however constituted just one strand
of the terror challenge in Bangladesh,
and largely threatened the democratic
and political stability of the country.
The Bangladeshi intelligentsia was
discomfited by the path taken by the
country‘s leadership.
7
After
liberation
Bangladesh
attempted to chart a new course for
itself that was considerably different
from its past. The country accepted
nationalism, socialism, democracy
and secularism as principles of state
policy in the new constitution of
Bangladesh The objective behind this
was to give a progressive foundation
to the emerging nation. But
unfortunately Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujib ur Rahman who was supposed
to head Bangladesh with these
progressive ideals was killed along
with most of his family members on
Page
Sufi Islam whose war of liberation
was based on Bengali nationalism
witnessed an outbreak of Islamic
radicalism which attacked the very
symbols of Bengali culture. The
radical elements in Bangladeshi
society which had grown in strength
were trying to purge the social,
cultural and religious life of the
people. This was the time when
Bangladesh was ruled by the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
led four-party alliance. However,
religious extremism in Bangladesh
did not begin during the BNP led
four-party alliance rule. Extremist
forces have had a presence in the
country since it was East Pakistan.
The world only sat up and took
notice when the movement assumed
a violent character in the early
nineties. Terrorism which was an
offshoot of this Islamist extremism