"Exacerbating the Pandemic? Assessing The Critical Role of Religious Congregations in Indian Subcontinent"

ABSTRACT:  The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed myriad vulnerabilities of the modern world, severely questioning the so-called human progress in the sphere of scientific innovations and advances in the global health care system. It has also exposed the socio-religious divide and defiance within communities and lack of collective responsibilities in the face of this Covid-19 challenge.

ANIMESH ROUL
January 2022

MLM: Mufti Amir Hamza Fuels Bangladeshi Extremism Through ‘Wa’z Mehfils’

August 05, 2021

On May 5 (2021), Bangladeshi police arrested Mohammad Shakib and Ali Hasan Osama, two members of the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Islam terrorist group. They were arrested for “planning and instigating” an attack on the National Parliament (also called the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban) in the capital Dhaka. Shakib was arrested with a sword and black flag near the parliament, while Ali Hasan Osama was apprehended in the Rajbari area of Dhaka (BDNews24.com, May 6).

ANIMESH ROUL

Bangladesh: Restructuring of Hefazat-e-Islam

July 20, 2021

After facing a huge leadership crisis due to the arrests of its top leaders in March 2021, mainly due to violent protests and media allegations about its radical activities, the HeI attempted to rebuild its image by restructuring the organisation. The new Secretary-General of Hefazat-e-Islam, Nurul Islam Jihadi, announced a new central committee (CC) formation at a press briefing at Al Jamiatul Islamia Makhzanul Uloom Madrasa in Khilgaon, Dhaka on June 7. The new CC has 33 members, with Junaid Babunagari as its chief (Ameer).

SACM, July 2021

MLM: "France Expels Islamic State-Linked Bangladeshi Extremist: Saif al- Rahman"

May 08, 2021

In late 2020, French authorities detained Saif Rahman (a.k.a. Totan) a 24-year-old Bangladeshi national, who was attempting to travel to Islamic State (IS)-controlled territory in Syria. During his interrogation, the French authorities uncovered his extremist beliefs and intention to join IS in the Middle East.

ANIMESH ROUL

Why Speculate? Evaluating Delhi-Dhaka Ties

PM N.Modi-PM S.Hasina (Representational)

Several articles were published in the last week mostly speculative, indicating a doomsday scenario for India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.[1]  Three developments were cited as signals of this new low in the bilateral ties.[2] First, one report appeared in Bhorer Kagoj, a Bengali newspaper in Dhaka, that Indian High Commissioner, Riva Ganguly Das was not granted a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, despite her trying for the last four months to have such a meeting scheduled.[3] This news that Indian High Commissioner was not given

SMRUTI S PATTANAIK

Terrorism Monitor: "The Shifting Narrative of Women’s Role in Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh’s Islamic Jihad"

November 28, 2018

Bangladesh’s most lethal home-grown militant organization, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)—which has multiple ideological and operational factions, including the Islamic State (IS)-inspired neo-JMB and al-Qaeda linked core Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JM)—has gained notoriety over the last few years for recruiting and nurturing a network of women militants. Despite robust counter-terrorism operations following the July 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attacks in the capital Dhaka, an alarming number of women are taking up the cause of militancy.

Terrorism Monitor: "Fugitive Bangladeshi Militants Bring Jamaat ul Mujahideen to India"

June 30, 2018

"The founding of JMI on Indian soil indicates two things—that Bangladesh’s concerted counterterror operations have pushed the JMB remnants into neighboring India in search of a safe haven, and that there has been somewhat of an ideological rift within the original JMB with the different strands adhering to either the jihadist ideals of al-Qaeda or those of Islamic State (IS).

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