EXCHANGE WITH CHAIRMAN OF EXTREMIST ISLAMIST GROUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 004266


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2014
TAGS: PGOV KISL PHUM PINR BG
SUBJECT: EXCHANGE WITH CHAIRMAN OF EXTREMIST ISLAMIST GROUP

Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough, reason para 1.5 d.


1. (C) Summary. At a chance encounter with polcouns, IOJ
Chairman Fazlul Haq Amini denounced Jamaat Islami as power
hungry, criticized the BDG on several fronts, opposed the
proposed USD 2 billion Tata investment in Bangladesh,
indicated the Awami League has offered him money to quit the
ruling alliance, and described in general terms his vision
for Bangladesh as a truly Islamic state. How, he asked,
could IOJ could improve its image in the U.S. and why is the
USG anti-madrassah? End Summary.


2. (C) At a small dinner on December 14, polcouns was
encountered by Mufti Fazlul Haq Amini, MP and Chairman of his
faction of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ). The USG, he noted, has
negative opinions about the IOJ. During the one-hour exchange
to clear up "misunderstandings," the affable, sometimes
humorous Amini

-- Denounced Jamaat Islami Bangladesh (JIB) as power-hungry,
and predicted the next generation of JIB leadership, trained
in the violent Shibir student wing, would be "extremist."
IOJ, he claimed, is interested only in propagating Islamic
values, not political power, and it is out-polled by JIB only
because IOJ does not organize or operate as a political
party. He denied he has any interest in a cabinet seat.

-- Declined to comment on the current political situation
because, he smiled, his status as a member of the ruling
coalition obliges him to be circumspect.

-- Stated that legal and other changes would be required to
make Bangladesh a truly Islamic state. A Pakistan-like
blasphemy law would be a good idea. In this new state, women
would have the vote, sharia/interest free banking would be
implemented, taxes other than zakat would be lowered but not
eliminated, and religious minorities would not be deemed as
second class citizens. He could think of no foreign model
for Bangladesh or IOJ.

-- Accepted women working in garment factories, but said they
should be segregated from men.

-- Saw no differences in outlook between Islamist parties in
Pakistan and Bangladesh, or between Bangladeshi and Pakistani
societies.

-- Denied any kind of relationship with PMO Parliamentary
Affairs Advisor S.Q. Chowdhury, one of the BNP's principal
defenders of including IOJ in the ruling alliance.

-- Characterized Ahmadis as non-Muslims attempting to deceive
"real" Muslims, when asked why IOJ had mounted such a big
campaign against such a small minority. JIB, he added, has
identical views on Ahmadis.

-- Rationalized IOJ's presence in the ruling coalition,
despite popular displeasure over corruption and poor
governance, by saying IOJ supporters know this is preferable
to giving political advantage to Awami League president
Sheikh Hasina, whose actions when she was in power against
IOJ madrassahs and allegations against him of terrorism were
"un-Islamic."

-- Characterized Hasina as unscrupulous, said he had been
approached by AL leaders to reach a "political
understanding," and indicated they had offered him money to
quit the ruling party alliance.

-- Opposed the proposed USD 2 billion steel/power investment
in Bangladesh by the Indian Tata group because it would lead
to Indian exploitation of a Bangladeshi natural resource.
Asked if he opposed on similar grounds the big Chinese coal
mine in northern Bangladesh, Amini replied that his desire
for good relations with China precluded a direct answer.

-- Blamed the August 21 attack on Sheikh Hasina on people
wanting to destabilize Bangladesh.

-- Credited the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) with improving
law and order, but at the cost of killing many people.

-- Stated he has never traveled to the U.S., but has visited
the UK.

-- Requested regular inter-action for the sake of enhanced
understanding, but dodged the question of what he felt the
appropriate U.S. role should be in Bangladesh. He also
declined to repeat his host's suggestion that he wants
"friendly" relations with the U.S.


3. (C) Asked how IOJ could better improve its image in the
U.S., polcouns suggested that IOJ demonstrate its support for
democracy and human rights, and in particular condemn on
principle attacks on Ahmadis, Hindus, and the political
opposition. Amini claimed, weakly, that he had done this;
polcouns urged him to give such condemnations greater
publicity. Amini then asked why the USG believes madrassahs
do nothing but train terrorists. Polcouns noted that
madrassahs serve as a critical educational safety net in many
countries, and that only a handful of madrassahs with a
history of sending graduates into terrorism attract this type
of concern.


4. (C) Bio: Amini is also principal of the big Lalbagh
madrassah in Dhaka, and president of the Ulama Parishad
(Council of Islamic Scholars). At the end of 2003, he
spearheaded the anti-Ahmadiyya campaign, and before that the
campaign against noted Bangladeshi feminist author Taslima
Nasreen. He is known for strong anti-U.S., anti-West, and
anti-NGO views. His denials aside, he is widely believed to
want a cabinet seat, which some observers cited as the
driving motivation behind his anti-Ahmadiyya agitation.


5. (C) Comment: Amini, friendly and on his best behavior,
steered clear of anything patently controversial, in part by
offering virtually no opinion without direct prompting.
IOJ-BNP animosities are well known, but the sharpness of his
criticism of JIB was unexpected and is not reciprocated when
we ask JIB about IOJ. Amini lacks the polish and worldly
knowledge of mainstream Islamist leaders, but was at ease
with foreigners and Bangladeshis who were drinking and who
had views contrary to his own. Amini was summoned when the
conversation turned to fears by a dissident BNP MP and a
leader of Ershad's BJP that JIB, as an aggressive, "armed"
vertically-integrated enterprise, poses a far greater threat
to Bangladesh than does IOJ. We are dubious but not
completely dismissive of the notion that the AL wants to
bribe Amini to defect from the BNP; we heard this allegation
elsewhere two weeks ago, also from a someone with an anti-AL
bias.


CHAMMAS