Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh ("Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh", abbreviated: JMJB), is an
Islamist extremist group operating in and around northwestern
Bangladesh. The
Government of Bangladesh has banned the JMJB, classifying it as a terrorist organization. It is described by Bangladeshi police as an offshoot of the related
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh outfit.
Early history
Formed between 2003 and 2004 in
Rajshahi District's
Bagmara Upazila, the organization initially received support from some government officials, in hopes they would target other insurgents operating in the country.
The group also attacked
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
politicians with the support of the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party and
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leadership. According to US diplomatic cables released by
WikiLeaks, the Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia's son,
Tarique Rahman
Tarique Rahman is a Bangladeshi politician who is the current acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since February 2018. He has been residing in London with his family since he left Bangladesh in September 2008.
Early life and ...
, requested the release of the group's leader to their own government. Despite this, the JMJB was banned on 23 February 2005.
Leadership
The organization's leaders included its commander
Siddique ul-Islam (better known as Bangla Bhai), and
Shaykh Abdur Rahman. After the Government of Bangladesh offered a large reward for the capture of Bangla Bhai, he was detained by the elite
Rapid Action Battalion in
Mymensingh District on 6 March 2006.
[Top Bangladesh militant captured: police](_blank)
, Reuters news report, 6 March 2006. Both he and Shaykh Abdur Rahman were executed on 30 March 2007.
Ideology
The JMJB is extremely critical of the
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh party, which it deems as heretical due to its participation in the Bangladeshi political establishment, patronisation of
secularism, and
sacrilege of Islamic values and principles. The group's ideology is inspired by that of the Afghan
Taliban, and it is a proponent of
Sharia law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...
in Bangladesh.
The JMJB was urged by some of the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party to attack members of the militant
Purbo Banglar Communist Party.
References
External links
New York Times article on the JMJBAlternative link â€
{{Islamism in Bangladesh
Islamism in Bangladesh
Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist
Terrorism in Bangladesh