Bangladesh in Al Qaeda’s Crosshairs?

An audio clip on a website known as Jihadology, claiming to be from an Al Qaeda leader in hiding, has called on Bangladeshi Muslims to fight secularists and atheists. “Though authenticity of the audio tape remained unconfirmed, this type of message raised concerns among the cross section of people as there was apprehension of further rise of Islamist militancy, radicalisation and terror activities,” reports the Dhaka Tribune. The clip, in Arabic with English subtitles, suggests that the West is orchestrating Bangladeshi secularists in persecuting religious scholars and ridiculing Islam. The clip also suggested that “independence of Bangladesh was a conspiracy of India and the Pakistan Army” and that powerful political leaders want to subjugate Bangladeshis and destroy cross-border unity of Muslims. The country of 160 million has political tensions and a high rate of poverty, and the uneducated and marginalized an easy target for extremists of all types. – YaleGlobal