What about the rest of the Bangladeshis? Are they going to allow this carnage to continue? Iraqi insurgents suicide bomb the occupying American soldiers. Palestinian suicide bombers attack Israeli occupiers. In the eyes of Bangladesh's suicide bombers, the average Bangladeshis must also be the occupiers of Bangladesh! Clearly, the average Bangladeshis are not good enough according to whatever twisted scale these murderers follow, so they must be bombed into submission and conformity.

Bangladeshis rose as one in 1971 against the accumulated injustices perpetrated on them by the Pakistanis over 24 years of misrule. However, during the nation's life and death struggle, there was a tiny fraction of Bangladeshis who sided with Pakistan, and to spite the new nation, through murder exacted terrible retribution from Bangladeshi intellectuals and average Bangladeshis just before the nation was born. Perhaps it is these elements that now have resorted to suicide bombings to reverse history.

Perhaps they want Bangladesh to be like Pakistan once again. So what is next? Bombing of mosques during prayers? Gang rapes with impunity? Honour killings?

Bangladeshi Americans are stunned and dismayed. They can be forgiven for not seeing this coming with such ferocity. What about the government? The Daily Star was replete with articles and letters warning the government of the imminent threat posed by the religious extremists. Let us be charitable and say that the government, too, was blind-sided by the ratcheting up of the violence. However, there is no excuse now. The BNP government must realize that they too do not figure in the future these terrorists would like to usher. For the bombers, Bangladesh is a stepping stone for something bigger. It will be suicidal for the current or future governments to downplay the mortal threat to the nation posed by the suicide bombers and their backers.

It would be wrong to characterize and dignify these criminals as "religious" extremists. They violate every tenet of the Islamic faith, such as, "there is no compulsion in religion," and "if anyone kills an innocent human being, it is as though he has killed all of humanity." Like other major religions, suicide is forbidden in Islam. Therefore, the very act through which they purport to effect revolution is anti-Islamic. The suicide bombers and their backers do not have any religious grievance whatsoever. Many of the laws of Bangladesh go back to the era of the British, who made sure that none of the laws contradicted the sharia. These are criminals pure and simple, and must be treated as such.

The overwhelming majority of the people Bangladesh are moderate in their outlook on life and religiously tolerant. People tend to judge others by how they are. For the average Bangladeshi, it is not easy to attribute the worst motive to a fellow Bangladeshi on suspicion alone. That is why many Bangladeshis at home and abroad were slow to recognize this malignant cancer spreading within the Bangladeshi society.

These are homegrown terrorists; therefore, it should be relatively simple to infiltrate their ranks. Surely, the Bangladesh intelligence agencies must have a good idea about their leadership structure, recruiting methods, and sources of finance. It must immediate choke off the financial sources that support the terrorists. If there are 2000 would-be suicide bombers, they and those who indoctrinate them must all be quickly rounded up and thrown in jail. Their leadership must also be apprehended and brought to justice. If they resist arrest, Rab should be allowed to fight it out with them. The schools that provide suicide bombers must be closed right away. Parents of would be suicide bombers must be put on notice. The government must realize that it was a mistake not to have taken action against the likes of Bangla Bhai when it had a chance. This must not happen again. The government must not treat any terrorist with kid gloves any more.

This is 1971 all over again. Prosperity, leadership in world agencies, and the world's respect beckon Bangladesh on one hand. On the other, the same dark forces that fought against Bangladesh's birth are now attempting to take Bangladesh back to the dark ages. The choices are as starkly different as that. The government of Bangladesh has a unique opportunity. If it is sincere, in a nonpartisan way, and leads the fight against the forces that would like to destroy Bangladesh as it currently exists, the overwhelming majority of the Bangladeshis at home and abroad will join it and come to its assistance. There are far too many patriotic Bangla-deshis of goodwill and courage, both at home and abroad, willing to defend the nation against the handful of dastardly terrorists. If the threat is taken seriously, this is an eminently winnable fight. The alternative is too horrible to contemplate.