Growing Threat to Regional Peace and Stability; Posed by Radical Islamic Groups in Northern Arakan

GAN, Arakan (Rakhine State)

Special Report December 10, 2024

Several studies and observations have already warned that the refugee crisis along the Bangladesh-Arakan border could have regional implications. This issue primarily stems from the strained bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar, especially since the August 2017 violence. The crisis is increasingly being addressed through international legal mechanisms, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

More concerning are the ideological connections forming between global Jihadist groups, extremist religious groups in Bangladesh, and radical Islamic factions along the Arakan border. A highly destructive situation could arise if an opportunistic group exploits these fragile conditions. For decades, calls for Islamic jihad action by regional and transnational groups, including Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansar al Islam (AAI), Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (NJMB), and Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), have surfaced.

Name	Background	Activities
Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh	Hefazat-e-Islam founded in 2010 is a far-right conservative Islamic group consisted of hardline religious teachers and students. The group has built several Madrasahs in refugee camps and is suspected of having links with Taliban and Jammaat e Islami.	Organized a protest in September 2017 in Dhaka “We will launch a long march towards Myanmar if its army and their associates do not stop torturing the Rohingya Muslims,” “We will be compelled to launch jihad against Myanmar.”
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)	AQIS was established to promote al-Qa’ida’s ideology and objectives in South Asia, sharing al-Qa’ida's goals: to prepare Muslims for military jihad against their adversaries, liberate Muslim lands under non-Muslim control, and revive the Islamic caliphate. In a 2014 announcement, al-Zawahiri named Burma (Myanmar), Bangladesh, and India’s regions of Assam, Gujarat, and Kashmir as areas targeted for AQIS operations.	In June 2017, the group clearly laid out its three objectives in Myanmar: (i) ‘Helping and defending’ Muslims in Myanmar; (ii) ‘Avenging’ the oppression of Myanmar Muslims by the military; and (ii) “Retaking” the Islamic Arakan from the ‘occupying’ military.
Jamatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB)	Jama’at Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is a Bangladeshi Sunni extremist group founded in 1998, aiming to replace democracy, liberalism, socialism, and secularism with an Islamic state in Bangladesh. JMB’s ideology closely aligns with al-Qa’ida's global jihadist ideals, and the group has previously claimed responsibility for an attack through an online forum associated with al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).	Endorsed the activities of the AQIS.
Anser al Islam (AAI)	It is a pan-Islamist militant organization founded in 2013 in Bangladesh, linked to numerous terrorist activities, including attacks and the murders of atheist bloggers between 2013 and 2015. The group is connected to Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party.	Endorsed the activities of the AQIS.
Neo- Jamatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (NJMB)	Neo-Jama'at Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) first emerged in 2014, formed by Bangladesh-based extremists formerly aligned with al-Qa'ida (AQ) who shifted their support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This group included many members of the Sunni extremist organization Jama'at Mujahideen Bangladesh, who were drawn to the ISIL-aligned group led by Shaykh Ibrahim al-Hanif.	In September 2015, IS' Furat Media published an article titled ‘Bangladesh and the Declaration of the Caliphate’; calling for armed jihad in Myanmar, with operations originating from Bangladesh. IS has also used its online publication, Dabiq, to announce its intention to establish a base in Bangladesh to launch retaliatory attacks against Myanmar in response to the treatment of Rohingya Muslims.
Hizb ut Tahrir (HT)	Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamist and fundamentalist organization with a national branch in Bangladesh. It is affiliated with its global counterpart, Hizb ut-Tahrir, as well as the regional branch, Hizb ut-Tahrir Central Asia.	The group has covertly distributed leaflets in Cox’s Bazar, declaring that the only path to liberating Muslims in Myanmar is through establishing and expanding Arakan (Rakhine State) as a caliphate.

In early 2020, a Times of India report indicated that Indian agencies had issued a warning to the country's armed forces and border guards, alleging that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in training 40 Rohingya individuals in Cox's Bazar. According to the report, Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) facilitated the training, with an estimated 10 million taka ($117,000, €107,000) funded through channels in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. With the recent rise of radical Islamic factions in Bangladesh, even a small spark could ignite an uncontrollable and dangerous situation—one that poses a highly alarming risk.

 Note: This chapter is part of the report titled "Growing Extremist Activities of Islamic Jihadist Groups in Northern Arakan," authored by GAN. The remaining parts and chapters will follow.