Independent of Hizb ut Tahrir's activities, it is becoming clear that East London-based Bangladeshis - with extremist Islamist tendencies -  are traveling to various terror training camps established in Bangladesh. The fact is that Bangladesh relies to a great extent on funds from its Diaspora abroad and this includes Britain. Young British Bangladeshis tend to be far more religious and radical than Bangladeshis in Bangladesh - there are real Islamist terrorist problems in Bangladesh and it seems highly likely that Bangladeshis based in Britain are playing some part in funding these groups, especially now the situation in Bangladesh is so dire.

Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI) was established in 1992, reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front. On April 30, 1992, several of the HuJI leaders addressed a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka and demanded that Bangladesh be converted into an Islamic State. The outfit's activities, however, were noticed in June 1996 after the Awami League came to power. The HuJI was proscribed by the Government on October 17, 2005. The HuJI is led by Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid. Imtiaz Quddus is the general secretary of the outfit. HuJI aims to establish Islamic Hukumat (rule) in Bangladesh by waging war and killing progressive intellectuals. It draws inspiration from bin Laden and the erstwhile Taliban regime of Afghanistan. At one point in time, the groups issued a slogan, Amra Sobai Hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghanistan (We will all become Taliban and we will turn Bangladesh into Afghanistan). HuJI recruits are indoctrinated in the mould of radical Islam.

The JMJB's agenda for the present is the neutralization of left-wing extremists, especially cadres of the PBCP. The professed long-term goal of the outfit is to usher in an ‘Islamic revolution' in Bangladesh through jihad.

Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) is reported to have been formed in 1998 in the Jamalpur district.  While the exact origin is shrouded in mystery, its existence came to notice on May 20, 2002 with the arrest of eight Islamist militants at Parbatipur in the Dinajpur district along with 25 petrol bombs and documents detailing the outfit's activities. Subsequently, on February 13, 2003, the JMB is reported to have carried out seven bomb explosions in the Chhoto Gurgola area of Dinajpur town in which three persons were wounded.  Some reports suggest that it is the youth front of the Al Mujahideen, an organisation allegedly formed in the mid-1990s but whose existence is still ambiguous, whereas others indicate that the JMB is another name for the vigilante Islamist group the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). The JMB was proscribed by the Bangladeshi Government on February 23, 2005. The Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Party of the Mujahideen) aims at establishing the rule of Islam in Bangladesh through an armed struggle. The outfit is opposed to the establishment of democracy and calls for the conduct of government under Islamic law. On August 17, 2005, while claiming responsibility for the serial blasts through leaflets, in Bangla and Arabic, left at the site of the explosions across the country, the JMB said: "We're the soldiers of Allah. We've taken up arms for the implementation of Allah's law the way Prophet, Sahabis and heroic Mujahideen have done for centuries... It is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh. There is no future with man-made law." The JMB said the blasts were its "third call" to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh. "If ignored and [if] our people are arrested or persecuted, Jama'atul Mujahideen will take the counter-action," the leaflets said. They also warned the United States and Britain against occupation of Muslim lands: "It is also to warn Bush and Blair to vacate Muslim countries, or to face Muslim upsurge." Espousing a radical variant of Islam, the outfit is opposed to cultural functions, cinema halls, shrines and NGOs. One of the objectives of JMB is to free Muslims of the influence of 'anti-Islam forces' and practices that brought women out of their houses. On August 16th 2005, over 200 bombs went off simultaneously across Bangladesh -  JMB claimed responsibility.

Islami Chhatra Shibir is the (extremist, rather than terrorist) student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which came into existence in 1941. Nurul Islam Bulbul is the Central President of the ICS. Mohammed Nazrul Islam is the Secretary General of the outfit. Other important leaders are: Kamal Ahmed Sikder, A S M Faruq, Muhammad Mujibur Rahman Manju, Muhammad Raisul and A S M Ashraf Mahmud Uzzal. The executive Council is the highest decision-making body of the outfit. The ICS has a central secretariat, comprising eight members. In addition, the ICS has established 6 divisions countrywide: Dhaka Division, Chittagong Division, Sylhet Division, Rajshahi Division, Khulna Division and Barisal Division. Each division has several districts and other units under its jurisdiction. According to the outfit, its objectives are to struggle for changing the existing system of education on the basis of Islamic values, to inspire students to acquire Islamic knowledge and to prepare them to take part in the struggle for establishing Islamic way of life. A significant aim of the outfit is to establish an Afghanistan-Taliban type Islamist regime in Bangladesh. Consequently, the outfit is opposed to forces of modernization and secularism.

These groups are directly linked to Jamat-e-Islami, which use them to eliminate and intimidate their opponents. JI provides financial resources - which has increased significantly over the last few years - and political support to these groups. Jamat-e-Islami fully utilized the portfolio of Bangladesh's Minister of Industry to enhance its business interests. The JI economic empire embraces banking, insurance, trucking, pharmaceutical manufacturing, department stores, newspapers and TV stations. The businesses run and owned by the reactionary Islamic parties, including JI, earn profits of some $1.2 billion annually.

2: Training Camps

Indian intelligence in 2002 identified 99 training camps operating in Bangladesh. These should not be confused with Al Qaeda / Islamist training camps - the identified camps were said to be training North East border insurgents threatening the disputed Indian border.

The Islamist terror groups mentioned above have well-established training camps:

The coastal area stretching from the port city of Chittagong south through Cox's Bazaar to the Myanmarese border, notorious for piracy, smuggling and arms running, is the principal area of activity of the HuJI. The group reportedly maintains six camps in the hilly areas of Chittagong, where its cadres are trained in the use of weapons. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that it maintains six training camps near Cox's Bazaar. The HuJI cadres allegedly also infiltrate frequently into the eastern corridor of India to maintain contacts with terrorist and subversive outfits of the region.

The JMJB is reported to have created strong bases mostly in northwest Bangladesh, in the districts of Rajshahi, Satkhira, Naogaon, Bagerhat, Jessore, Chittagong, Joypurhat, Natore, Rangpur, Bogra, Chittagong, and Khulna. It has allegedly spread its network to most Madrassas and other educational institutions in these districts. The outfit has also established at least 10 camps at Atrai and Raninagar in the Naogaon district, Bagmara in Rajshahi district, and Naldanga and Singra in Natore district. There have been reports of JMJB recruits being given training through recorded speeches of Osama bin Laden and the video footages of warfare training at the Al Qaeda's Farooque camp (now defunct) in Afghanistan. Although some JMJB leaders have reportedly stated that the outfit is headquartered in Dhaka they have thus far declined to give any specific location.

In 2003, decoded diaries of some arrested Islamist militants are reported to have revealed that the JMB outfit had training camps in 57 districts with bases at the Ahle Hadith mosques and seminaries. They have well-equipped training stations in all the 16 northern and some southern districts, and small stations in other districts where they operate. Although the outfit was formed in Jamalpur district, its terrorist campaign is based in the North Bengal region.

The locations of these camps is relevant to the Bangladeshi-UK situation. They are centered in specific geographical areas. Sometimes, whole villages are taken up by a group's leaders. The relevance is in that Bangladeshi emigrants from particular Bangladeshi areas cluster in particular areas in the UK.

With relation to Tower Hamlets, it seems the JMJB is the most likely destination of UK funds.

Piers Malcolmson is a retired military officer from a European country.

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