Teacher turned AK-47 enthusiast

Occasionally, even the most coincidental events may inadvertently trigger an investigation into something completely unrelated to the incident itself. Usually this is referred to as a "lucky break," thankfully luck doesn't have as much to do with it as reasoned observation and awareness of the context.

As Bangla Nation understands it: Islamism, the political ideology that seeks to establish a system of government (a state) run by shariah law. As it is normally presented in Western (meaning U.S., European, et cetera) media the Islamism movement is primarily being backed by illiterate rural villagers (CNN Transcript, 28 April 2009). To be sure, Islamism gains a substantial amount of its backing from the rural masses, who may be illiterate. But it would be a mistake to believe that this political system appeals purely to that demographic.

Bangla Nation has devoted some time to pointing out exceptions to this notion (see... and here...), recently Daily Star reported that a teacher at Jaldhaka Pilot Girls' High School in Jaldhaka sub-district, Nilphamari was receiving his full paycheck despite having been arrested in February 2009. At the time, he was an ehsar (full-time member) of Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

While the salary payments are probably a system of failed bureaucracy, the teacher is far more interesting from an intellectual perspective. For he was not just any teacher, he was a senior teacher at a government-run (secular) girl's high school. Something that one would not expect if the term of reference was only the notion that JMB cadre were poor, illiterate villagers from the countryside.

The Government of Bangladesh is serious about eliminating Islamist militancy, the recent spate of arrests of high-profile figures in organizations like JMB, Lashkar-e-Taieba, and Harakat-ul Jihad Bangladesh are evidence of that. What is not entirely known is the method in which the Bangladeshi government is seeking to prevent new "converts" to the political cause of Islamism, whether militant or gradualist (like the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, political party).

Such a method would have to entail at least two different approaches, addressing the grievances of the individuals that are being recruited and developing a political program to point out the deficiencies in the Islamist political agenda.

Quicknote: Unequal Development

There is a large body of geographic literature that describes the "primate city" concept, it is a city that is disproportinately large compared to other cities in the country. There has also been much discussion on the core-periphery concept where a region's resources are concentrated in a narrow area, often at the expense of the "periphery." The "primate city" and the "core" can go hand-in-hand, as the central government concentrates its resources in a few, usually urban, areas. For our purposes here, this almost always results in unequal development.

NGOs usually seek to address this imbalanace, focusing their efforts in the periphery - bringing development to those who were unable to take advantage of the government's programs. It would appear that there is also a peripherial-periphery. An area where not even the NGOs can reach.

Far to the south, in Cox's Bazar division, on the border with Burma/Myanmar lies Teknaf upazila. There some 45,000 children receive no education due to a complete lack of school facilities, whether government- or NGO-administered, in 77 of 143 villages. As a result the children, who should be in school, are working. While in one instance the local union council set up a school for the children it was forced to close due to a lack of funds (Daily Star).

This situation could easily fall prey to the "scare resource" argument. However, a re-prioritzation of resource away from the "core" (Dhaka) or the "core-periphery" (Chittagong) could help stem the rural to urban migration which cripples urban areas in "Less Developed Countries."

In a sense, the government attempts to alleviate the sufferings of the "primate city's" inhabitants by diverting more resources to the city. This comes at the expense of "peripheral" programs. Residents in these areas enjoy even less benefits and state patronage than before. The result is obvious, rural citizens migrate to the urban area in search of oppurtunity.

However, this is not to say that Dhaka should become dilapidated in return for a "rural paradise." A balance must be found to keep Dhaka growing at a manageable, meaning economically, socially, and demographically sustainable pace, while at the same time improving education, healthcare, and occupational opportunities in the periphery (both core-periphery and periphery-periphery).

NGOs should also be flexible enough to repriorize their efforts to take into account their own success. By enabling local staff to take over the NGOs operations in the area, NGOs will not only be freeing up their own staff to expand operations, the local community removes their dependence on NGO assistance.

Freedom of Education vs. Censorship

On 3 June, the Daily Star reported that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has made "strong recommendations for imposing a ban" on "unapproved" textbooks in madrasas. In addition, all madrasas would have to have a picture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the offices, to properly observe national holidays and memorial days, and to ensure that the national anthem is sung everyday.
I have no problem with most of these points. In most public buildings in the United States you will find pictures of the U.S. President and Vice President. In grade school we were required to say the U.S. "pledge of allegiance," and of course we observed all national holidays and memorial days.

The tricky part: is the funding for these madrasas on the government's coin? Are they run by private groups? By NGOs? The answer is yes to all three. In which case, many of these recommendations could be construed to be an infringement on civil rights of the private groups to set policy in their institutions.

We should not forget that this is not only an issue of civil rights but also of Bangladesh's national security. It is no secret that most Islamists find their ideological underpinnings during study at a madrasa. But being an Islamist does not necessarily lead to bombs, guns, and murder. On the other hand, calling for the dissolution of the current government and political in place of the one you want could be construed as treason. Tricky.

The middle ground is probably to install these recommendations in government managed and funded madrasas. These points should be a prerequisite to government money or service, but at the same time madrasas funded or managed by other groups or individuals should be routinely monitored by the community. For instance, engage the parents in actively discussing the child's education. What did you learn today? What do you think about it? Finally, the government needs to do something about the actual items that cause violent Islamism to take root in the first place - unequal development, corruption, disillusionment, the like.

As for the text books, having not read them (I probably should) I lean towards the ban. If the book includes incendiary statements that promote murder and violence then the books should be banned, especially in the madrasas - government funded/run or not. The reasoning is that these ideas are totally contrary to the spirit of Bangladeshi (and traditional) parliamentary democracy. However, if the book never goes that far but insinuates that a better government would be one based on religious law, then allow it. But any sensible administrator should also encourage discussion between the teacher and the pupils. Why would it be better? How would it be worse? What would be different? What would be similar? In this way the mind decides for itself what to believe. Right now, I'm not entirely convinced this is the way the conversation works in the madrasas that indoctrinate violent Islamists (or any religious school preaching violence on others, for that matter).

The U.S. government might not think it has much stake in this debate at first glance - but it most certainly does. The path that Bangladesh chooses to trend here is critical to the development of the still young democracy. If you go too far into the realm of control and censorship, you risk promoting the environment you are seemingly trying to avoid. If you err too far to the other side, you risk legitimizing the violence and the message.

Finally, the U.S. should take note that textbook debate is occuring not but 100 km from its own capital.