Former US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena mentioned the role of Bangladesh in fighting terrorism and militancy as one of the key determinants of Bangladesh-US partnership in a private conversation with one of the authors (Dr. Arif) in 2012.
Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the senate, mentioned in an event organized by one of the authors (Dr. Nabi) in 2022 that the current Bangladesh government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a reliable partner of the United States in fighting terrorism.
Both also mentioned that the US would wholeheartedly support any Bangladeshi government stance against militancy.
Bangladesh’s position in the global anti-terrorism fight is significant for various reasons: its geo-political location in the South Asian region, it being the eighth largest country in the world by population, and the fourth largest Muslim country.
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Most importantly, nearly one-fourth of the population of Bangladesh is illiterate and many of them live below the poverty line. Hence, Bangladesh could be a breeding ground for the rise of religious militancy.
The United States along with other western development partners strongly realize this and give utmost importance to Bangladesh accordingly. Development partners including the United States expect a government in Bangladesh that is strongly committed to fighting terrorism.
Sadly, several recent actions by US politicians have raised questions about the ongoing support to Bangladesh in fighting terrorism and religious fundamentalism.
There is a symbolic meaning of the recent US visa restrictions on Bangladesh.
The BNP-Jamaat led right-wing political parties who have been providing patronage to extremism in Bangladesh took this step by the US as part of their victories in questioning the legitimacy of the current Awami League government.
As lawful citizens of the greatest country on earth, we, Bangladeshi-Americans, strongly agree with the advocacy of the US government for free and fair elections and for maintaining human rights in Bangladesh. We also believe that like any other democratic government, the Awami League government in Bangladesh must be accountable.
There might be room for improvement for the current Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina. However, the counter-terrorism steps taken by this government are outstanding and none can ignore the success of the Awami League in wiping out the national, regional, and international terrorist organizations in Bangladesh.
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Bangladesh’s position went up almost double — from 23rd to 43rd in the Global Terrorism Index. This is the greatest success of the last one and half decades of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh used to be known as one of the hubs of fundamentalism and terrorism in the world before Sheikh Hasina’s government came to power in 2009.
Right after 9/11, BNP came to power in collaboration with the extremist, right-wing party Bangladesh Jamaat-e- Islami. Until then, Bangladesh had never seen such a rise in religious fundamentalism as it happened during the BNP-Jamaat regime in 2001-2006.
International terrorist groups went on a rampage and started mushrooming all over Bangladesh. The international media termed Bangladesh as the next “breeding ground” or “next Afghanistan.”
Sheikh Hasina expressed the firm commitment of her government to wipe out terrorism and fundamentalism right after taking office in 2009. It was one of the agendas in the election manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League.
People of Bangladesh were utterly frustrated with bombings and killings of progressive writers, activists, and bloggers. Bangladeshis gave a supermajority to the Awami League to fight against those evil elements wreaking havoc in the country.
Sheikh Hasina ordered law enforcement agencies to follow a “zero tolerance” policy in wiping out terrorism from Bangladesh.
As a result, extremist leaders like Bangla Bhai and Shaykh Abdur Rahman, the leader of ‘Jagrata Muslim Janata’, who instructed their forces to bomb all the districts in Bangladesh at the same time were captured and prosecuted in a speedy special tribunal.
In addition, the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina rooted out almost all the small terrorist groups that mushroomed during the BNP-Jamaat government.
These actions were not easy for the Awami League. It was particularly politically risky for Sheikh Hasina and her party. Through these actions, however, Bangladesh became a role model among Muslim countries in the fight against religious fundamentalism.
Recently, the way some US congressmen asked the Biden administration and the United States to put an embargo on Bangladesh raises questions over whether these politicians cross-checked facts or analyzed historical data on Bangladesh.
Under these circumstances, some of us wrote to President Biden and some congressmen, explaining the real situation in Bangladesh and urged them to cross-check information before putting out further statements on the country. Some of them appreciated us for enlightening them on the facts.
We simply stated the facts about the counter-terrorism actions of the Awami League government and how historically the party has been known as pro-minorities compared to the right-wing political parties.
As Bangladeshi-Americans, we felt that some of the congressmen who signed the petition to put an embargo on Bangladesh without any prior knowledge were influenced by lobbyists hired by the BNP-Jamaat coalition.
As Bangladeshi-Americans we are worried about such steps taken by the congressmen. We strongly believe that this kind of initiative is directly contradictory to the ongoing US support in the fight against terrorism and militancy in South Asia.
Like the politicians and the US government, we also support the demand for free and fair elections and ensuring human rights in Bangladesh.
However, we must be extremely cautious when lending support to a cause and not encourage, or worse, facilitate right-wing fundamentalist groups to come to power. This would be against the interests of the United States in South Asia.
We strongly believe that like any other democratic government in the world, Awami League is not above criticism, and they might have some missteps in running the government. However, in terms of the global political scenario, the contributions of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in almost wiping out terrorism in Bangladesh is undeniable.
Dr. Delaware Arif is a digital journalism associate professor in the Department of Communication at University of South Alabama, USA.
Dr. Nuran Nabi is a councilman of Plainsboro Township, New Jersey, USA. He is an Ekushey Padak recipient and a freedom fighter.
Views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.