e_Paper, Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Opinion
23
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016
DT
Where do the boys go?
Too many young men end up taking the path of militancy
Young minds are ready to be armed
Not only does Bangladesh need a socio-political overhaul (if it so desires
to attain liberal-democratic values), it requires an education system that
allows for doubt, critical thinking
• SN Rasul
The problem with security
is that, given enough
time, it will start to wane.
Whereas walking
into Bashundhara City used to
involve putting my bag on the
counter, it being opened and
thoroughly checked, my person
given an equally thorough patdown,
cigarettes and lighters
inadmissible, it is now a cursory
spank on the butt and a grunt.
I suspect it is the same in most
places.
We are meant to follow patterns
and act accordingly. So, when
something breaks that pattern,
such as the Holey Artisan attack,
our danger signals tingle, our panic
buttons are pressed, we unsheathe
our swords in defence. But, when
nothing happens for, say, six
months, our minds automatically
recognise a new pattern and we
relax, we give in to the way our
world starts to become as it used
to be: We re-holster our guns.
And militants know this.
For the last two weeks, an
increasing number of boys have
been going missing throughout the
country, much in the same way
the attackers of Holey did. Some
from here, some from there. A
few NSU students, of course; one
from cantonment; one who works
for the National Curriculum and
Textbook Board.
Police thinks militancy is
again on the rise. Is this what the
terrorists do, wait for the panic to
die down, and then start recruiting
again? And, after Kallyanpur, and
after killing Tamim Chowdhury,
the apparent emir of Bangladeshi
IS, after statements which implied
that terrorism had, in fact, been
rooted out, why does this continue
to happen?
Is it because the government’s
insistence that these people are
under the influence of the JMB
doesn’t ring true? Is it because,
that a show of success which
BIGSTOCK
prevents the public from panic,
in the short-term, is much more
important to the government than
actual long-term solutions to the
problem of terrorism?
To understand why so many
young men decide to take the
path towards militancy requires a
socio-political understanding that
the government seems to lack. It
requires a true understanding of
the culture that has been allowed
to fester in Bangladesh.
If one thinks that the Holey
Attack is not related to the killing
of the Santals, or the burning of
the Hindus, or the way Rohingyas
are oftentimes treated, they’d be
wrong. These are all connected
by the thread of difference and
sectarianism; if not in law, then in
spirit.
Bangladesh’s proud history of
pseudo-secularism is as much as
myth as the fictional universe of
current secular values perpetrated
by the governmental narrative and
under-the-gun editorials by the
media.
Like all of history of all
the lands in all the world, the
persecuted have become the
persecutors. And the circle will
continue.
The problem lies in the
undeniable fact that most people
in Bangladesh, the ones who will
not end up reading this piece in
this paper, have no false notions
with regards to the religio-ethnic
identity of their country: Bengali
Muslims. They do not care, or
they do not know, or they do not
recognise the technicalities of the
Bangladeshi constitution which
allow for equality and freedom of
religion.
This is further the case amongst
boys in their late teens and late
20s; they are surrounded by a
populace who do not validate
the feelings of disenfranchised
loneliness and sexual frustration
that they so desire. The only time
they get it is when they give in to
fundamentalist narratives woven
out of the theocratic ideals of a
few religious leaders funded by
Wahhabi agenda.
The validation is two-fold:
Society recognises their attempt
at “goodness.” The recruiters, be
they IS or JMB, recognise their
value to the cause, provide them
with purpose, and offer up eternal
happiness and 72 virgins (to quote
the popular notion). If given a
choice between pure satisfaction
and continued frustration, which
would you choose?
Would you have the knowledge
required to understand the
difference? And, even if you did,
could you take the less violent
route?
Most people in the country do,
despite their common attachment
to the religion. They recognise
the Western imperialism, the
frustratingly one-sided Western
narrative, but an inherent moral
code kicks in, thankfully.
But if most of the populace
continues to attach itself to an
interpretation that is potentially
violent and disastrous, and when
our government and police forces
also buy into it to varying extents,
why wouldn’t young boys not
be given the free space and time
where they are heavily susceptible
to the influences of militant
recruiters?
Not only does Bangladesh
need a socio-political overhaul
(if it so desires to attain liberaldemocratic
values), it requires an
education system that allows for
doubt, critical thinking, and the
questioning of the very basis on
which not only faith was founded,
but the very identity of the nation.
Otherwise, the minds that come
out of the schools only mould to a
shape that is ripe for the plucking,
and their hands, ready to be
armed with a trigger that could
potentially blow our world to
smithereens. •
SN Rasul is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka
Tribune. Follow him @snrasul.