DHAKA VISA VIPER REPORT - APR 2005

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 002222

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
NOFORN
VISAS VIPER

DEPT FOR INR/IC/TIPOFF AND CA/VO/L/C

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2015
TAGS: KFRD CVIS PTER PINS ASEC
SUBJECT: DHAKA VISA VIPER REPORT - APR 2005

REF: A. DHAKA 1308

B. DHAKA 1851 (NOTAL)

Classified By: DCM JUDITH A. CHAMMAS, Reason: 1.4b


1. (C/NF) Post Visa Viper committe met on May 1, 2005. The
committe received a briefing from visiting RAO analysts
regarding the state of the Islamist movement in Bangladesh.
The Committee decided to nominate several leaders of outlawed
radical Islamist groups (Ref A) for inclusion in the Visas
Viper program.


2. (U) As noted in Ref A, the government of Bangladesh
recently outlawed several radical Islamist groups, the
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and the Jagrata Muslim
Janata Bangladesh (JMJB). Many leaders of these two groups
remain in police custody, though other, lower-level, members
have been released.


3. (C/NF) Post wishes to nominate the following individuals
for inclusion in the Visas Viper program:

A. NAME: al-Galib, Muhammad Asadullah
DPOB: 01 NOV 1950, Bangladesh
Affiliation: Leader of the Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh
(AHAB),a radical Islamist group which opposes most social
and cultural reform in Bangladesh as "un-Islamic". The AHAB
has spawned the two groups recently banned by the government.
The JMB is alleged to be the military wing of AHAB, and the
JMJB appears to be mainly composed of AHAB members and was
formed to counter supposed leftist/Communist influence and
criminality in northwestern Bangladesh. As noted in Ref A,
the JMB and JMJB are accused of perpetrating a number of
attacks on "un-Islamic" targets in northwestern Bangladesh in
early 2005. The government believes that al-Galib instigated
several IED attacks against cultural events in early 2005,
though he claims he has called only for "rhetorical jihad".
Local intelligence agencies report that al-Galib has
travelled to India, Kuwait, Bahrain, Nepal, and Pakistan in
the recent past. In Kuwait, he met with a Salaafist leader.
AHAB receives some funding from a Kuwait-based NGO, the
Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS). The Bangladesh
government has frozen the local accounts of RIHS as it
investigates al-Galib and his associates. The government
continues to build its case against al-Galib and his
associates, vowing to put them away for a long time.
COMMENT: Although Islamist organizations in Bangladesh are
primarily focused on internal affairs, al-Galib's travel
patterns and links suggest he has ties with regional and
international Islamist movements. Such ties could
conceivably evolve in a closer working relationship in the
future, should time and circumstances permit.


B. NAME: RAHMAN, Siddiqur (AKA Bangla Bhai)
DPOB: UNK, Bangladesh
Affiliation: Operational commander of the JMJB whose
exploits have received wide coverage in the local press.
Although the government has claimed to have made great
efforts to capture Bangla Bhai, he remains at large, possibly
in India. While many of the JMJB's attacks were allegedly
against "un-Islamic" targets, many seem to be simply crime
dressed up in Islamist garb. Although a number of JMJB
members have been arrested, no significant arms caches have
been seized. Seizures have been limited to locally-produced
black powder used in IEDs.


C. NAME: ISLAM, Nurul (AKA ISLAM, Maulana Nurul)
DPOB: 01 OCT 1963 , Bangladesh
Affiliation: Senior associate of Dr. al-Galib and senior
member of AHAB.


D. NAME: SALAFI, Shaikh Abdus Samad
DPOB: 02 AUG 1946, Bangladesh
Affiliation: Senior associate of Dr. al-Galib and senior
member of AHAB.


E. NAME: AZIZULLAH, ASM
DPOB: 28 FEB 1976, Bangladesh
Affiliation: Senior associate of Dr. al-Galib and senior
member of AHAB.


4. (U) Visas Viper Committee meeting was chaired by DCM
Judith A. Chammas and acting consular section chief Robert
Jachim acted as coordinator.

THOMAS