Ensuring Life without Terror - 1

A terror-free Bangladesh would require an objective,non-partisan research and analysis on the state of terrorism,albeit not on an ad hoc basis but a protracted,institutional basis,with as many viewpoints as possible. However,any objective research and analysis on terrorism would require a thorough combination of theory and practice. This is where Bangladesh remains far behind some of the countries (Norway,UK,Singapore) that have made an impact when it comes to devising policies in preventing and countering terrorism. Bangladesh is not a latecomer in terrorism (we had our share of left-wing terrorism in the 1970s and religio-centric terrorism since the late 1980s),yet no institutional mechanism developed thus far for combining theory and practice of terrorism. In this context,the CTTC-CGS collaboration is an exception,particularly in the quest of the two institutions to combine theory and practice. However,there is no guarantee that the CTTC-CGS collaboration will find all the answers to the task of preventing terrorism. The hope lies in the fact that the collaboration would help not only in overcoming the pitfalls of colonial policing,the legacy of which still exists but also in providing space to social and civil entities to engage in policing and preventing terrorism actively. This would certainly go a long way in organizing and reproducing a life without terror in Bangladesh. Table of Contents Volume 1 1. Identification of Vulnerable Group to Radicalization Leading to VE – Amena Mohsin and F M Arafat 2. Content Analyses of So-called Jihadi Literature and Formulating Alternative Narratives – Imtiaz Ahmed and Nazmul Arifeen Shabbir 3. The Symbiotic Relationship between Terrorism and Media: A Critical Study on Bangladesh – Shabnam Azim 4. Terrorism and Internet,and Strategies for Identifying and Countering Extremist Ideologies on the Internet – Mohammad Atique Rahman 5. IndexVolume 2 is an extension of Volume 1,focusing on rehabilitation,community engagement,and requirements of the counter-terrorism force for preventing terrorism or violent extremism. Any discussion on the three issues must bring to the fore the state of the human mind,how the latter convinces itself to unleash terror,whether in the name of fear or faith or both,in the state and society despite knowing that it could bring its own destruction? The Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO declares that “Since wars begin in the minds of men (and women),it is in the minds of men (and women) that the defences of peace must be constructed. ” Addressing the mind,therefore,remains a paramount task in stopping future acts of terror. But then,with the global dissemination of modernity,which is obsessed with linearity,perfectionism,and centrism,one could easily see that far from creating defences of peace it is engaged in reproducing violence! Hopefully,Volume 2,like Volume 1,will also invite discussions,counterpoints,and newer ideas from the readers interested in preventing violent extremism both within and beyond Bangladesh. The latter could only meet the multilayered challenges of contemporary terrorism through a collective effort of people from all walks of life. Volume 2 5. Rehabilitation Strategy with Respect to Terrorism ASM Ali Ashraf6. Rehabilitation of Ex-terrorists and Their Role in Countering Terrorism Niloy Biswas7. Community Engagement in CVE Md. Touhidul Islam8. Assessment of the Needs of Counter Terrorism Force Delwar Hossain