Stages of Indoctrination and a Pathway into terrorism: A perspective from Bangladesh

Abstract

In a time and age of identities, violent extremism fueled by identity-based ideology comes as no surprise. Terrorist attacks from numerous groups take place globally, and Bangladesh has also encountered decades of terrorist violence since its independence particularly from groups that include Jamaat Ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, Harkat Ul-Jihad Al-Islami Bangladesh, among others. An aspect that requires deeper understanding is the process of how individuals make their way into terrorist organizations. This paper examines the stages of indoctrination experienced by individuals who were recruited into Bangladeshi terrorist outfits. . The research was conducted with grounded theory methodology, using the bottom to up inductive process, for construction of an explanatory framework. Primary data was collected from in depth semi-structured interviews of individuals who had been recruited into Bangladeshi terrorist outfits and law enforcement officials. Findings have identified stages of indoctrination inspired by Sageman’s model of radicalization (Sageman, 2007), Moghaddam’s Staircase to Terrorism (Moghaddam, 20017) and the New York Police Department’s four factors (NYPD, 2007).