In a major attitudinal shift, Bangladesh’s mainstream Islamic parties have joined forces with the right wing government and the people to crack down on extremist Islamic groups in the country — a move aimed at boosting the country’s international image.

In a new trend, about a dozen Islamic parties including the leading Jamaat-e-Islami, wedded to establishing Islamic rule through election, have begun openly opposing militant Islamic groups.

According to a police intelligence report, there are about 50 small but active militant groups in Bangladesh boasting an estimated 100,000 members. Until recently, their activities went largely unchallenged, with the arrest of only a dozen activists.

But during the last month, the police have arrested about 150 of them.

On Friday, after Tawhid activists hammered to death one youth and hurt 16 others, they encountered stiff resistance from activists of the Islamic Shashantantra Andolan (ISA) — a party affiliated to Bangladesh’s four-party coalition government.

Armed with hammers, about 40 Hizbut Tawhid activists were distributing inflammatory leaflets among the general public in the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, on Friday morning.

After reading the leaflets, a group of ISA men tried to stop them, sparking a clash between the two, in which one person was killed.

Later, after killing ISA member Abdul Malek, 25, the Tawhid activists fled.

With newfound efficiency, the police promptly arrested the kingpin of the Hizbut Tawhid, along with several activists. The organization is fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state through armed revolution or “Jihad.”

Tawhid’s 78-year-old leader Baizid Khan Panni is an aristocrat who formed the party in 1992 after frequent visits to the Middle East.

The Tawhid survives on foreign funding and sharply denounces all mainstream Islamic parties for failing to operate through the “true Islamic way” as preached by the Prophet 1400 years ago.

Following his arrest, Tawhid leader Panni complained that, “My activists are severely beaten by these so-called Islamic parties (like Jamaat-e-Islami) whenever they go out on a campaign, so they have to carry hammers for defence.”

For the first time since it assumed power in 2001, the government filed a case against a fundamentalist, pressing sedition charges against Panni and three of his associates.

An official press release exhibited its new tough approach, stating that, “The government is determined to strongly resist any anarchic activities in the name of a religious group and will track down those involved in such attacks.”

Significantly, the ISA organized a rally last Saturday, urging the people to unite against the extremists.

ISA chief Fazlul Karim asserts that “it is time for us to strongly resist militant activities. The government’s long silence on this issue has encouraged militants to spread their wings across Bangladesh.”

Similar incidents occured in Bangladesh’s southwestern border district of Kustia on September 9 and 13.

In the first incident, the general public themselves resisted Tawhid activists while they were distributing their “revolutionary” leaflets.

The ensuing clash left 35 injured.

On September 13, students of a madrassa (Islamic school), rushed out of their dormitories to attack a Tawhid rally. In the violence that followed, a housewife was killed along with dozens of men.

The police arrested 17 Tawhid activists.

The new trend of resistance started this August, when the police raided a secret congregation centre of the extremist youth front, Jamatul Mujahidin, located in northwestern Bangladesh, and arrested 23 separatists.

Prior to this incident, Bangladesh’s right-wing government consistently denied the presence of any militant groups in the country.

Finally admitting both their presence and potential threat to peace and democracy, Islamic parties are committed to campaigning against them.

The powerful Jamaat-e-Islami, a partner in the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government, has officially denounced both militant Islamic activities and groups that sponsor them.

“I believe their presence is small and scattered. They are not mainstream and lack public support,” declares Jamaat chief and Industries Minister Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami.

“They are most likely backed by foreign forces and have a very weak political base,” Nizami adds.

In a bid to give the country a secular image, Nizami says militant activities are giving Islam a bad name, stressing that, “Islam shuns violence and the law should take its course against those resorting to it.”

Other political groups are taking the transformation with a grain of salt. Hasanul Haq Inu, president of the progressive political party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, remarks that “we would certainly welcome their stance if this is not merely eyewash.” He goes on to allege that “the Jamaat cultivates terrorists within itself. If they are sincere in their efforts, they must oust their own goons.”

But Raghib Hasan Masud, director of human rights organization Odhikar, welcomes the change in approach, holding that it will positively impact the country’s international image.

“Bangladesh is the only Muslim dominated country which is a democracy, and our Islamic parties should play a positive role in showing the world Islam is not synonymous with violence and militancy. If the Jamaat and government tackle the militants strongly, Bangladesh will be able to make a big difference,” declares Masud.