A Facebook page called “Muslim Social Activists Networks” was created on 7 September 2024 only to be renamed as “Intifada Bangladesh” 11 months later.
Managed by eight persons – seven from Bangladesh and one from the UK – the page identifies itself as a social service platform, but explicitly promotes extreme narratives aiming to dismantle democracy and establish Shariah.
Social media analysis shows leaders of this page consistently preach that the democratic pursuance since Bangladesh independence failed and only the rule of Allah can bring peace and protect sovereignty of the country.
It has 108,000 followers and many shares content praising the 9/11 attacks, echoing AQIS publications and strategies, while they laud Al-Qaeda leaders and justify violence against secular figures.
One of the many similar platforms is MuslimBongo, opened on 5 August 2025, identifying itself as fundamentalist and anti-secular. One of their recent uploads in the Facebook page appeals for shahada (martyrdom) and shariah while another claims that they have already “won the battle on the moral field; winning the physical battle is only a matter of time.”
There’s also Bhumiputro, also on Facebook, opened in April last year. One video uploaded few months ago shows a graphically designed currency valued at ‘911’, with a photo of Osama bin Laden, describing him as “bhumi putro” or “son of the land”, an ideological strand propogated by Intifada Bangladesh as part of its long-term goal of dismantling democracy, establishing shariah law and normalising theocratic extremism through religious and nationalist narratives.
The internet and digital platforms as a whole are rife with such platforms, thousands of images and videos and other such materials flooding hundreds of social media site and other corners of the internet.
A recent report of SecDev and its local partner Rupantar reveals AQIS (Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) and its affiliates now operate a vast digital ecosystem of 1,245 social media channels with 30 million subscribers to reshape public discourse, normalise extremist ideas, embedding anti-democratic narratives within mainstream political and religious debates in Bangladesh.
The channels are found active after surveying 2,358 platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Chirwire, Medium, Pinterest, Quora, Alfafaa, Goodreads, SoundCloud, BiP, Substack and Mahfil.
The special report says AQIS fundamentally redesigned its playbook for Bangladesh. Its reliance on terror attacks has shifted to something more durable –ideological capture. The objective is not to overthrow the state but to hollow it out from within, argues the report “Bangladesh’s Democratic Vulnerability: Al-Qaeda’s Patient Conquest of Bangladesh’s Political Discourse.”
As Bangladesh heads toward the election, it says, the country faces a growing threat that is quieter, slower and far more insidious: “The country’s democracy is no longer under attack from bombs and bullets, but from within – through narratives that seek to hijack the system.”
Terming the report extremely alarming, Shafqat Munir, head of Bangladesh Centre for Terrorism Research at BIPSS, said the threat of terrorism is no longer in the real world only, it is an online-offline combine. “We need to remember that the absence of a successful terrorist attack doesn’t denote the absence of the threat of terrorism. We have to be prepared and nowadays our preparation has to be more robust in the cyber domain,” he suggested.
In Bangladesh and other countries, Al-Qaeda has in recent years adopted a more gradual strategy, blending into local contexts and exploiting existing social and political fault lines, according to political scientist Dr Jasmin Lorch, who has extensively researched terrorism and extremism in Bangladesh.
Co-author of the book “Women and Terrorism in Bangladesh”, she argued that effectively countering terrorism will require deep security-sector reforms by any future Bangladeshi government, alongside strict respect for human rights – ending arrests without sufficient evidence, ensuring fair trials, and disbanding abusive units such as RAB.
One SecDev representative who was involved in preparing the special report said what they are seeing in Bangladesh since the 2024 political upheaval is not the sudden appearance of violent extremism, but a shift in how it operates.
As elections approach, he said, the risk is not only violence, but the entrenchment of an ecosystem where intimidation, corruption, cyber scams, and extremism reinforce each other.
“We are aware of this,” said head of Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) Md Rezaul Karim, adding that they were keeping eyes on the groups and individuals both online and offline. He didn’t say whether they would clamp down on them or not.
The report, developed under a project supported by Global Affairs Canada, is part of a series examining Bangladesh’s information environment ahead of the 12 February parliamentary election. Some of its main findings include:
A digital operation at national scale
The 1,245 social media channels linked to AQIS, its covert outlets and sympathisers compete with mainstream media in reach and professionalism.
Videos, podcasts, memes, sermons, and political “analysis” circulate daily, often indistinguishable from legitimate content. Facebook has become the primary battlefield, hosting material that once existed only on encrypted platforms, but which has now become widespread.
Exploiting state failure
AQIS’ success is built on Bangladesh’s own institutional weaknesses. Years of documented extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture have eroded public trust in state institutions.
The report shows how the group systematically weaponises this credibility crisis, dismissing counterterrorism operations as “staged dramas” and portraying legitimate security concerns as attacks on Islam itself.
In this environment, the state struggles to speak with authority while extremist narratives gain legitimacy by aligning themselves with real grievances. This is information warfare designed to turn every human rights failure into an opportunity for recruitment.
Campus incubators
The most alarming findings concern Bangladesh’s education system. AQIS has established loosely organised “dawah circles” across schools, colleges, universities and madrasas where religious study groups, discussion forums or social service initiatives often appear harmless but in reality, function as long-term ideological incubators.
Students are not pushed toward immediate violence. Instead, they are gradually taught to view secularism as hostile to Islam, democracy as a Western imposition and pluralism as moral decay.
Over time, extremist conclusions begin to feel natural rather than radical.
Polarisation as strategy
The report documents how extremist networks weaponise labels such as “Shahbagi” to morally delegitimise opponents. Journalists, feminists, academics, secular activists and political opponents are framed not as rivals, but as enemies of Islam.
Global crises are fused with domestic politics. Gaza, Kashmir, Assam, and the Rohingya crises are woven into Bangladesh’s internal discourse, creating a constant sense of siege. Anti-India sentiment and resentment toward the West merge with local grievances into a single, emotionally charged narrative.
And the lesson to learnt from that message is clear: Islam is under attack, democracy is the weapon, and resistance is the only answer.
Normalising extremism
One of the report’s most disturbing findings is the growing normalisation of extremist symbolism and violence, particularly among university students.
In recent years, Bangladeshi students have increasingly been documented glorifying the 9/11 attacks in podcasts, online discussions, and social media spaces. New extremist groups openly praise Laden, portraying 9/11 as a justified blow against Western power.
These ideas circulate openly, reinforced through peer networks and repetition.
Beyond Bangladesh
While AQIS’ immediate focus in Bangladesh is ideological, the threat is not purely theoretical. The report identifies documented recruitment pathways for Bangladeshi youth into armed groups operating along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, including Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). AQIS maintains transnational links that preserve the option of violence if democratic capture fails.
This dual-track strategy – non-violent infiltration backed by latent violent capability – marks a significant evolution in extremist tactics.
Redefining Bangladesh
Some extremist actors now openly promote visions that erase Bangladesh’s pluralistic identity and challenge the very premise of the constitutional foundations of the state. They are no longer confined to fringe spaces but embedded in online discourse and grassroots outreach.
The goal is to replace Bangladesh’s secular republic with a theocratic conceptualisation, without ever announcing a revolution or declaring war.
A democratic trap
The danger facing Bangladesh is unique. Democratic openness – free speech, religious expression, political participation – is being exploited by those who reject democracy itself.
Traditional counterterrorism tools are ill-suited to confront narratives. Heavy-handed repression risks validating extremist claims of persecution.
Yet inaction carries its own risks as it allows extremist ideas to become mainstream and elections alone can’t save democracy. The report argues Bangladesh’s democracy is not collapsing under attack, it is being patiently infiltrated.
“The battlefield is not a building or a border, it is the public mind,” warns the report, adding, “Success in Bangladesh could provide a replicable model for extremist movements worldwide.”
