ICC Note:

Christians and other religious minorities in Bangladesh fear the rising issue of religious extremism now gripping the country. Last Friday, suspected ISIS militants took hostages at a popular bakery in Dhaka and killed 20. Before that, a string of public and brutal murders targeting religious minorities, secular bloggers, gay rights activists, and academics had plagued the country since 2013. The government has taken steps to secure the country by arresting over 11,000 suspected militants, but the attacks continue. 

7/8/2016 Bangladesh (Vatican Radio) – The so-called Islamic State have warned that last Friday’s attack at a café in Bangladesh was just a glimpse of what is to come.

In recent weeks, Bangladesh has experienced a rise in extremist violence, with a string of targeted killings on secular bloggers and religious minorities, with the most deadly attack taking place on July 1st, which saw 20 civilians of different nationalities murdered. However the Bangladeshi government has discredited claims that the so-called Islamic State carried out the attacks, instead blaming homegrown local militant groups.

A spokesperson for the South Asia Team for Christian Solidarity Worldwide spoke to Georgia Gogarty, about the current situation in Bangladesh and what needs to be done to stop this rise in violent extremism.

People in Bangladesh are extremely fearful and there is a sense of insecurity and instability according to CSW’s spokesperson. When asked why there has been such a rise in violent extremism, they said that we must “look back to the history and the political context” of Bangladesh, which separated from Pakistan following the War of Liberation in 1971.

Our spokesperson explained that Bangladesh is 89% Muslim and much of the population feel that Hindus, as well as foreigners are “trying to dilute the Islamic feeling in the country”. What started out as the murders of secular bloggers has now “expanded towards local people, also targeting religious minorities”, which include Hindus and Christians, as well as those who are outspoken about fundamentalism.

When asked which measures can be taken to curb this onslaught of violent extremism, the CSW spokesperson stressed that the government has to be more honest about who is responsible for these killings. “This outright denial that ISIS or al-Qaeda or some external extremist groups is not helping the situation”, they said.

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