Jamaat In Bangladesh Opposition: Why Intel Agencies Term It A ‘Major Risk’ | Exclusive

Last Updated:February 13, 2026, 18:36 IST

Not only India, international security agencies, too, have placed Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh at the centre of an Islamist ecosystem

While the Bangladesh ist Party (BNP) is cruising towards a sweeping victory in the landmark parliamentary polls held on Thursday, local media reports said. The Jamaat-e-Islami, leading an 11-party alliance, will be the Opposition with around 70 seats.

Why is Jamaat’s win a concern? Not only India, international security agencies, too, have placed Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh at the centre of an Islamist ecosystem.

“Many militants come from conservative madrasa systems and student circles where Jamaat’s narrative is prominent. These groups are not always organisationally controlled by Jamaat. Instead Jamaat’s longstanding political presence in religious and rural networks creates a support where these groups find recruits, sympathisers," said sources.

“Jamaat Bangladesh is connected to 18–23 radical, militant, and terrorist entities over time. These links are not uniform and some are directly created, others ideologically influenced and many operationally active. Jamaat functions less as a command hub and more as a movement helper and creating conditions where militancy can emerge," they said.

Top intelligence sources list groups affiliated with Jamaat

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh: The JMB is the most prominent Islamist militant group and notorious for the 2005 nationwide bombings. They have strong personnel and ideological overlap with Jamaat’s student wing. The group operates in areas where Jamaat has deep grassroots roots and members often emerge from madrasa and student spaces associated with Jamaat influence. Arrests linked JMB modules to Pakistan-based LeT handlers in West Bengal.

Ansarullah Bangla Team: The ABT is an active jihadi group implicated in murders of secularists and bloggers. The ABT is an Al-Qaeda-aligned militant faction known for targeted killings and radical recruitment. Many ABT founders and operatives were recruited from similar Islamist student and preacher networks from Jamaat.

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Harkat‑ul‑Jihad‑al‑Islami Bangladesh: The HuJI-B is banned but active Islamist militant organisation with ties to Pakistan-based Islamist networks and Jamaat patronises them and same Bengal-based conservative and madrassa networks.

Allah’r Dal: It is an active Islami terrorist group operating in southwestern Bangladesh and identified as an offshoot of JMB. It operates in Kushtia, Meherpur, and Chuadanga districts. They share roots with JMB and operates in Jamaat strong rural districts.

Neo-JMB and hybrid militant formations: They are active or emerging units evolving from JMB. These are reconstituted cells that exist despite crackdowns and they rebrand them. The radicalisation pipelines are the same conservative and mosque and madrasa networks where Jamaat is holding influence

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh: It is active, but not officially a terror group. It is a hardline Islamist movement with street-level mobilisation capacity. HeI has a large conservative base and has been involved in violent campus protests. Leaders have been seen cooperating with Jamaat’s political agenda and actively working with them.

Islamic State links: They are active in limited forms via affiliates claiming IS allegiance but not a large organisation in Bangladesh. ISIS is recruiting from the same conservative networks and occasionally claims attacks.

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