UNB, Dhaka :
Experts at an international conference here on Monday laid emphasis on carrying out extensive research to identify the root causes of extremism in the country and work out effective preventive and peace-building measures.
They also said Bangladesh needs to use the knowledge and experiences of other countries to effectively deal with the issue.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Japan Foundation arranged the two-day conference titled ‘Bangladesh in International Peace-building: Experience from Japan’ at BIISS auditorium.
Speaking at the programme, ex-chief of general staff of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen (retd) M Mainul Islam said research is the most important thing for rooting out extremism.
“Until and unless we know why the youths are demotivated and radicalised themselves, it’ll be very difficult for us to solve the problem,” So, I call upon the government to promote the researchers to carry out study on extremism and help the policymakers get rid of it through their findings and suggestions,” he said.
Besides, he said, right organisational approach and peace-building efforts need to be continued to check extremism.
“Amid our efforts to build peace and prevent extremism, bad incidents can take place but those shouldn’t distract us. Organisational approach and plans depending on local culture are very essential to combat violent extremism,” Mainul observed.
Besides, he thinks, proper education, transparency of law enforcement agencies and rehabilitation of radicalised youths are also necessary to check extremism.
Additional Police Commissioner and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) Monirul Islam said policymakers, practitioners, researchers, civil society members and other stakeholders should continue to share their knowledge for better understanding of the causes, impact and way out of violent extremism.
“Preventing violence extremism is not only law enforcers’ issue. It’s more than that,” he observed.
Mentioning that preventing extremism is a complicated job, Monir said all relevant stakeholders should come forward to address the problem. “In our country, if we look into causes of extremism, we’ll get some common reasons, some local issues and misinterpretation of Islam.”
He said, youths, mainly in northern districts, got involved in militancy as Islamic group Ahle Hadith was active over there. “So, we need to work out area-based plans to address the extremism problem.”
The CTTC chief said the academicians and researchers should come forward and conduct research to help law enforcers and policymakers take the right approach and steps to prevent violent extremism and build peace in society.
Since extremism is based on ideology and misinterpretation of the holy Quran and Hadiths in Bangladesh, he said it is very essential to engage the Islamic clerics in the efforts to check extremism. “They can give the right narratives against the misinterpretations.”
Besides, Monir said the youths should be given proper scope to engage in cultural and sports activities as a means to keep them away from militancy. “If the youths get enough time to spend for sports and constructive works they will be less vulnerable to extremism.”
As per their experience, the police officers said female get involved with militancy usually being forced or influenced by their family members like husbands, fathers and brothers. “We need to make efforts further for improving the social and economic status of female. They’ll be less vulnerable to extremism when they’ll be financially solvent.”
Ex-ambassador and former Chief Information Commissioner Muhammad Zamir thinks parents need to take better care of their children, and give them more time to protect them from the grasp of extremism.
Besides, he said, interfaith dialogue based on religious harmony is necessary to prevent extremism.
Prof Rasheduzzam of Dhaka University’s International Relations department said extremism is like a disease. “We need to identify the underlining causes of the disease to properly treat it.”
He said there is a debate on whether peace-building or preventative measures are significant to check terrorism. “But both are necessary to tackle extremism.”
Experts at an international conference here on Monday laid emphasis on carrying out extensive research to identify the root causes of extremism in the country and work out effective preventive and peace-building measures.
They also said Bangladesh needs to use the knowledge and experiences of other countries to effectively deal with the issue.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Japan Foundation arranged the two-day conference titled ‘Bangladesh in International Peace-building: Experience from Japan’ at BIISS auditorium.
Speaking at the programme, ex-chief of general staff of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen (retd) M Mainul Islam said research is the most important thing for rooting out extremism.
“Until and unless we know why the youths are demotivated and radicalised themselves, it’ll be very difficult for us to solve the problem,” So, I call upon the government to promote the researchers to carry out study on extremism and help the policymakers get rid of it through their findings and suggestions,” he said.
Besides, he said, right organisational approach and peace-building efforts need to be continued to check extremism.
“Amid our efforts to build peace and prevent extremism, bad incidents can take place but those shouldn’t distract us. Organisational approach and plans depending on local culture are very essential to combat violent extremism,” Mainul observed.
Besides, he thinks, proper education, transparency of law enforcement agencies and rehabilitation of radicalised youths are also necessary to check extremism.
Additional Police Commissioner and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) Monirul Islam said policymakers, practitioners, researchers, civil society members and other stakeholders should continue to share their knowledge for better understanding of the causes, impact and way out of violent extremism.
“Preventing violence extremism is not only law enforcers’ issue. It’s more than that,” he observed.
Mentioning that preventing extremism is a complicated job, Monir said all relevant stakeholders should come forward to address the problem. “In our country, if we look into causes of extremism, we’ll get some common reasons, some local issues and misinterpretation of Islam.”
He said, youths, mainly in northern districts, got involved in militancy as Islamic group Ahle Hadith was active over there. “So, we need to work out area-based plans to address the extremism problem.”
The CTTC chief said the academicians and researchers should come forward and conduct research to help law enforcers and policymakers take the right approach and steps to prevent violent extremism and build peace in society.
Since extremism is based on ideology and misinterpretation of the holy Quran and Hadiths in Bangladesh, he said it is very essential to engage the Islamic clerics in the efforts to check extremism. “They can give the right narratives against the misinterpretations.”
Besides, Monir said the youths should be given proper scope to engage in cultural and sports activities as a means to keep them away from militancy. “If the youths get enough time to spend for sports and constructive works they will be less vulnerable to extremism.”
As per their experience, the police officers said female get involved with militancy usually being forced or influenced by their family members like husbands, fathers and brothers. “We need to make efforts further for improving the social and economic status of female. They’ll be less vulnerable to extremism when they’ll be financially solvent.”
Ex-ambassador and former Chief Information Commissioner Muhammad Zamir thinks parents need to take better care of their children, and give them more time to protect them from the grasp of extremism.
Besides, he said, interfaith dialogue based on religious harmony is necessary to prevent extremism.
Prof Rasheduzzam of Dhaka University’s International Relations department said extremism is like a disease. “We need to identify the underlining causes of the disease to properly treat it.”
He said there is a debate on whether peace-building or preventative measures are significant to check terrorism. “But both are necessary to tackle extremism.”
