West-Islam clash

Apropos of the report “Bangladesh in denial, despite ISIS terror threat “(FE, July 4), the spectre of jihadist violence is haunting the world, as is evident from the commando-style attack on the Western-style restaurant in the upscale diplomatic enclave in Dhaka. Hitherto, we were mentally accustomed to associate such attacks with West Asia and the cities of Western countries. Now, even the small and poor Bangladesh has come within the orbit of extreme violence. The attack on the cafe frequented by expats and diplomats on the heels of a string of hacking attacks on secular bloggers, rationalists, gay activists and members of minority communities represent a different ball-game. The Sheikh Hasina government may or may not be right in saying that IS and al-Qaeda have no “operational presence” in Bangladesh. But the home-grown radicalised zealots are no less determined and ruthless than these dreaded networks. Perhaps much of the anger and antagonism felt by the radicalised Muslim youth is attributable to the Western occupational forces in several parts of the Muslim world and the lives lost at their hands. Still the inhumanity of the attack does not get diluted or extenuated by being looked at as part of the global clash between the West and the Muslim world. The attackers are no martyrs to the cause of Islam. The wholesale slaughter of innocent people as happened in Dhaka is nothing short of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’. The resurgence of religion has created a situation fraught with danger. With unchecked radicalisation, the security situation in Bangladesh is progressively getting worse.