No appeasement to extremists

It has been proven time and again that trying to appease fundamentalists is a futile exercise and ultimately the appeaser has to pay heavily for adopting this policy

In a murderous act of defiance extremists hacked to death Nityananda Pandey, a worker of Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra Shatshango Ashram, on the very day the various law enforcing agencies started a nationwide combing operation against them. The announcement of the operation came a day before and the extremists did not waste any time to make a statement that they will carry on their heinous activities in the face of any attempt to weed them out. It would hardly be an overstatement to say that they have thrown down the gauntlet and issued a challenge against the state.
Coming back to the combing operation, the successes of any such endeavours depend to a great degree on the element of surprise. This element of surprise was lost as soon as the announcement was made a day earlier. Be that as it may, this operation must succeed if fundamentalist militancy is to be crushed once and for all.
Too much leeway has already been given to these quarters by successive governments and this fact has only strengthened them. And the incumbents are as guilty as the others. If history is anything to go by, appeasement of fundamentalists–of any hue–simply does not work.
“An appeaser,” said Winston Churchill, “is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.”
This appeasement policy followed by the Awami League vis-à-vis religious fundamentalism has saddened its core secular constituency that also includes the non-Muslims. Often Awami League leaders have said that they have no option in a Muslim-majority country. This argument is weak as it has been proved time and again that trying to appease fundamentalists is a futile exercise and ultimately the appeaser has to pay heavily for adopting this policy. The hope of Awami League and its allies is that by reaching out to the Islamic Right, their participation in society will reduce the threat of extremism. It misses two key points. One, most on the Islamic right resorting to violence will be their personal view, the other that this accommodating undermines the moderate Muslims that are countering the distorted view of Islam. The state and its government must stand for the liberal principles that fundamentalists oppose, instead of promoting groupthink over individual rights.
Unfortunately few learn from history. Today religious fundamentalism has seemingly overtaken politics in Bangladesh. History tells us that this admixture of religion and politics will become explosive sooner rather than later.
Politics–unlike religion– is not a faith, it’s a science; it follows certain laws. For correct results one needs to apply correct formula. For example, religious fundamentalism will create conflict in society and it will push the society backward. You won’t need to be a genius to figure it out; it’s dictated by social and political laws. Religious fundamentalism is driven by illusions, not by reality. It is true – one can organize a society using such illusions; Hitler did it, and it worked for a while. Religious fundamentalism will also work for a while, no doubt, but – it is bound to hit the reality at some point.
Bangladesh was born out of a secular spirit. Unfortunately, what happened to this new country is really a sad story. The fundamentalists want to go back to the pre-independence era of exploitation.  Bangladesh is independent, but the enemies of independence are not sitting idle. So, those who are for the independence cannot let the guard down.
Religious fundamentalism is a social cancer. Even if we cannot cure it at the moment we should be able to manage it. However, if we wait too long, this disease will spread so much that – it will become unmanageable.  
 Secularism supports citizens being free in their opinions regarding religion. Universal human rights promote that no authority may impose religious opinions on others by law or coercion.  There are people who say that the fundamentalists have “rights” too. Well, they are wrong. Nobody is allowed to propagate the Nazi ideology. Actually these forces of evil are using the democratic process into bloodthirsty violence against people who don’t bow to their dogma.
We expect more from this government because it claims to uphold secular principles. So Awami League should stand by the writers and protect their right to speak freely. Instead, it has adopted a policy of appeasement… bloggers who have written critically of religion are being prosecuted under the nation’s colonial-era laws that restrict speech that might offend religious ‘sentiment’ or create ‘enmity’ between religious communities.  And the harm done to Bangladesh is severe; it is becoming a land where assassins feel emboldened and act with impunity while writers are forced to watch what they speak, keeping their thoughts imprisoned in their minds.
For the sake of fairness I take this opportunity to dispel that myth that Muslim countries are never secular. Certain Western ‘scholars’ claim Muslims do not tolerate minorities in ‘their’ countries but demand minority rights in other countries. The world’s largest Muslim majority country is Indonesia (total population approximately 25 crores,). Indonesia’s national slogan is “Unity in Diversity.” Yes, Indonesia has occasional riots and bomb blasts, but so does India. In reality the majority of Muslim majority countries in the world are secular. Several large examples include Turkey, Mali, Syria, Niger, and Kazakhstan. Despite having Islam as ‘state religion’, Bangladesh is also secular in law. The same is true of many other countries. Only six countries in the world claim to use Islam as the basis of their law making. In other words, the vast majority of Muslim majority countries are secular, and the vast majority of Muslims live under secular governments.
There is also the never ending myth that Muslims have always been fundamentalists and are ‘more religious’ than followers of other religions. Recent history shows that this is a lie, and also exposes where current “Muslim fundamentalism” comes from. Just forty to sixty years ago, in most of the major regions of the world with high Islamic populations – Indonesia, the Middle East, north Africa – the strongest political forces were secular leftists. This took many forms: the Indonesian Communist Party, the Nasserite and Baa’thist regimes in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, the Iranian government of Mohammed Mossadegh, etc.
 In these countries, especially in the Middle East, it was the United States and its client states (such as Saudi Arabia) that sponsored, financed and armed right wing and religious fundamentalist organisations, precisely in order to counter the strength of the secular leftists whom they opposed. Israel’s role in propping up Hamas to counter the PLO is also well known. This reached its height in the 1980s with the war in Afghanistan, with the US bankrolling and training the people who later founded Al Qaeda. It was during this period as well that the US financed and supported the Zia regime in Pakistan in its “Islamisation” drive. The current strength of the Islamic fundamentalist movement in the Middle East is a result of American strategy, which involved finishing off all leftist resistance while tolerating and encouraging Islamic fundamentalism. Above all, to repeat the key point, Islamic fundamentalism is a political phenomenon created by a particular history – just like Christian fundamentalism and every other form of right wing movement. The myth of the inherently fundamentalist Muslim owes a lot to European mythmaking around the Crusades and subsequent efforts to prop up their empire in India. But people continue to recycle colonial self-justifications as if they are true.
Be that as it may, the time has come that we should stop all the hullabaloo about hurting religious sentiments. Religious feelings can be hurt in a number of ways. The mass slaughter of cows at Muslim 'Qurbani' festivals may be offensive for the Hindus who worship the cows as gods. Similarly, public worship of idols, celebrating the Bangla New Year and giving flowers at the Shaheed Minar in a Muslim-dominated country can offend a extremist Muslim. Moreover, followers of other religion might not accept or feel insulted when someone says that 'Islam is the best religion in the world', or it might hurt Muslims when a Hindu person claims that all humans are born as Hindus. The common people who take religion as a part of humanism, aren’t really interested in such propaganda that relates to religious ignominy but when things like these are used in political deceptive manoeuvres, they make people believe that their own religion is endangered and to protect it they have to take part in war, murder, rape and what not. This was exactly how the genocide of 1971 was perpetrated in Bangladesh, in the name of Islam.
At long last the government has taken a firm stance. The writ of the state must run. We cannot let Bangladesh become hostage to obscurantist elements. A concerted and sustained effort against all extremist groups operating in the country is necessary. Militants of all hues must be decommissioned completely and transparently. Equally important for Bangladesh is to introduce a universal secular public education system and improve basic services so that radical groups cannot lure young people into their educational and welfare networks.  

The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]

No appeasement to extremists

It has been proven time and again that trying to appease fundamentalists is a futile exercise and ultimately the appeaser has to pay heavily for adopting this policy

In a murderous act of defiance extremists hacked to death Nityananda Pandey, a worker of Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra Shatshango Ashram, on the very day the various law enforcing agencies started a nationwide combing operation against them. The announcement of the operation came a day before and the extremists did not waste any time to make a statement that they will carry on their heinous activities in the face of any attempt to weed them out. It would hardly be an overstatement to say that they have thrown down the gauntlet and issued a challenge against the state. Coming back to the combing operation, the successes of any such endeavours depend to a great degree on the element of surprise. This element of surprise was lost as soon as the announcement was made a day earlier. Be that as it may, this operation must succeed if fundamentalist militancy is to be crushed once and for all. Too much leeway has already been given to these quarters by successive governments and this fact has only strengthened them. And the incumbents are as guilty as the others. If history is anything to go by, appeasement of fundamentalistsof any huesimply does not work. An appeaser, said Winston Churchill, is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last. This appeasement policy followed by the Awami League vis--vis religious fundamentalism has saddened its core secular constituency that also includes the non-Muslims. Often Awami League leaders have said that they have no option in a Muslim-majority country. This argument is weak as it has been proved time and again that trying to appease fundamentalists is a futile exercise and ultimately the appeaser has to pay heavily for adopting this policy. The hope of Awami League and its allies is that by reaching out to the Islamic Right, their participation in society will reduce the threat of extremism. It misses two key points. One, most on the Islamic right resorting to violence will be their personal view, the other that this accommodating undermines the moderate Muslims that are countering the distorted view of Islam. The state and its government must stand for the liberal principles that fundamentalists oppose, instead of promoting groupthink over individual rights. Unfortunately few learn from history. Today religious fundamentalism has seemingly overtaken politics in Bangladesh. History tells us that this admixture of religion and politics will become explosive sooner rather than later. Politicsunlike religion is not a faith, its a science; it follows certain laws. For correct results one needs to apply correct formula. For example, religious fundamentalism will create conflict in society and it will push the society backward. You wont need to be a genius to figure it out; its dictated by social and political laws. Religious fundamentalism is driven by illusions, not by reality. It is true one can organize a society using such illusions; Hitler did it, and it worked for a while. Religious fundamentalism will also work for a while, no doubt, but it is bound to hit the reality at some point. Bangladesh was born out of a secular spirit. Unfortunately, what happened to this new country is really a sad story. The fundamentalists want to go back to the pre-independence era of exploitation. Bangladesh is independent, but the enemies of independence are not sitting idle. So, those who are for the independence cannot let the guard down. Religious fundamentalism is a social cancer. Even if we cannot cure it at the moment we should be able to manage it. However, if we wait too long, this disease will spread so much that it will become unmanageable. Secularism supports citizens being free in their opinions regarding religion. Universal human rights promote that no authority may impose religious opinions on others by law or coercion. There are people who say that the fundamentalists have rights too. Well, they are wrong. Nobody is allowed to propagate the Nazi ideology. Actually these forces of evil are using the democratic process into bloodthirsty violence against people who dont bow to their dogma. We expect more from this government because it claims to uphold secular principles. So Awami League should stand by the writers and protect their right to speak freely. Instead, it has adopted a policy of appeasement bloggers who have written critically of religion are being prosecuted under the nations colonial-era laws that restrict speech that might offend religious sentiment or create enmity between religious communities. And the harm done to Bangladesh is severe; it is becoming a land where assassins feel emboldened and act with impunity while writers are forced to watch what they speak, keeping their thoughts imprisoned in their minds. For the sake of fairness I take this opportunity to dispel that myth that Muslim countries are never secular. Certain Western scholars claim Muslims do not tolerate minorities in their countries but demand minority rights in other countries. The worlds largest Muslim majority country is Indonesia (total population approximately 25 crores,). Indonesias national slogan is Unity in Diversity. Yes, Indonesia has occasional riots and bomb blasts, but so does India. In reality the majority of Muslim majority countries in the world are secular. Several large examples include Turkey, Mali, Syria, Niger, and Kazakhstan. Despite having Islam as state religion, Bangladesh is also secular in law. The same is true of many other countries. Only six countries in the world claim to use Islam as the basis of their law making. In other words, the vast majority of Muslim majority countries are secular, and the vast majority of Muslims live under secular governments. There is also the never ending myth that Muslims have always been fundamentalists and are more religious than followers of other religions. Recent history shows that this is a lie, and also exposes where current Muslim fundamentalism comes from. Just forty to sixty years ago, in most of the major regions of the world with high Islamic populations Indonesia, the Middle East, north Africa the strongest political forces were secular leftists. This took many forms: the Indonesian Communist Party, the Nasserite and Baathist regimes in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, the Iranian government of Mohammed Mossadegh, etc. In these countries, especially in the Middle East, it was the United States and its client states (such as Saudi Arabia) that sponsored, financed and armed right wing and religious fundamentalist organisations, precisely in order to counter the strength of the secular leftists whom they opposed. Israels role in propping up Hamas to counter the PLO is also well known. This reached its height in the 1980s with the war in Afghanistan, with the US bankrolling and training the people who later founded Al Qaeda. It was during this period as well that the US financed and supported the Zia regime in Pakistan in its Islamisation drive. The current strength of the Islamic fundamentalist movement in the Middle East is a result of American strategy, which involved finishing off all leftist resistance while tolerating and encouraging Islamic fundamentalism. Above all, to repeat the key point, Islamic fundamentalism is a political phenomenon created by a particular history just like Christian fundamentalism and every other form of right wing movement. The myth of the inherently fundamentalist Muslim owes a lot to European mythmaking around the Crusades and subsequent efforts to prop up their empire in India. But people continue to recycle colonial self-justifications as if they are true. Be that as it may, the time has come that we should stop all the hullabaloo about hurting religious sentiments. Religious feelings can be hurt in a number of ways. The mass slaughter of cows at Muslim Qurbani festivals may be offensive for the Hindus who worship the cows as gods. Similarly, public worship of idols, celebrating the Bangla New Year and giving flowers at the Shaheed Minar in a Muslim-dominated country can offend a extremist Muslim. Moreover, followers of other religion might not accept or feel insulted when someone says that Islam is the best religion in the world, or it might hurt Muslims when a Hindu person claims that all humans are born as Hindus. The common people who take religion as a part of humanism, arent really interested in such propaganda that relates to religious ignominy but when things like these are used in political deceptive manoeuvres, they make people believe that their own religion is endangered and to protect it they have to take part in war, murder, rape and what not. This was exactly how the genocide of 1971 was perpetrated in Bangladesh, in the name of Islam. At long last the government has taken a firm stance. The writ of the state must run. We cannot let Bangladesh become hostage to obscurantist elements. A concerted and sustained effort against all extremist groups operating in the country is necessary. Militants of all hues must be decommissioned completely and transparently. Equally important for Bangladesh is to introduce a universal secular public education system and improve basic services so that radical groups cannot lure young people into their educational and welfare networks. The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]