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May 2, 2007

Bangladesh: Islamists Set Off Railway Bombs

News from Reuters, the Daily Star and Nation:

On Tuesday, May 1, bombs went off in railway stations at three locations in Bangladesh - Sylhet in the northeast, Chittagong in the southeast, and at Kamalapur station in Dhaka, the capital. The bombs went off between 6.50 am and 7.20 am. In Chittagong, a 35-year old rickshaw puller named Monir Ahmed was injured when he looked into a sack which contained a bomb. Yesterday doctors amputated one of his fingers.

At Kamalapur and Sylhet, aluminium sheets were found (pictured) which bore messages claiming to come from a group calling itself Zadid Al Qaeda. These bore the message inscribed in Bangla language: "The Kadianis would have to face death unless they accept Hazrat Muhammad as the last and greatest of all prophets," and "If Hazrat (Prophet) Mohammad is not declared the superman of the world by May 10, all non-governmental organizations will be blown up."

According to the Daily Star, the message read: "The Kadiyanis and NGOs prepare for death. It is haram [prohibited] to work in NGOs and having relation with the Kadiyanis. All must quit NGO jobs by May 10, all Kadiyanis must recognise Prophet Muhammad (SM) as the last and best prophet and if you fail to do it before the aforesaid time, your death is a must."

The "Kadianis" or "Qadianis" are the Ahmadiyya or Ahmadi sect of Islam. These have been subject to persecutions by Islamists in Bangladesh, as they believe that the founder of their sect Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (1835-1908) is a prophet. This "blasphemy" has led to them being forbidden to preach in Pakistan under its blasphemy laws, and they are banned from Mecca. In the past coalition government of Bangladesh, persecutions against the Ahmadi were encouraged by two of the ruling partners, the Islami Oikya Jote and the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The Jamaat-e-Islami party - which was founded in Pakistan and supported the Pakistanis when Bangladesh fought to gain its 1971 independence - has had links with the extremist terror group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). On August 17, 2005, the JMB set off more than 400 bombs at locations in 63 of the nation's 64 districts, killing two people and injuring more than 100. At the scenes of these blasts they left letters demanding that the government abandon civic law and introduce sharia law.

After Ramadan came to an end on November 3, 2005, the JMB engaged in more serious suicide bombings at courthouses in Gazipur and Chittagong. On November 14, 2005 a bomb attack killed two judges in Jhalakathi in the south of the country. For these crimes, six people, including five of the senior leaders of JMB, were sentenced to death on May 29, 2006. The six men were hanged in different prisons on March 29, 2007.

The blasts caused panic and many commuters said they were too scared to board trains. At Kamalapur station in the capital, the explosion went off at 6.50 in front of ticket counters. Papers were recovered from the scene along with pencil batteries and pieces of a bag.

In Sylhet the bomb went off at 7.20 am near some fixed chairs on the station platform. No-one was injured. At a slum near the station, four people were arrested, but only one - 24-year old Sheikh Kazi Al Amin - was held for interrogation.

The bomb at Chittagong went off at 7.10. Apparently an unidentified man had brought a bag to the station platform, and gave it to a woman beggar, saying that it contained "breakfast". He then left hastily. The woman called another beggar to share the "meal" and asked rickshaw puller Munir to open the bag. That was when it detonated, injuring him. Scotch tape, remains of a clock and torn papers were found at the scene.

The country is in a state of emergency, and inquiries are being made to find out if "Zadid al Qaeda" is another incarnation of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh. Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Naim Ahmed has said that unlike JMB, this new group has not called for the establishment of sharia rule, but has been aimed at the Ahmadis and NGOs. But he doubted that "Zadid al Qaeda" was a real group. He said: "They may be working in a different name."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 2, 2007 5:01 PM

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