Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Gatestone, July 25, 2025
“Since the 2024 jihadist-backed political shift in Bangladesh, the nation has become fertile ground for Islamic extremism.’
A shocking revelation has emerged implicating Bangladeshi expatriate workers in the covert collection of funds for Islamic State (ISIS), Al Qaeda, and other terrorist outfits.
This development raises urgent concerns across countries with large Bangladeshi migrant populations, including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and nations in the European Union. Even more alarmingly, many of these workers are not ethnic Bangladeshis, but Rohingyas and “stranded Pakistanis” (Biharis) who obtained Bangladeshi passports through illegal channels.
Recent investigative reports published in The Star of Malaysia, The Straits Times of Singapore, and leading Bangladeshi media confirm that the Royal Malaysian Police, through their Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division (E8), uncovered a group named Gerakan Militan Radical Bangladesh (GMRB). The group was actively raising funds to support ISIS cells in both Syria and Bangladesh.
Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail, Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police, revealed that GMRB operated recruitment and indoctrination campaigns primarily through communication and social media apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The group reportedly has between 100 and 150 members, each contributing RM500 (roughly $118) annually as part of a “membership fee.”
“Their members are recruited among Bangladeshi laborers, factory workers, and others. Before being accepted, each member performs the ‘bai’ah’ – a form of Islamic oath of allegiance,” said Ismail, adding that members are carefully vetted before initiation.
Earlier, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail disclosed that 36 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in June 2025 for their roles in the radical group. These individuals, inspired by ISIS ideology, aimed to indoctrinate recruits, raise terror funds, and ultimately orchestrate the overthrow of the government of Bangladesh. “Malaysia will not be a haven — let alone a battlefield — for any foreign extremist movement,” he emphasized. …SOURCE