Dhaka reacts furiously, even at the slightest hint of the presence of al-Qaeda in its territory. But some recent incidents have put the Bangladeshi government in a situation where it would be hard pressed to deny this allegation. Bangladeshi activists owing allegiance to al-Qaeda and Taliban are active not only inside the country but also in places as far away as Japan. This increasing influence of al-Qaeda in Bangladeshi society is a cause for concern to the rest of the world, attempting to counter the threat of terror.

Four Bangladeshis, caught recently in Japan, had frequent contacts with Lionel Dumont, a Frenchman linked by the United States to al-Qaeda. It is believed that Dumont belonged to al-Qaeda's logistics arm and was engaged in raising funds, money laundering and forming a terrorist network while hiding in Japan between July 2002 and September 2003.

The most prominent among al-Qaeda allied group, Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI) and its student wing, Jama'atul Mujahidin (JuM) are suspected to be behind the bomb blast that took place on 21 May at the Hazrat Shahjalal shrine in the Sylhet town. In this blast three people were killed and more than 100 others were injured including the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Anwar Chowdhury. The Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, Abul Hussain, was also injured in the blast. It was the second attack on the shrine this year and the first in which a diplomat was injured. In January, a bomb blast had left five people dead at the same venue. Security agencies suspected the Principal of the Jameya Madania Madrasa in Kazirpar, Mowlana M Habibur Rahman, of being responsible for the blast. Rahman has close ties with the Taliban militia and is reportedly trying to establish a Taliban-style rule in Bangladesh. But investigations could not proceed on this line under pressure from certain quarters of the government.

The police unearthed a Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI) training camp located in the interior hilly area of Pori-Kup Mulatoli under Hathazari sub-district in Chittagong district on 1 June and seized 24 inactive AK-47 rifles, sharp weapons and instruments, and uniforms. Three cadres of the outfit were arrested while at least 60 of them escaped. The ‘director of the camp’, Mir Anis, who is absconding is a relative of a state minister and teacher of a local women's madrassa.  The arrested activists disclosed that the madrassa students who arrived there were trained in the 'Taliban' style in the hilly areas. Some of them were supposed to go to other countries and many had gone to Sylhet and Mymensingh. 

Another training camp of Islamist militants was unearthed in Rangunia sub-district in Chittagong on the same day and one person, Mohammad Tusher, a former student of a local madrassa was arrested in this connection. Police seized a firearm and some training materials from the camp. The law enforcement agencies also confirmed that several other training camps were active in the hilly areas of Hathazari. But the government tried to hush up the matter and penalized the policemen for failing to stop the media from covering both the incidents.

Another Islamist group Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) is presently active in the northern districts of Bangladesh. This group too believes in an Islamist ideology similar to that of the Taliban. In the name of tackling the Maoist threat, they are trying to push their hidden agenda. The Amir (chief) of this group is Maulana Abdur Rahman who is also associated with Jama'atul Mujahidin (JuM). Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai is the ‘commander' of the outfit’s anti-extremist operations. He has visited Pakistan and Afghanistan on a number of occasions. This group is also active under state protection and enjoys the blessings of police and at least three ministers.

The banned Saudi charity Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation continues to operate in Bangladesh despite its dissolution in Saudi Arabia on 2 June this year, on suspicion of funding the al-Qaeda. Bangladesh police had arrested seven Al-Haramain operatives from its Uttara office in Dhaka in September 2002 after intelligence agencies reported their links to terrorist funding and trafficking in women and children under the veil of imparting Islamic education. However, they were released under 'external pressure'.

The connivance of the state has made the job of Islamists much easier. Countries like the United States are preoccupied with problems in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hence, they are not able to pay much attention to the growing threat of groups allied to al-Qaeda in Bangladesh. However, timely action should help prevent the situation from developing into a crisis.