Md Didarul Islam

Profile

My Doctoral study at the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds focuses on  Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policy from public policy perspectives.  I have started my PhD at this University in October 2019 as a Commonwealth Scholar. I have been working on terrorism and counterterrorism studies for a long time and my research is largely based on empirical study. I have specialised in terrorism and counterterrorism, secularism, religion and politics, global development and public policy issues.

I did my Bachelor and Masters in World Religions and Culture in 2013 at the University of Dhaka, one of the most prestigious Universities in the World for Religious and Cultural Studies. In 2014, I joined as a lecturer at the same department. In 2016-2017, I did my 2^nd masters in Religious Studies and Global Development as a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Leeds. In November 2018, I was promoted as Assistant professor at Dhaka University. I taught modules like Religion, peace and conflict, Bangladesh Studies, and Government & Politics. 

During my study, I received a number of awards such as Khaleda Manzoor i Khuda Gold Medal from the President of Bangladesh in 2014, the Deans Award in 2013 and 2014; and the Provost award in 2013 and 2014 for securing the first position in the department of World Religions and Culture, the University of Dhaka.

In addition, I worked as a moderator of Dhaka University Debating Club and World Religions Debating Club. I participated in many national and international debate competitions both as debater and adjudicator. I played cricket and captained my team for many times. I love public speaking and I enjoy engaging myself in policy talks.

Research interests

My doctoral research focuses on Countering Violent Extremism policy from Public Policy perspectives. By using Bangladesh case, this study will demonstrate how a late adopter of CVE policy formulates CVE policy. In my thesis, I will try to understand how Bangladesh in particular frames CVE policy  by interviewing the policy makers and practitioners. In addition, how the global policy diffusion contributes to the policy making is a major part of the thesis. 

Apart from Terrorism and counterterrorism studies, I have deep interest in Religion and Politics, Secularism, Global Development, and Refugee studies. As a faculty member of the University of Dhaka, I worked in a few projects on Terrorism and its causes in Bangladesh. In those studies, I argued that extremism is not only a socially constructed crisis in Bangladesh but rather a global crisis of terrorism giving rise to an extremist wave in Muslim countries like Bangladesh. In addition, I have completed a project on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis where I tried to find out the causes of recidivism in Rohingya camps. 

I have published few articles on variety of topics such as De-radicalisation of Terrorists: Theoretical Analysis and Case Studies, published in the  Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA); Religion and politics in Bangladesh, Philosophy of Guru Nanak; and the Monotheistic concept of African Traditional Religions published in different journals.  

Recent Publications:

Islam MD, Siddika A. 2021. Implications of the Rohingya Relocation from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char, Bangladesh. International Migration Review.

Islam, M.D.  2019.  "De-radicalisation of Terrorists: Theoretical Analysis and Case Studies." Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA). 11 (05), pp. 6-12.

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Qualifications

• Faculty member, University of Dhaka since 2014 (currently on study leave).
• BA (Hons) and MA in World Religions and Culture from Dhaka University in 2012 and 2013.
• Commonwealth Scholarship for my MA and PhD at the University of Leeds.
• MA in Religious Studies and Global Development from the University of Leeds in 2017.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Global Security Challenges