Terrorist rehabilitation programme for Bangladesh
Munir Uz Zaman/driknews
THE newspapers in Bangladesh are once again abuzz with the stories of Islamic militants being arrested from around the country. Only recently, their hideouts, training centres and arms cache have been found deep in the jungles of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Their recruitment, training and motivation programmes, as revealed by captured militants, even if those are partially true, are simply amazing. It is apparent that our 4-year long campaign against the Islamic militants, while protecting us from violent attacks, has not been able to stop the spread of militant ideology. Although hundreds of militants have been arrested, many hundreds have been inducted anew. While we get to see every now and then pictures of captured militants lined up behind the pile of arms and ammunitions, books and CDs, we still do not know their sources. We are not aware of any arrests made of the writers, printers or publishers of the Jihadi books and CDs. How these are printed/manufactured and distributed remain a mystery. It clearly shows that while we are arresting the foot-soldiers of the Islamic militancy, those who are fanning the ideology are still beyond our reach. International linkage that the local militants have been able to develop over the years is also a matter of grave concern. The "Terror Inc." is now able to get their personnel and materiel across South Asia, from Baluchistan to Teknaf, unhindered by international boundaries. The religiously oriented militants, like the JMB or HUJI, will be a long-term problem for Bangladesh and we need a long-term strategy to combat the menace. We should remember that Islamic militancy is an ideology, however misguided it might be. Police action against the militants, while essential, is only a part of the solution; the main arena must be on the ideological front, where we are doing nothing. Another important question is the rehabilitation of the militants who are now in jail. As far as my knowledge goes, the authority has not addressed the issue yet, although I shall argue that the matter needs urgent attention. On the ideological front our aim must be twofold first, to prevent our citizen from becoming militants, and second, to re-educate and rehabilitate captured militants so that they return home as reformed persons after their release. As a part of the preventive strategy, our education system, especially the madrasa education, needs a thorough overhaul. The latest Education Policy announced by the Government has proposed to modernize the Aliya madrasa system, but it says nothing about Quomi madrasa system. However, even the limited reform of Aliya stream that the committee has proposed is being attacked by the Islamists as a conspiracy by the Government to destroy Islam in Bangladesh, an age-old calumny by the Islamists against the secular forces. We need political, social and economic reforms that would create conditions where extremism cannot find a secure foothold. While the modus operandi needs to be debated on the national level and would take time, our immediate attention should be on the extremists who are already in state custody. While some of the terrorist leaders, those who were engaged in bombing, killing or wanton destruction, are liable to be given capital punishment, a vast majority of the militants will remain in jail - either under trial or undergoing prison sentence. We need to devise a strategy to reform them in prison and ensure that once released they become law-abiding citizens. This paper will highlight some of the options. First of all, the militants must be isolated in prison from all other prisoners. If necessary, we need to set up separate prison for them. Otherwise, they would soon indoctrinate many other prisoners in Jihadi ideology. Most of the prisoners in our jails are uneducated and unemployed youth who feel that the society have not treated them well. They cultivate deep resentment against everything that the society stands for. If the militants are allowed to preach their ideology among the prison population, especially among the young ones, soon we would have to be deal with thousands of ex-prisoners who have turned Jihadi while in prison. It is important, therefore, to physically isolate the militants from all other prison inmates. The re-education of the militants comes next. We need to remember that we are not dealing with ordinary criminals. Here we are dealing with people who are ideologically indoctrinated to wage Jihad against the 'infidels'. There is no remorse in their mind, nor do they feel there is anything to be ashamed of. In fact, they believe that they are performing a religious duty, an act of piety in the name of Allah. The militants are convinced that they are on the right path, battling against evil forces. The re-education in these cases would be difficult and time consuming; yet it has to be done. The Jail authority will have to employ mainstream religious teachers who need to engage in theological arguments with the militants to convince them that what they thought to be religious cause were actually a deviant interpretation of the scripture. Most Jihadists seek their religious inspiration from the works of Abdul Wahhab (Wahhabi-Salafi theology), Sayeed Qutub (Islamic Brotherhood) or Maulana Abul-Ala-Maududi (Jamaat-e-Islami). The religious teachers employed by the state will have to counter their interpretation of the Quran and Hadith and convince the militants of their errors. They need to emphasize the real essence of Islam. The militants need to be convinced that socio-political changes could be brought about within the framework of a peaceful, democratic state and that their violent method would only alienate them from the populace. Along with religious indoctrination, the militants need to undergo psychotherapy sessions to recast their violent mindset with the idea of peace and tolerance. There should be sessions on inter-religious faith, as well as some lectures on the society and culture. Meanwhile, parents, friends and relatives of the prisoners need to be contacted and they need to lend support in the rehabilitation programme. Instead of disowning or disinheriting the terrorists, as is often done at present, they would be partners in the government's efforts. With their love, affection, counselling and the promise of helping them to get settled in the society, parents, friends and relatives could convince the militants to return to peaceful life. Along with motivation and counselling, we need to impart general education and skill development training to the prisoners so that they could seek useful employment once they are released. Most of the militants have got little or no formal education. Therefore, they remain not only unemployed, they become unemployable in the modern, technology-driven job market. The re-education programme, therefore, need to be skill-based. that provide employment. The prison record of the militants could be a serious impediment for their future employment. Many prospective employers may shy away from employing these people. Here the Government could liaise with various employers' organizations to provide job for them. Unless they are usefully employed, the ex-militants might revert to militancy once again. Re-education and rehabilitation of the militants is already working in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Even in Saudi Arabia there is an ongoing re-education programme for the domestic militants and returnees from Guantanamo or other US or European prisons with success. Of course, the Saudis have used, besides re-education, enormous monetary incentives for those who renounced militant path and swore allegiance to the Saudi monarchy. We, in Bangladesh, cannot afford financial incentives of such magnitude, but the Government could help secure loan or financial grant for those militants who want to start a small business, for example. The militants, once released, need to be monitored by the law enforcing agencies, for there is always the danger that they might return to the old ways. It has happened in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where apparently reformed and repentant militant had returned to militancy soon after release. That the Government's effort to provide the militants with decent means of livelihood is not thwarted by difficulties should be also ensured that the They need to have a national data base of the militants and keep those updated and for the safety and security of the vast majority of people we need to keep the militants, including the reformed ones on watch. Although, a long-term terrorist rehabilitation programme would be a costly one, not having one would be even costlier. In conclusion it can be said we need to stop the growth of religious extremism, which in the end gives rise to militancy. This would, of course, be a multi-pronged strategy that would have political, social and economic dimensions. The author is a freelancer.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments