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Tag: Bangladeshis

  • Bangladeshi Expat: Books With Militant Propaganda Being Distributed To Bangladeshis Working In Singapore

    Bangladeshi Expat: Books With Militant Propaganda Being Distributed To Bangladeshis Working In Singapore

    They write provocative things against Jews and people of other religions.

    In a place like Singapore, where there is no prominent Muslim organisation for Bangladeshis or any influential cleric who they can follow, many of the overworked expatriates struggle to find spiritual comfort in their everyday life.

    As the pent-up stress and frustration of living in a foreign culture continues to grow, Islamist radical groups swoop in to brainwash these vulnerable expatriate workers into believing that hatred and violence are paths to salvation.

    In the city-state of Singapore, most militant propaganda are spread through books that speak of radicalised interpretations of Islam, the Dhaka Tribune found during a recent visit there.

    “It is easier to brainwash those of us who live in a foreign land. It is because we do not have any organisation here. We do not have any Pir [religious preacher] or religion-based group. So, different kinds of books are often distributed among us,” a young Bangladeshi expat told the Dhaka Tribune at Mustafa Centre, a hotspot for local Bangladeshis.

    “Even last Sunday [July 3], several thousands books were distributed in the Mustafa Centre area. A group of young men came and quickly distributed these books among everybody. One of the books is titled ‘Uphold Islam even in a foreign land.’”

    Several other young men who also spoke with the Dhaka Tribune at the Mustafa Centre said many Bangladeshis take these books back to their rooms. The books are written in a way that anyone getting a glimpse would be wanting to read more, they said.

    Fearing for their safety, the men requested that their voices not be recorded and that their names be excluded from the news report.

    Asked to describe what is written in these books, they said the authors mentally blackmail the Bangladeshis, writing provocative things against Jews and people of other religions. Sometimes references from the Qur’an are mentioned and words in Arabic are included.

    Even though no one understood what the Arabic words meant, many Bangladeshis believed whatever translation or interpretation was included in the books.

    “The books push Muslims to boycott Jewish products and offer namaz, and speak about jihad,” one of them said.

    Some of the youths, however, had a different explanation about the source of the books.

    They said these books might be distributed by Bangladeshi shop owners around Mustafa Centre to encourage Bangladeshis to boycott Singaporean products and buy stuff from their own stores instead.

    Several of the men also voiced their opposition against such books.

    “In Bangladesh, such books would have been known for spreading militancy. But since there is no such scope in Singapore, these books are now spreading fast,” one of them said.

    So far, at least 35 Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Singapore in connection with plotting terrorist activities.

    Earlier this month, a Singapore court convicted four Bangladeshi workers for financing terrorism and sentenced them to jail terms between two and five years.

    ‘Malaysian students being targeted’

    A different scenario was found in Malaysia, where university students told the Dhaka Tribune that they were the main brainwashing targets for extremists. Speaking on condition of anonymity, several of them said they receive many anti-Semitic messages regularly.

    The Bangladeshi students who regularly offered prayers and fasted were the ones usually targeted by militant recruiters, they said.

    But since it was revealed that Nibras Islam – one of the killers from the Dhaka terror attack – used to be a student in Malaysia, everyone has been on high alert, they added.

    The founder and incumbent president of Bangladesh Students Union Council, Mohammad Mohiuddin Mahi, told the Dhaka Tribune that monitoring of Bangladeshi students in Malaysia has been increased since the July 1 attack.

    “We have news that around 8,000 Bangladeshi students in 60 private, two public and six semi-public universities in Malaysia are being monitored. Malaysian police are secretly collecting information on where these students were living and who they had contact with, as well as tracking their mobile phones.

    “We have Bangladeshi student organisations at 29 Malaysian universities. Through these organisations, we have asked all expatriate Bangladeshis to stay alert,” Mahi added.

     

    Source: www.dhakatribune.com

  • Bangladeshi Foreign Workers Steadfast Observing Ramadan Despite Gruelling Schedules

    Bangladeshi Foreign Workers Steadfast Observing Ramadan Despite Gruelling Schedules

    On the last night of Terawih Prayers before Ramadan comes to an end for our Muslim friends, I had the privilege to witness and photograph how the men who built our houses practise their faith.

    Many of the construction workers in Singapore are Bangladeshi, and many Bangladeshi are Muslim, so I’ve always wondered how they continued to be faithful during the Holy Month despite their punishing and gruelling working lives here in Singapore.

    Last night (4th July 2016) I photographed these Muslim workers saying their Terawih Prayers outside their dormitory in Tuas, where space is so limited within the dorms that they have had to bring their faith out onto the roadside.

    *Please feel free to share this*

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    Source: Darren Soh I Photographer

  • Six Bangladeshis Are First In Singapore To Face Terrorism Financing Charge

    Six Bangladeshis Are First In Singapore To Face Terrorism Financing Charge

    Six radicalised Bangladeshi nationals who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in April this year are the first to be prosecuted under the Terrorism (Supression of Financing) Act.

    The six men – Rahman Mizanur, Mamun Leakot Ali, Miah Rubel, Zzaman Daulat, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul lslam Sowdagar, and Sohel Hawlader lsmail Hawlader – were charged in court on Friday (May 27), “for providing and/or collecting property for terrorist purposes”, said a police statement.

    Of the six, two – Miah Rubel and Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul lslam Sowdagar – will also be charged for possession of property for terrorist purposes under the same Act.

    The six were part of a group of eight plotting to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh, according to a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 3.

    The group – which called itself Islamic State in Bangladesh – was set up by 31-year-old S-Pass holder Rahman Mizanur in March this year.

    The rest of the group members – whose ages range from 26 to 34 – are Work Permit holders. All of them were working in the local construction and marine industries.

    Based on investigations by MHA, the group had identified several possible attack targets in Bangladesh, and possessed documents on weapons and bomb making. They also had significant amount of ISIS and Al Qaeda radical material, and planned to recruit other Bangladeshi nationals working in Singapore to grow their group.

    MHA said it had also seized funds the group had raised to buy firearms to carry out their planned terror attacks in Bangladesh.

     

    Source: ChannelNews Asia

  • Bangladeshi Group’s Hit List Includes Military, Government Officials And Unbelievers

    Bangladeshi Group’s Hit List Includes Military, Government Officials And Unbelievers

    The eight Bangladeshi workers arrested for forming the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) had drawn up a list to target at least 13 categories of people and agencies in their homeland, including the police, senior government leaders, and “disbelievers” who did not share their religious faith.

    The list of targets was found in a document titled “We Need for Jihad Fight”, and recovered from alleged ringleader Rahman Mizanur who wanted to bring Bangladesh under the caliphate of the Islamic State (IS).

    According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the group had no specific plans to target Singapore. But the ministry added that Rahman had said he would launch an attack anywhere if he was instructed by the IS to do so. They were also planning to raise funds to buy firearms.

    The group’s plans were foiled last month when they were detained under the Internal Security Act. Rahman had been recruiting members for his group since January, and set up the ISB in March.

    The Border Guard of Bangladesh, the Rapid Action Battalion and the police topped the list of what the group called “Target of Enimies (sic) Forces Need to Kill”. Military targets also included the Civil Information Defence, the air force and the navy.

    Government officials such as MPs, government officials at general or secretary level, and government leaders were also on the list.

    The eight also listed media professionals and “disbelievers”, which they identified as Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, “Nastiks” and “Munafiks”, on their hit list. “Nastiks” and “Munafiks” are derogatory terms used respectively to describe atheists and Muslims deemed to be working to undermine their own faith.

    Apart from the hit list, material on weapons and bomb making was also found. The cover of the bomb making material had the text “How to make explosives through action and reaction?” A manual for the AX50 sniper rifle was also recovered.

    Five other Bangladeshis were found with jihadi-related material or supporting the use of armed violence for a religious cause, and have been repatriated.

    In January, it was revealed that 27 Bangladeshi construction workers had been arrested for planning to wage jihad overseas. In March, four Singaporeans were dealt with under the ISA for taking part in violence, or planning to take part in armed conflict abroad.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Eight Radicalised Bangladeshis Detained Under Internal Security Act

    Eight Radicalised Bangladeshis Detained Under Internal Security Act

    Eight Bangladeshis have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), after they were found to have been planning to return to Bangladesh to carry out terror attacks and establish an Islamic state, while working in Singapore.

    They were also found to have been planning to recruit other Bangladeshi nationals working here, and had even raised funds to buy firearms to carry out the attacks, although investigations have not revealed indications of any planned attack here.

    This is the third reported case this year of radicalised individuals being dealt with under the ISA, and the second involving the Bangladeshi community.

    Ringleader Rahman Mizanur, 31, was an S-Pass holder while the other seven detainees, aged between 26 and 34, held work permits. They were employed in the construction and marine industries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Tuesday (May 3).

    The eight, who were arrested last month, were part of a clandestine group which calls itself the Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB) set up here in March.  The Investigations showed that the ISB members initially wanted to join ISIS as foreign fighters, but abandoned the plan due to its difficulty. Instead, they planned to overthrow the Bangladeshi government by force, and bring it under the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) self-declared caliphate.

    A document titled “We Need for Jihad Fight” which identified various Bangladeshi government and military officials as possible targets was seized from Rahman. He also held documents on weapons and bomb making, and a significant amount of radical material relating to ISIS and Al-Qaeda which he had used to recruit new members since January.

    According to the MHA, Rahman had said he would launch an attack anywhere if he was instructed by ISIS to do so, but there are no indications of Singapore having been selected as one such target.

    The other detainees are Mamun Leakot Ali, 29, Sohag Ibrahim, 27, Miah Rubel, 26, Zzaman Daulat, 34, Islam Shariful, 27, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar, 30, and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29.

    The monies raised by the group has been seized. Several of the detainees may be liable for prosecution for terrorism financing, the MHA said.  At least two more members of the ISB are in Bangladesh, according to the members.

    Five other Bangladeshi nationals here were also investigated. While they were not found to be involved in the ISB, they were repatriated for possessing and/or proliferating jihad-related material, or supporting the use of armed violence for a religious cause.

    The MHA said the Government takes a serious view of any form of support for terrorism and will deal firmly with anyone who engages in activities “inimical to Singapore’s national security and racial and religious harmony”.

    “ISB poses a security concern to Singapore because of its support for ISIS and its readiness to resort to the use of violence overseas…Foreigners should not import their own domestic agenda into Singapore and carry out activities here in pursuit of such an agenda,” it said.

    In January, the MHA revealed that 27 Bangladeshi construction workers here were arrested after they were found contemplating waging armed jihad overseas. They were detained in November and December last year. 26 have been repatriated while another remains in prison.

    In March, the MHA said that four Singaporeans had been dealt with under the ISA for taking part in violence or intending to do so in armed conflicts overseas.

     

    Source: TODAY Online