Islamists are pretending to be saviours in Bangladesh as the state has failed to provide law and order. The continuous deterioration of the situation has provided a suitable condition for the Islamist forces to enhance their hold on the society. They are gradually abrogating some of the functions of the state and at the same time are pushing their own hidden agenda.

There is a total collapse of law and order in the southwestern part of Bangladesh due to the activities of various Maoist groups. The situation is grim in some of the northern districts also. The government had launched two operations – Operation Clean Heart and Operation Spider Web – to improve the situation but failed to produce any significant result. 

In the northern districts, especially in Natore, Naogaon and Rajshahi, where Islamists are strong, a militant group has been formed called the Muslim Raksha Mujahideen Oikya Parishad (MRMOP). On the pretext of checking the leftwing extremists, they have been going from house to house and telling people to follow the Islamic way of life. They also assault those whom they consider as sinners. Local youths are compelled to grow beards, wear ankle-length clothes, and women to wear veils. They are also trying to ban playing music in hotels and restaurants.

The new group came to light on 1 April this year when it killed a young man, Osman, of village Kazipara under Naldanga sub-district of Natore district. After the killing, the terrorists of MRMOP staged an open show of strength brandishing firearms in the presence of police at Bagmara sadar. The obscurantists also beat up innocent people threatening them with dire consequences if they did not follow the “Islamic way of life”.

The group also operates under the name of Jagrata Muslim Janata (the inspired Muslims). They ransack liquor shops and beat up alcohol traders and suspected drug sellers. In Naogaon, Azizur Rahman, also known as Bangla Bhai leads these armed terrorists. He has returned from Afghanistan and is a Jamaat-e-Islami cadre. His group has already killed four people and injured many others in their crusade to eliminate Sarbahara, Purba Banglar Communist Party and other underground armed groups. At regular intervals, they claim to organize surrender of Sarbahara men (leftwing extremists). However, the local people believe that the surrender of so-called Sarbahara men is a farce. ‘Islamic rallies’ are held at several venues everyday to rectify the ‘derailed’ people. The Islamists have also formed teams in the mosques, which visit homes calling upon people to follow the sacred teachings of Islam.

After supporting the activities of the Islamists from behind the scene for a while, the local police force has now come out openly in their support. The divisional inspector general of police (DIG) of Rajshahi, Noor Mohammad, has openly stated that he has asked all police stations to support the activities of the self-styled vigilante group. The police, too, have confessed that the Islamists in this region are better equipped and more numerous than the law enforcers. The ‘supremo’ of the MRMOP has also claimed that his group now commands 300,000 activists across the country.