Terror In The Mail

DHAKA

Terror in Bangladesh has come knocking on the doors of intellectuals and political activists. In the lastfew weeks, they have received letters from unknown radical Islamist groups accusing them of being 'murtads',or non-believers, and threatening to kill them. This new wave of terror has compelled many professors of DhakaUniversity to organise protest marches, seek police protection, and opt for a relatively sequesteredexistence. Some of them have even chosen to buy peace, paying money to anonymous callers who threatened themwith death.

The Dhaka University Teachers' Association staged its latest march a fornight back, seeking security forthemselves and their families. The Association president, AAMS Arefin Siddique, told Outlook, "Islamistzealots are issuing death threats to those who practice free-thinking. Those who were threatened, are nowunder tremendous mental pressure and wonder how long they can risk taking classes. Even those who did notreceive the threat are also worried."

The first group to send these letters was Mujahideen al-Islam. Signed by one Maoula Patowary, who claimedto be director of the group's "Zone B", the letter accused a group of 10 academicians and politiciansof "acting against Islam" and consequently being the "enemies of Islam." Patowary thenchillingly added, "These sinners are the foremost among those the Quran ordains to kill." He furtherclaimed that Islamist organisations, including Hizbut Tahrir and Harkatul Jihad, possess the photographs ofthe 10, and that his (Patowary's) target was "to hoist the flags of Islam and Pakistan soaked in theirblood" in Bangladesh.

The 10 who received Patowary's letters included Communist Party of Bangladesh leader Mujahedul Islam Selim,Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Huq Inu, Awami League leaders, Tofael Ahmed and Abdur Razzak, andwriter and human rights activist, Shahriar Kabir. Communist leader Selim says, "The coalition government(of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia) has instilled audacity in Islamist militant groups by denying their existence.Now after this threat, if a person is attacked, the entire responsibility will have to be shouldered by thegovernment." He feels the forces behind the threat letters are those whose aim is to merge Bangladeshback into Pakistan. "I am not surprised that people who had failed to kill us in 1971 have returned tobutcher us again," Salem told Outlook. 

Journalists appear to have been specially targeted. Some 22 of them, based in Dhaka, northeastern Sylhetand southern Barguna districts, received threat letters from one Jangi Bhai, who said they would be killedwithin a month as they were "enemies of Islam." Journalists in Barguna district also received aletter from one "Mrittujam" who, to hammer home his point, sent burial clothes as well. A copy ofthe letter sent to journalists in Barguna was also found pasted at the local press club. It declared,"You are Murtad. You cannot save yourself by using your pen against Islamic jihadi powers. Prepareyourself for death..."

It seems journalists in Barguna have been targeted because of their extensive reporting on the militancy inthe area, and the eventual arrest of 33 alleged militants from a mosque there. There's a feeling amongjournalists here to not buckle under pressure. As one journalist working for the pro-opposition newspaper BhorerKagoj told Outlook, "I am not scared. If we all get scared then these people will get a freehand and undermine the very idea of Bangladesh".

In contrast, Dhaka University professors feel terrorised. And those who have been provided with detectivesfind their freedom circumscribed. Says prominent historian Muntasir Mamoon, "Our normal movement has beenrestricted, and my family is offering regular special prayers from the time the death threat was issued. Youcan't take a chance." Mamoon was jailed by the government for alleged "anti-state" activitiesfollowing the cinema theatre bombings in 2002 in Mymensingh.

Some 25 professors, says Siddiqui, have chosen to pay anonymous callers demanding money. "One of themwas asked to carry the money to Shaheed Minar on the campus, and a group of students came and took itaway," he informs. Siddiqui and others are perplexed about the identity of those issuing death threats:are they militants or extortionists? Police in Dhaka do not rule out the role of militants, largely becausethose who have received threat letters are known to be "progressive-minded" or are inclined towardsopposition parties, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League.

It's understandable why academicians are worried. As Siddiqui points out, "After the deadly attack onProf Humayun Azad in February, he, along with others, received death threats. Thus, we think it can be Islamiczealots." Azad was so severely stabbed that the government had to fly him to to Basngkok for propertreatment. Back in Dhaka, he has repeatedly claimed that he was targeted for his Bengali-language novel PakSar Zamin Sad Bad [The Blessed Sacred Land]--the first line of the Pakistani national anthem. His bookrevolved around those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independencethat was backed by India.

A senior government official admits the role of militants groups behind these threats hasn't been ruledout, and the police have taken action in a number of cases. "But these groups are not major organisations,nor do they have much influence in Bangladesh's politics." All this is of little comfort to thoseprofessors, journalists and politicians who have received death threats from bigots.