashmiri militant Mohammad Qasim Gujjar as a terrorist. Gujjar has been involved in multiple high-profile attacks, financed and supplied arms to terrorists, and is a major recruiter for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Gujjar has been especially effective at radicalizing relatives of deceased militants.

ANIMESH ROUL

Securing Our World: Countering Chemical Terrorism in the Age of New Technologies

On November 27, 2023, the Twenty-Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-28) opened in The Hague, Netherlands. This five-day meeting discusses various aspects associated with implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which has been in effect since April 29 1997. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is responsible for fulfilling the Convention’s mandate.

AJEY LELE

UN Press: ‘Poor Man’s Atomic Bomb’ Made of Dual-Use Biological, Chemical Material Replaces Nuclear Weapon for Non-State Actors, First Committee Told

October 29, 2022
UN logo

‘Poor Man’s Atomic Bomb’ Made of Dual-Use Biological, Chemical Material Replaces Nuclear Weapon for Non-State Actors, First Committee Told

Securing High-Containment Biological Labs Can Avert Next Pandemic

Chemical and biological weapons had become the best alternative to nuclear weapons for rogue States and non-State actors, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its thematic debate on weapons of mass destruction and opened debate on conventional weapons. 

EER: "How Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent Exploits the Prophet Controversy in India"

August 20, 2022

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) — one of the most resilient regional affiliates of the transnational jihadist enterprise Al-Qaeda — issued multiple threats to carry out suicide bombings and other targeted attacks in India after controversial remarks about the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran were made by senior members of India’s ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

ANIMESH ROUL

MLM: "The Elusive Indian Ideologue: Farhatullah Ghauri Resurfaces to Call for Jihad in India"

August 09, 2022

After years of hiding, Muhammed Farhatullah Ghauri, one of India's elusive yet most wanted Islamist ideologues, resurfaced with a series of audio-visual messages. Ghauri's sudden re-emergence on popular social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Telegram in early 2022 caught the attention of Indian security agencies. Since February, under the banner of Sawt-al-Haq (Voice of Truth), he has railed against the Hindu right-wing in India.

ANIMESH ROUL

Interview: "Afghans 'caught between the devil and the deep sea'

July 18, 2021

Nearing the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces and allies in Afghanistan, the South Asian country is quickly descending on a path to chaos and conflict.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces has drawn the ire of former President George W. Bush. As the American-backed government in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, is left to fend for itself, Bush was quick to criticize the move, calling it a "mistake" with grave consequences.

TM: "Al-Qaeda’s South Asian Branch Gravitating Toward Kashmir"

April 19, 2020

Almost six years after al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent’s (AQIS) formation as the regional subsidiary of the infamous transnational jihadist group, the organization is reportedly shifting its violent campaign to Kashmir and India. On March 21, in one of its key Urdu language magazines, AQIS claimed that the group would change the title of its long-running publication Nawa-i Afghan Jihad to Nawa-i Gazawatul Hind, signaling the geographical shift, mostly justifying the objectives behind its name and formation.

ANIMESH ROUL

INTERVIEW: How Vulnerable Is India to Recruitment by the Islamic State?

As India tries to stem the flow of citizens joining the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the state of Kerala, on the southern coast, has emerged as an area of special concern. According to government statistics, more citizens have been arrested for Islamic State ties in Kerala than in any other state.

Editors, WORLD POLITICS REVIEW