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Bangladesh has experienced turmoil since its PM Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League (AL) Party forcibly fled to India on August 5 as a result of violent student protests which were backed by Bangladesh’s radical Islamist groups.

On August 4, the Islamic State (IS) in Khorasan Province issued “A Message for Bangladesh”, which called on the people to exploit the unrest so as to replace the existing government with an Islamic state. Labelling the Hasina government as “corrupt and allied with anti-Islamic forces”, IS urged the rejection of elections and advocated for Sharia law.

Less than a week later, Muhammad Yunus, supported by Islamists, took the oath of office as head of Bangladesh’s interim government. His government later announced it would not allow Hasina’s non-Islamist Awami League Party (which played a massive role in achieving Bangladeshi independence) to hold any rally, gathering and processions.

Since Yunus’ ascension, bans against jihadist groups have been lifted and many of their members released from jail. Yunus himself has even met with many terrorist leaders. Meanwhile, Islamist groups have freely held rallies and gatherings.

On October 7, for instance, an Islamist gathering took place in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka which demonstrated the self-destructive path “the new Bangladesh” has been on under Yunus’ leadership.

The conference was organized by “Al Markazul Islami” and reportedly hosted several radical Islamist leaders from militant groups such as Hamas, and the Taliban, as well as others from Pakistan.

These include Khaled Qaddoumi, Hamas’s representative in Iran, and Khaled Mashal, Chairman of Hamas’ Political Bureau. Eminent Islamist figures from Pakistan, including Sheikh ul Islam Mufti Taqi Usmani and Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman, all of whom are influential within radical circles, also attended.

Al Markazul Islami’s founder, Mufti Shahidul Islam (who died in 2023), reportedly had direct ties to al-Qaeda and had a long-standing involvement in terrorism. He was previously arrested in 1999 for orchestrating a deadly bomb attack on an Ahmadiya Mosque in Khulna, an event which claimed eight lives, according to India Today.

Following his release, Islam travelled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and several African countries. There, he received explosive training directly from al-Qaeda. Even after his death, his influence remains strong, with organizations like the Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) continuing to regard him as a key figure in their operations.

PM Hasina had tried to neutralize these groups during her tenure. Unfortunately, the collapse of her government has created a security vacuum which is being exploited by pro-sharia, jihadist groups in Bangladesh.

The website “Struggle for Hindu Existence” notes:

“This event coincides with heightened regional tensions, particularly for Bangladesh and India, following the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. Intelligence sources suggest terrorist groups may seek to exploit Bangladesh’s evolving political landscape into a Sharia State. Though the event was set to an agenda to ‘Free Palestine’, the discussions encompassed the ‘Islamization of entire South Asia’…

“The shifting power dynamics in Dhaka have raised concerns about radical elements plotting attacks or infiltrating India through the porous India-Bangladesh border. Indian security agencies are on high alert, anticipating possible intrusions by terrorists seeking to destabilize the region. The Islamist motive, reportedly fueled by a desire for a Sharia state, aims to eliminate all minorities from Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, Dhaka experienced a pro-IS (Islamic State) march on October 6. Hundreds of students participated in a procession under the banner of “Conscious Teachers and Students”, holding what looked like the flag of the terrorist outfit, IS. They marched to the national parliament and demanded the establishment of a caliphate in Bangladesh, according to regional news.

Police chief Md. Mainul Islam blamed the banned outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir for the procession, saying that the police arrested 10 persons in connection with the incident.

Hizb-ut Tahrir is an Islamist organization that aspires to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate and globally implement Sharia law. It was banned in 2009 but the group recently asked for its revocation. HuT leader Imtiaz Selim said the government should replicate the model that it applied to have the ban lifted on Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party. Yunus’ interim government had withdrawn this ban which was imposed in the final days of the rule of Hasina.

According to the Islamist Urdu Daily Roznama Ummat of Pakistan, “hundreds of opposition [Islamist] leaders freed, offices of Jamaat-e-Islami have opened.

“On August 6, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) reopened its central office in Boro Moghbazar area of Dhaka, which had remained closed for 13 years. Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, the emir, said upon entering the office along with other BJI leaders: ‘We left here (central office) on September 19, 2011. We’ve entered (the office) now.'”

Jamaat-e-Islami is known to have collaborated with Pakistan’s forces during Pakistan’s 1971 genocide against Hindu and Bengali communities in Bangladesh (then east Pakistan).

Yunus’ interim government has also released many members of Islamic terrorist organizations. One is Jashimuddin Rahmani, leader of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group. According to the news website Firstpost, Rahmani, who was imprisoned for the murder of blogger Rajib Haider and faced additional charges under Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism laws, was freed on parole. He had been sentenced to five years in prison in 2013. ABT was banned in Bangladesh in 2015 during Hasina’s administration, but it was later rebranded as Ansar al-Islam, which was subsequently banned in 2017.

The release of Rahmani “is a matter of concern for India as the terrorist group has been trying to establish a jihadi network with the help of sleeper cells,” reported India Today.

On August 31, Yunus met with Mamunul Haque, a leader of the extremist group Hefazat-e-Islam, and his followers in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, since the forced resignation of PM Hasina, anti-Hindu jihadi violence has become even more widespread in the country. According to data presented on August 10 by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, Hindus and other religious minorities were exposed to at least 205 attacks reported from 52 districts. Temples were attacked, Hindu businesses damaged, and homes burnt. A schoolteacher was killed and 45 other people hurt, the report said. During these attacks, hundreds of Bangladeshi Hindus tried unsuccessfully to escape to India. Yunus has been in denial regarding these human rights violations targeting non-Muslim communities.

As the author Vivek Gumaste notes:

“The claim that these Hindus were collateral casualties caught in the political crossfire between the opposition and the Awami League is neither acceptable nor accurate. The targeted looting of Hindu shops, attacks on temples, and the killings of even apolitical Hindus are clear indicators of the religious bigotry present in Bangladesh.”

Animesh Roul, Executive Director of the Society for the Study of Peace and conflict in New Delhi, summarizes how jihadist forces are increasingly gaining strength in Bangladesh:

“Extremist forces, subdued under Hasina’s rule and the country’s counter-terrorism policies, see this as an opportunity to regain strength. Groups like Jama’at Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB and other factions) and Ansar-al Islam and Harakt ul Jihadi Islami (HUJI) affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have already begun to regroup, with propaganda materials resurfacing that call for action against the secular government. Several jihadists affiliated web portals, which were blocked or banned under the previous administration, have been reactivated and continue to publish extremist materials and translations of global jihadist literature.

“Amidst this chaos, jihadist groups have seized the opportunity to reactivate their propaganda channels. Jihadi forums and networks affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, especially Al-Firdaws and DawahIllah, An Nasr and other extremist groups are once again operational, spreading messages that call for action against secular and non-Islamic forces within Bangladesh. AQIS, in particular, has issued statements urging the Bangladeshi Muslim community to remain steadfast in their beliefs and to resist external influences, including those from India, which they accuse of being enemies of Islam. The present Pakistan-based AQIS leader, Usama Mahmud, in the message titled ‘Bangladesh is the beacon of hope for the victory of Islam in the region’, calls to exploit political instability by rallying support for a broader Islamist agenda. He praises the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and advocates for the establishment of a ‘pure’ Islamic government, aiming to shift the protests in this direction. Mahmud’s rejection of the interim government highlights AQIS’s strategy to dismantle secular state structures, pushing instead for a theocratic regime that aligns with their long-term objectives across the Muslim world.”

Bangladesh is openly sliding into becoming a global center for Islamic terrorism where Sharia-supporting groups are enabled by the government. If not stopped, Yunus’ government’s empowerment of these pro-jihad groups will very likely harm the security not only in South Asia but the entire world.

Uzay Bulut is a Turkey-born journalist formerly based in Ankara.