Siddique ul-Islam

**Siddique ul-Islam** was a man from Bangladesh. Many people knew him as Azizur Rahman. This name means 'Dear to the Most Merciful' in the Arabic language. People also called him Bangla Bhai. This name means Bangla Brother. He was born in 1970. He died on 30 March 2007.

He was a Bangladeshi radical extremist (a person with very strong and dangerous beliefs). He was the military commander of the _Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh_. This group is a radical Islamist organization. The name of the group means _'Awakened Muslim Masses of Bangladesh_<nowiki/>'. People usually call this group the JMJB. This group is affiliated (connected) with Al Qaeda.

Bangla Bhai was most active in the north-western part of Bangladesh. He operated around the Rajshahi region. He gained notoriety (fame for doing bad things) inside the nation and across the world. He gained this bad fame because of bombings. He also gained it because of other violent acts to create fear.

## Biography

Bangla Bhai gave an interview to national and local journalists. This interview provided a very important source of information about his life. His father was Nazir Hossain Pramanik. He lived in Kannipara village. This village is in the Gabtoli upazila (sub-district) in Bogra.

He claimed that he graduated from Rajshahi University in 1995. He said he had a master's (a high-level university degree) in Bangla. A reporter from _The Daily Star_ newspaper contacted the university. The reporter wanted to check the truth of his claims. The university claimed that there was no student named Azizur Rahman in the Bangla Department in 1995.

The Daily Star reporter pointed out this difference between two stories. Bangla Bhai replied: "I studied Bangla at Azizul Haq University College. This college is connected to Rajshahi University."

Bangla Bhai remained private. He was guarded (careful and secretive) about his education and his background. His senior officer in the organization was Amir Maulana Abdur Rahman. He was also present during the interview. He reported that Bangla Bhai studied at Tarafsartaj Senior Fazil Madrasa.

Bangla Bhai spoke about his a false name. He said, "I was a Bangla teacher at two top coaching centers (schools for extra study) in Dhaka. My students did well in Bangla. So, the authorities of the coaching centers called me Bangla Bhai." He did not name the coaching centers. He did not say their exact locations.

He said, "As a college student, I joined Islami Chhatra Shibir. This is an Islamist student organization. It is joined as a partner with Jamaat-e-Islami." "I finished my study in 1995. Then, I quit Shibir. I did this because Jamaat accepted female leadership. But Jamaat said it considered female leadership sacrilege (a violation of holy things)."

He joined JMJB (Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh). He rose to the rank of manager of military affairs. He was also an acting member of the Majlis-e-Sura. This is the group's main board of trustees that makes decisions.

Bangla Bhai became notorious (famous for bad reasons).

On 17 August 2005, JMJB started a nationwide violent attack. Siddique led this administration. They blasted 500 bombs. People state as a fact that Siddique planned and created the bombings. He did this alongside Shaykh Abdur Rahman.

In late 2005, a series of suicide bomb assaults shook Bangladesh. JMJB and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh have claimed responsibility for these assaults.

## Militant activity

In August 2005, people exploded about 500 bombs in almost every district of Bangladesh. They did this in one hour. They attacked every district except for one. These explosions killed three people. The explosions also injured about 100 people.

In the middle of November 2005, an attacker threw a bomb at a vehicle in the town of Jhalalkati. This town is 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital city, Dhaka. This attack killed two judges.

29 November 2005, Seven people died in an attack in Gazipur. The person who likely carried the suicide bomber was one of the people who died. This was the first suicide bomb attack in the history of Bangladesh. In Chittagong, attackers killed two police officers. The police injured the person who likely threw the bomb and made him unable to move. At least 16 people suffered injuries in Chittagong. 13 of these injured people were police officers. This number does not include the people who died.