Bangladesh: Gulshan Attack Highlights Online Radicalization Fears
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Alexander Sehmer |
| Publication Date | 8 July 2016 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 14 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, Bangladesh: Gulshan Attack Highlights Online Radicalization Fears, 8 July 2016, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 14, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5786299f4.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Link to original story on Jamestown website
Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the bloody attack on a popular cafe in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, which unfolded over about 24 hours on July 1 and 2 and left twenty people dead (Daily Star, July 3). Six gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Gulshan district of the capital, taking hostages and prompting a massive military operation that culminated in a raid by security forces.
As the standoff with the military unfolded, Islamic State quickly claimed credit for the attack via its Amaq News Agency, releasing gruesome images of dead bodies that it claimed had been taken inside the cafe. When the raid got under way, reports of freed hostages fleeing the scene made it seem possible to discount the images as IS propaganda (Asia News Network, July 02). But with the discovery of 20 bodies in the aftermath, IS' claims became much less easy to dismiss. The attack already bears some of the hallmarks of Islamic State. Foreigners were intentionally targeted - the cafe was in an area popular with expatriates and the majority of those killed were foreigners. The attackers reportedly selected non-Muslims by having the hostages recite parts of the Quran (Daily Star, July 3). If the images are authentic, then the gunmen in the cafe were in contact with IS at the time of the attack, something for which they would only have required an internet connection.
Bangladesh has repeatedly - in the face of a series of killings of activists and liberals - denied that IS, or al-Qaeda, have a hold in the country. The government only seems to have come alive to the idea in the last month, ordering a government crackdown on Islamists, a move that possibly prompted the attackers to bring forward their operation (see Terrorism Monitor, June 24). Even in the aftermath of the attack, the government appears unwilling to recognize IS' role. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attributed the attack to "a vested local-international quarter... conspiring to obstruct the country's advancement" (Daily Star, July 3).
While the government's unwillingness to properly address the issue of IS is a significant concern, a major blind spot has emerged concerning the use of the internet.
Bangladeshi officials appear to have been surprised to find the attackers - all of whom were Bangladeshi and most of whom appear to have been educated and reasonably tech-savvy - had accessed radical material online. In one report, Shahjahan Mahmood, who heads the country's telecom's regulator, was quoted as saying the attack had been an "eye-opener" in that regard (Channel News Asia, July 7).
The regulator has since taken some steps to tackle the use of social media as a means of radicalization, including requesting YouTube remove videos of Jashim Uddin Rahmani, whose radical sermons appear to have inspired some of the recent killings seen in Bangladesh (NDTV, December 31, 2015).
That is a welcome move, but one that indicates there is still quite some distance to go if Bangladesh is to adequately tackle the threat of Islamist militancy.
