Most
of the authoritarian doctrines have one thing in common. That
is, the end justifies the means. Thus, fascism, Nazism, and communism
are the "non-divinely" inspired doctrines where humanistic
and moralistic values are halted to attain the assumed larger
objective. In such totalitarian predicaments, process of extinction
of nonconformists may be conducted with extreme prejudice. Genocide
of a great magnitude is thought to be justifiable because the
"others" seemed to be a threat to the expansion of dogma.
Nazi superiority complex led to the hatred to the Jews and the
dogma cherished the need to annihilate an entire people. In such
a totalitarian dogma, average citizens unknowingly fall prey to
brainwashing where the sense of right and wrong get blurred.
Islamic
fascism is not a new development in the contemporary world. The
totalitarian nature of this political idea is indebted to the
Wahhabistic idea in the Arabian Peninsula that culminated only
a few centuries ago. In a traditionalist political Islamism, fascistic
nature is inherent. In governance of a society, the line between
secular and sacred is almost nonexistent. The total subjugation
to a powerful elite, who claims to be arbiters of god's wish,
is the common scenario. Millions of faithful like dumb and driven
cattle lose the sense of morality and humanity to appease god's
gatekeepers or the protagonists of Islamic fascism.
Islamic
fascism in the Indian subcontinent was basically a localized political
development. Deobandi students and Abul A'la Maududi were the
pioneers of a movement where interpretation of Islamic norms and
jurisprudence was made in the line of existing Wahhabism borrowed
from the Arab land. Today's greatest threat to human civilization,
the al-Qaeda, and the Talibans got their main inspiration from
Wahhabite philosophy. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, Jamaat-i-Islami
had been historically a leading protagonist of Saudi-sponsored
Wahhabism. The Saudi monarch was satisfied with the contribution
of this fundamentalist party in enhancing the Wahhabist agenda.
Although the Jamaatis are the blood brothers of the Talibans or
al-Qaeda, they have not turned into as ambitious as the latter.
On the surface, it seems they have not resorted to undermining
western interest globally. Not everybody would agree to such notion.
Khalid
Duran has extensively written about Jamaatis' sympathetic ties
to the Talibans in the Pakistani theater. The Jamaatis, though
surprisingly, refrained from committing violent acts against USA
and western nations. This does not make them to be innocent lambs.
Maybe, this could be their tactical maneuver. Nonetheless, some
disturbing events need more vigorous scrutiny. The presently ruling
BNP-Jamaat-i-Islami alliance is helping the cause of Islamism
in Bangladesh. The new regime that won a landslide victory in
a controversial election held in October of last year is putting
its favorites in different sectors of the country's governing
body. A newly elected cleric, the Khatib of the grand mosque of
Bangladesh recently urged his fellow countrymen to confront USA
and US President George Bush. This, he uttered in an Eid-ul-Fitr
congregation where Bangladeshi President and quite a few state
ministers were even present.
If
the tragedy of September 11 did not occur, the free world would
not have been bogged down to confront the global menace of Wahhabism
inspired al-Qaeda. Today, the battle line is drawn where the victory
of west's military action is helping the ideological battle against
an evil philosophy. Globally, the victory against Talibans still
leaves some questions unanswered. That is, if Islamic fascists
of indigenous variety do not show any global agenda, how to deal
with them when they espouse brutal and fascist acts within the
confines of nation states?
This
question has more significance as countries like Bangladesh and
Pakistan are facing the danger of falling preys to the Jamaati-i-Islami's
evil design. Pakistan, due to immense pressure from her Superpower
ally has cornered the fundamentalist party to a great length.
Even then, the danger remains. This party has enough sympathizers
not only in the rank and file but also in the army hierarchy.
In Bangladesh, the right of the center Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) draws its power from the fundamentalists who are blessed
with having two ministers in the national government. The painful
reality is, these Islamic fascists, leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami
of Bangladesh were directly involved in the genocide in the country
during its war of liberation in 1971.
At one time while
the Soviet army was engaged in Afghan soil, the Talibans were
friends of the West. So were the Jamaatis. During 1971, in a bipolar
world, USA was involved in a turf war with the Soviets when Pakistani
army juntas allied with the Islamic fascists conducted a dirty
war against the people of Bangladesh. After the war, a number
of the ringleaders of the Islamic fascists fled the country to
Arabian Peninsula. Ironically, some of them ended up in the western
nations. The Bangladeshi war criminals settled in UK and USA are
test cases where the western nations ignore their presence as
they are assumed to be not directly tied to Osama bin Laden or
his terrorist al-Qaeda network. They have bloodied their hands
to uphold the cause of Islamic fascism, but the killings were
done in a Third World hinterland like Bangladesh. Today, it can
safely be said that the perpetrators of the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon attack and the fundamentalist killers of 1971's
Bangladesh are graduates from the same school. They are the torchbearers
of an inhuman dogma where dignity of human lives has no value.
For readers' attention, let us have a brief overview of two notorious
Bangladeshi war criminals who will always be remembered by the
victims as forces of evil.
When
the News from Bangladesh on November 10, 1999 published "The
Travail of Ashrafuzzaman Khan's Infamous Diary" (later on
republished in South Asia Tribune with a new title,
"Why to read Ashrafuzzaman Khan's Infamous Diary")
many readers at home and abroad were introduced once again to
the heinous killer of 1971. Before the NFB publication, he was
a sought out man in just liberated Bangladesh. His photo was posted
in various dailies as a "Most wanted fugitive." Later
on, a few books on killers and collaborators depicted his picture
and the details of his murderous act. This man was directly responsible
for killing seven Dhaka University teachers before the final moment
of Bangladesh's liberation from the occupational forces. In early
seventies, in a Bangladesh court, Ashrafuzzaman Khan was found
in absentia, to be guilty of the crime. Today, this criminal is
living freely and openly in USA. After the publication of the
article in NFB, an advocacy group, namely Bangla Nuremberg was
formed with some dedicated Bangladeshi expatriates. Some of them
were living in the North America while others were living in Europe.
Thanks
to a handful of dedicated expatriate activists in America, soon
Ashrafuzzaman Khan became a household name in various law enforcement
bodies of USA. This war criminal's thirty-year-old photo along
with his present day portrait and his writing samples were in
possession of a powerful law enforcement body of USA. The US State
Department was not left out either.
The
lobbyists met Bangladeshi Ambassador to USA and had a few meetings
with the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regarding extradition
of the war criminal to his native land. Sheikh Hasina's typical
oratory was as if she was the greatest champion of the Bangladesh
liberation cause. The activists got a different picture altogether.
While the US State Department took some interest in the case and
followed up the matter with another US law enforcement agency,
the US officials' position was - "The ball is in Bangladesh's
court." That means US government wanted to see Bangladesh
being more proactive in resolving the war criminal issue. One
reliable source was quoting a highly placed law enforcement official
who said with frustration, "The Bangladesh Government had
been pressing US Government a number of times to extradite Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman's killers back to their home country. Not one time,
the Bangladesh Government approached US Government asking for
extradition of Ashrafuzzaman Khan or any other war criminal who
might be living in the United States." The Hasina Administration
failed miserably pursuing the case. Therefore, a war criminal
has the last laugh.
The
other day, New York-based Bangla weekly
Thikana published a news story on the
killer of 1971. Today, Ashrafuzzaman Khan is a renowned Islamist,
a busy body in Bangladeshi community affairs in the greater New
York area. The Thikana
report said he gave an emotional speech at an award presentation
ceremony for the Quran reciters. He expressed his frustration
as he spoke of the expatriate Bangladeshis stating that only twenty
percent of the Muslims attend the mosque. He said that if the
Muslims did not practice their religion in a nonbelievers' land,
their identity would go away in course of time. The Office of
Special Investigation (OSI), a division of the US Department of
Justice has successfully apprehended a good number of Nazi war
criminals who were hiding in the United States. In fact, OSI became
synonymous with successful prosecution of Nazi criminals on US
soil. In most cases, those Nazis living in the land of opportunity
kept a low profile, occasionally bearing aliases. Some of them
were working in factories; some of them were making a living by
menial jobs. In case of Ashrafuzzaman Khan, a leader of the Islamic
Circle of North America, the situation is quite the opposite.
Not only did he not change his former name, neither does he hesitate
to be in the limelight. As a son of the soil, he knows the pulse
of the Bangladeshis and Bangladeshi leaders. He knows that in
Bangladesh the political wind is now blowing favorably in his
direction. He does not see any threat coming from Bangladesh now
that an Islam Pasand government is in power over there. Also,
he knows it very well that he will die peacefully and gracefully
in an alien infidel land.
Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
saga:
While
Ashrafuzzaman Khan story may sound amazing, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
episode is as incredible as it could be. Like Ashrafuzzaman Khan,
this war criminal from Bangladesh is leading a rather elegant
life in UK. Ashrafuzzaman Khan did not get any bad rap in the
US press, also the majority of the Allah-fearing Muslims living
in North America are presumably not aware of his murky past. Conversely,
Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin got the infamy because of high level exposure
brought out by a lone UK TV documentary. On May 3, 1995, UK's
Channel Four Television broadcast a documentary titled "The
War Crimes File." Produced by Twenty Twenty
Television of London, this documentary provided exclusive evidence
on the criminal past of three former Bangladesh citizens who became
prominent British Muslim Fundamentalists. The documentary presented
vivid eyewitness testimonies of these men, all of whom had lived
in Britain for around 20 years, in organized assassination and
massacres during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war against Pakistani
military regime. All three moved to England shortly after the
war and each had become a leading figure in Bangladeshi community
and were actively involved in fundamentalist politics.
Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
is one of the three protagonists of "The
War Crimes File." Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin's
despicable act in 1971 could have been blown in the wind if not
for the direct involvement of a few young Bangladeshi activists
in the production of the documentary. The brutal Islamic fascists
slaughtered most of the activists' parents when they were merely
infants. Unlike theirs most other contemporaries growing up during
the General Ziaur Rahman's or General Ershad's (who happened to
be the friends of Islamic fascists) rule, these activists kept
the fire in their soul intact. The following message came from
these dedicated individuals who still keep the mantle of liberation
war memories alive.
Act Now for
Trial of three war criminals of the Bangladesh liberation war
in 1971
Dear Friends,
We, on behalf of the following organizations, urge you to endorse
the following Urgent Action regarding the trial of three war criminals
of the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. These three war criminals,
Choudhury Mueen Uddin, Abu Sayeed and Lutfur Rahman are now citizens
and residents of U.K.
FACTS
In a documentary film, titled The War Crimes File produced by
Twenty Twenty Television and broadcast by Channel Four on May
3, 1995, exclusive evidence is revealed of how three former Bangladeshi
citizens, now prominent British Muslim Fundamentalists are guilty
of inciting torture, mutilation and murder - and argues that they
should be prosecuted under war crimes legislation in England.
The
film presents vivid eye-witness testimonies of the involvement
of these men, all of whom have lived in Britain for around 20
years, in organized assassinations and massacres during the 1971
Bangladesh war of liberation against Pakistan. All three moved
to England shortly
after the war and each is now a leading figure in the Bangladeshi
community and actively involved in fundamentalist politics. Each
was involved in Al-Badr operations, a paramilitary death squad
of Pakistani Army formed by local fundamentalist political parties
mainly Jamaat-I-Islami and Muslim League, in abducting and brutally
killing many prominent academics, doctors and journalists in the
last days of the war.
They
were also involved in kidnapping and raping innocent women, looting,
arsoning and all other gross violations of human rights. Since
1992, pro-liberation forces in Bangladesh are demanding trial
of all war criminals of 1971 in Bangladesh, under the leadership
of late Jahanara Imam, mother of martyred freedom fighter. In
this regard, a public trial of Golam Azam, the chief collaborator,
was also held on 26th March 1992 - the Independence Day. Presently,
a public Enquiry Commission is investigating and documenting allegations
against notorious war criminals of 1971.
The
film The War Crimes File was also premiered in Dhaka recently
by the pro-liberation forces on May 18. The showings in England
and Bangladesh have created a tremendous impact over both Bangladeshi
and non-Bangladeshi communities in these countries.
Please
send urgent appeal to the following persons and authorities urging
them to try the three war criminals of Bangladesh Liberation War
- CHOUDHURY MUEEN UDDIN, ABU SAYEED and LUTFUR RAHMAN under
British Legislation:
Geneva
Convention Act 1957. Please also circulate this appeal as widely
as possible.
1.Rt.
Hon. Michael Howard Home Secretary Petty France LONDON SW1 Fax:
0044 171 273 3596
2.
Sir Nicholas Lyell Attorney General 9 Buckingham Gate LONDON SW1E
6JP Fax: 0044 171
233 7194
3.
War Crimes Unit New Scotland Yard 8-10 Broadway LONDON SW1H 0BJ
Fax: 0044 171 233 1952
4.
Rt. Hon. Greville Janner Q.C.M.P. Parliamentary War Crimes Group
House of Commons Westminster LONDON SW1
Fax: 0044 171 233 0161
5.
Parliament of the European Community
Strasbourg, France
Baroness
Paula Monjila Uddin, a member of UK's House of Lords, is a=20
pride of Bangladesh. The publicity surrounding the three murderous
Islamic fascists drew her attention. Baroness Uddin took the Bangladeshi
war criminal case quite seriously. During the last Awami League
administration, she met the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
and discussed the legal issues pertaining to the extradition process.
The British parliamentarian of Bangladesh descent disclosed to
the reporters that she was in favor of resolving the unresolved
issue of war crime in Bangladesh. But what happened since then?
Was Hasina administration at all sincere to follow up the matter?
The following development can give you the clue to the answer.
Here is the excerpt from a news report.
November 25, 2001, 12:12 PM
LONDON
(AFP)-Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, joined Muslim
worshippers at an east London mosque Friday (Nov. 23) for a breaking
of fast for Ramadan. Launching a building project at the mosque,
he sipped faluda, a drink made of milk and rose petal syrup, and
ate a bowl of kushat, a dish of dates, figs and milk.... The vice-president
of the mosque, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, thanked the prince for visiting
in the aftermath of the September 11 atrocities, calling him "a
patron of Islam in this country". He said: "Despite
the traumatic events of the past couple of months, Islam continues
to attract the attention of the world for all the right reasons".
Readers,
now let's have a flash back. Please click on this URL address
to review a speech by Prince of Wales where he mentioned the Bangladeshi
mass murderer's name quite a few times with admiration! Did the
Prince have any clue that he was referring to a wolf in sheepskin
who was acting so innocent and docile in front of the British
royalty:
http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speeches/multiracial_24012003.html
These
murderous Islamic fascists are conquering the world due to their
good fortune of being born in a country like Bangladesh. Although
this nation of Bangladesh was born after tremendous sacrifice,
the religious dogma diminished the sense of bitterness toward
Islamic fascists. The gradual expansion of Wahhabism and infusion
of petrodollars has marginalized the secular nationalist and anti-fundamentalist
force in the country. The Islamic fascists are dreaming of enacting
their Sha'ria Law in Bangladesh. That could hardly be a pipe dream
as they got enough seats in the last parliamentary election. They
are acting slowly and wisely. As far as repentance for the brutalities
of the past, the war criminals and their cohorts do not possess
any remorse. After all, all the killings and massacres were committed
for keeping the integrity of military ruled Islamic Pakistan intact.
Therefore, the great "Islamic scholars" in the western
land would hardly lose their sleep for killing a few Bengali intellectuals
who were hindrances to their ultimate global agenda. Also, being
non-Arabs has advantages too. As persons being born in a "liberal
Islamic country" (quoting from US Congressman Joseph Crowley's
recent comment), Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
are fortunate enough to escape the dragnet thrown by agencies
like FBI or Scotland Yard. Thus, cry for justice, as before, remains
unanswered as humanity now seeks justice for 9-11 massacre.
=============================================================
Jamal Hasan writes from Washington DC. His email address is
poplu@hotmail.com
