Has Covid-19 provided radical groups with fertile hunting ground? | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
Has Covid-19 provided radical groups with fertile hunting ground?

Panorama

Ariful Islam Mithu & Raihana Sayeeda Kamal
29 July, 2020, 01:00 pm
Last modified: 29 July, 2020, 04:07 pm

Related News

  • New Orleans attack puts spotlight on Islamic State comeback bid
  • What we know so far about the New Orleans truck attack victims
  • 15 killed as US Army veteran flying ISIS flag rams truck into New Orleans crowd
  • Blinken, in Turkey, discusses Islamic State in Syria, Gaza ceasefire
  • Iraq's Mosul springs back to life 10 years after it fell to ISIS

Has Covid-19 provided radical groups with fertile hunting ground?

As more people stay home because of the pandemic, security experts worry radical groups are using this as an opportunity to sow the seeds of their ideology in young minds

Ariful Islam Mithu & Raihana Sayeeda Kamal
29 July, 2020, 01:00 pm
Last modified: 29 July, 2020, 04:07 pm
Illustration: Asifur Rahman
Illustration: Asifur Rahman

Eid is less than a week away and the police have received information that the outlawed terrorist group Neo JMB may carry out attacks, on the directives of international terrorist organisation ISIS ahead of Eid-ul-Adha. ISIS has reportedly formed a new wing called 'Bengal Ulayet'.

Accoding to law enforcers, the target area for launching attacks could be embassies, religious institutions or police establishments.

Earlier, on July 17, almost two months after the countrywide shutdown was lifted, an Indian woman allegedly working for neo JMB was arrested in Dhaka by the counterterrorism unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Ayesha Jannat Mohona, alias Jannatul Tasnim or Pragya Debnath, had been living in Bangladesh in guise of a Bangladeshi citizen with a fake passport and a national identity card. For four years, she had been actively engaged in radicalising youths, training and recruiting them.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Two days later on July 19, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained six more active members of the organisation.

In a world preoccupied with Covid-19, talk about violent extremists had all but disappeared during the first few months of this year as people around the world moved to the safety of their homes to protect themselves from the scourge of the virus.

But with so many people staying home and young people deprived of formal education (as schools and universities first closed and then reopened online), is this also not a fertile time to sow the seeds of online radicalism?

Security experts and researchers think so. And the spate of recent activity and arrests also indicate to a spike in radicalism.

In June this year, Ayman Sadiq, founder of one of Bangladesh's largest e-learning platforms 10 Minute School, was targeted and threatened by an Islamist group online.

"A propaganda was floating around on the internet about killing me for promoting same-sex marriage, which is a complete lie. Neither I, nor my institution, promoted any such thing," Ayman told The Business Standard.

He explained, "Last month, one of my former colleagues, who lives in London now, posted a Facebook status in support of gay marriage. In reaction to that post, some people soon started blaming 10 Minute School for promoting Western culture and encouraging people to go against Islam."  

The tech entrepreneur added, "Many people started sharing a Facebook post that said to kill me wherever they found me. They even posted videos with my photograph that said kill and send the 'murtad' (apostate) to hell. I have even received threats over phone."   

 "First of all, there is no relation between my former colleague's personal Facebook post and 10 Minute School. Naturally, we did not release any formal statement because he was my former colleague. He has not been with us for the last two years," he said.  

There is also global concern over the spike in radicalism.

A recent BBC report reads, "Radicalisation has increased for a small number of vulnerable people, as the pandemic may have driven young people to spend more time online and exacerbate grievances, which makes people more vulnerable to radicalisation."

Even though the number of terrorist attacks has declined globally, there is a potential risk of rise in anarchy and extremism when everything will go back to normal.

Crowded places have always been the target of terror attacks. As people have not come out of home for long, when the lockdown eases, terror groups may try to create a real chaos.

Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of the department of international relations at the University of Dhaka, said, "If we suspect any potential threat, we should thoroughly investigate it."

He said it is now very easy to track down individuals using the internet and email.

The security forces in Bangladesh have the equipment to detect people's identities, he added.  

"The presence of militant groups is particularly bad for business. In the wake of the Holey Artisan attack, many investors left the country in fear," said the professor.   

Imtiaz went on, "The law enforcement agencies should investigate these incidents properly and we should not give these handful of people any space."   

Regarding the threat to Ayman, Shafqat Munir, head of Bangladesh Centre for Terrorism Research (BCTR) at Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, said, "The recent threat given to the educators of 10 Minute School is a disturbing development which we should take seriously. First of all, we need to dive deep into the root of the threat. Where did the threat come from? Who were involved and what were their motives?"

Shafqat agreed that as people are spending more time on the internet now there is a potential threat that terrorist and extremist organisations may cash in on the situation and spread their propaganda. 

"We must remember that the Covid-19 pandemic has not weakened the terrorist organisations. Rather, they are trying to take advantage of this situation to revive themselves. So, we have to be very careful," he added. 

Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and chief of the counterterrorism and transnational crime unit, said the law enforcement authorities had observed fundamentalists posting provocative content on the internet.

"But most of those who spread such content are not connected to any terrorist organisation or network. Sharing extremist content does not necessarily mean that they will join terrorist organisations."

Monirul thinks that even though these groups are active in the virtual world, many of them do not have any strength and structure in the real world. 

Regarding the threat to Ayman, he said, "We have taken this into consideration seriously and are trying to track down those who were involved in this."

He further said, "We do not feel they will carry out an attack. However, we have stepped up monitoring and surveillance." 

Analysis / Top News

Covid-19 impacts / Coronavirus impact / Effects of Coronavirus / Radical groups / Radicalization / Bengal Ulayet / ISIS / Bangladesh Centre for Terrorism Research (BCTR) / BCTR

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Bangladesh's delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, began high-level negotiations with USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer at 9pm Bangladesh time on Thursday (10 July). Photo: Collected from the Facebook handle of Golam Mortoza, Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in the US
    No need to worry as US tariff talks ongoing: Fouzul tells biz leaders
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case
  • Representational image. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    Explainer: Why SSC pass rate hit a 17-year low

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS

Related News

  • New Orleans attack puts spotlight on Islamic State comeback bid
  • What we know so far about the New Orleans truck attack victims
  • 15 killed as US Army veteran flying ISIS flag rams truck into New Orleans crowd
  • Blinken, in Turkey, discusses Islamic State in Syria, Gaza ceasefire
  • Iraq's Mosul springs back to life 10 years after it fell to ISIS

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

7h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

10h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

10h | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

3h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

6h | TBS World
OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

6h | TBS World
Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

7h | TBS Today
July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

6h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net