Dhaka: Bangladesh moved to counter a deadly wave of Islamist attacks Sunday, ordering an Islamic television station to stop broadcasting and telling schools to report any missing students.
The measures come after several suspected Islamist extremists were reported to be fans of the television channel, while others were found to be from elite universities but had been missing for months.
A Bangladesh cabinet committee decided to ban Peace TV from the country, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu told journalists Sunday.
The station is run by Indian doctor-turned-preacher Zakir Naik, the founder and president of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, and its programmes are aired from Dubai.
Naik had given a lecture in Qatar in May. He had given the lecture "Does God Exist?" at Katara Amphitheatre to a packed audience.
Over 13,000 people attended the lecture and spontaneous translations services covering Arabic, Urdu and Tagalog languages were put in place for the non-English speaking audiences. The lecture was also broadcasted live by several local and international TV networks.
Sheikh Fariq Naik - Zakir Naik’s son spoke for an hour prior to his dad- as an introductory talk before the “Does God Exist?” lecture, focusing on comparison between Christianity and Islam.
Senior minister Amir Hossain Amu confirmed the ban, which would also affect other unauthorized channels he did not name, after heading a special cabinet meeting on Sunday – the first working day after the Eid ul-Fitr holiday.
Peace TV was put in the spotlight by Bangladeshi media after reports that attackers involved in the killing of 22 people, including 18 foreigners, at a Dhaka cafe on July 1 were inspired by the channel's founder Zakir Naik.
Bangladeshi news website bdnews24.com reported after the attack that Bangladeshi intelligence believed Naik, who runs the India-based Islamic Research Foundation, was closely followed by one of the attackers.
Naik has denied the claims, arguing that even if the attackers watched his sermons it did not mean they were adapting his teachings. He has used his Facebook page, which has 14 million followers, to urge people publicly defend him against the accusations.
Naik has been denied entry by the UK and Canada and has often been criticized for controversial remarks, especially about other religions.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the day called on every school, college and university to "create a list of absent students and publish it".
Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities.
"We will be rigorous," the premier said. "We must uproot militancy and terrorism from Bangladesh."
Three of the alleged jihadists who participated in an attack on a Dhaka cafe last week, in which 20 hostages were murdered, attended top schools and universities in the Bangladeshi capital.
The revelation that the attackers were educated, well-off members of society has sparked fears that Islamism has spread far beyond disenfranchised youngsters being radicalised in madrasas.
School authorities would now have to provide information on any students who have an unexplained absence of 10 days or more, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.
Another student of a well-regarded university participated in a deadly attack in northern Bangladesh on Thursday that killed at least three people at a huge prayer gathering marking the start of Eid.
Police said both attacks were carried out by a banned local militant group, despite vocal claims from the Islamic State group that they were responsible for the siege at the Dhaka cafe.
Authorities, meanwhile, have launched a publicity blitz, urging parents to closely monitor their children. Television channels have broadcast photos of missing students and advertisements to deter extremism.
US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal flew to Dhaka Sunday to discuss the security situation with Bangladesh foreign minister Mahmood Ali.
She offered US expertise in building Bangladesh's counterterrorism capabilities, the American embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.
"We will continue our assistance in combatting the global threat of terrorism that our countries both confront," she said.
AFP/Anadolu
