ISIS in Bangladesh: Exploitation of takfiri trend and competition with Al Qaeda

Nahla Abdel Moneim

ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a security checkpoint in Dhaka on September 1, 2019, injuring two policemen, just weeks after a video broadcast by ISIS operatives to renew the allegiance to the Caliph, the alleged Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The attack took place late on Saturday when a car carrying Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Tazel Islam passed by in Dhaka’s crowded Danundi district, Dhaka city police chief Asad Zaman Mia said in a statement. “The local government minister was unharmed, but two policemen from the traffic unit were injured.”

Implementing the threats

This incident comes after a short video broadcast by ISIS operatives in early August 2019. It shows that part of the threats included in the video were achieved. Israel elements pointed to their targeting of state politicians because of their failure to apply Islamic law, they believe, in addition to their atonement.

IS also drew attention to its intent to threaten the lives of the country’s police and army.

In its intellectual structure, the Islamic State relies on the atonement of all those who do not follow the organization and do not go through what Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi says.

Daesh expansion

Although this process is small compared to incidents previously carried out by the organization in some areas, can ISIS really create a strong position inside Bangladesh and attract many elements to it as claimed in its previous videos?

To answer this, Hisham al-Najjar, a researcher on extremist groups, says that the organization is trying to extend its influence in many different regions after losing its territory in Iraq and Syria, especially in Africa and troubled areas in Asia, and because Bangladesh is one of the countries that have suffered political and sectarian unrest. It is a fertile land for the organization to try to regroup and create new extension areas.

The researcher pointed out in a statement to the Reference that ISIS will strive to exploit the political divisions and security unrest created by gangs of human trafficking and drugs in the region; to strengthen its influence at home.

He stressed that the organization seeks to compete with Al Qaeda in its areas of influence. In his view, the Islamic State is trying to abandon some of its intellectual literature, such as giving up the idea of ​​jihad against the distant enemy, replacing it with fighting against the nearby enemy, and trying to woo the tribes and local residents.

Through the observations of the researcher, he pointed out that Daesh seeks to seize the legacy of Al Qaeda, include its leaders and spread influence in places that were previously witnessing the great control of Al Qaeda.