Abstract
Living in the age of globalization, it cannot be said that local factors constitute the only causes for Islamist militancy. This chapter explores both ideological and global factors for the growth of Islamist militancy in Bangladesh. It is argued in this chapter that the lack of a model Muslim state with a strong political ideology, the failure of democratic politics and diaspora militant linkages have provided radical Islamists with solid ground for attracting urban youths. So have the growth of Islamophobia, western interference in Muslim countries, the persecution of Muslims in different parts of the world and the impact of modernity. It is these global factors, which continue to impact on the attitudes of Muslim youths particularly with respect to the inability of Muslim states to do much to counter these challenges, that when combined with local level frustrations are the perfect recipe for radicalization. Against a backdrop of both local and global level grievances, radical Islamist ideology, which encompasses a utopian society based on Islam, offers a ready-made solution. More importantly, radical ideology justifies violence through a particular interpretation of Jihad, advances an exclusive worldview of a triumphant Caliphate, and offers eschatological salvation in advance of approaching end-time.
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Notes
- 1.
“Every century (100 years), Allah would send someone [or some people] who would revive the religion again.”
- 2.
By heroes it is meant that those who sacrificed their lives for Islam like Khalid-Bin-Walid.
- 3.
The Clash of Civilizations thesis suggests that cultural and religious identities of people will be the source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. Samuel P. Huntington argued that there will be wars between cultures, not between countries. It was first proposed in a lecture in 1992 at the American Enterprise Institute, which was then published in Foreign Affairs in 1993. He later expanded this article into a book titled The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order in 1996 (Huntington, 1996).
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Mostofa, S.M. (2021). Ideological and Global Factors of Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh. In: Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh. Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79171-1_5
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