Ramadan Death Toll Continues to Climb

The Bangladesh hostage nightmare that ended during the early hours of Saturday morning marks the latest uptick in the surge of Islamic extremism that has swept across the globe during the holy month of Ramadan.

Seven heavily armed militants held at least 33 people hostage during the 10-hour standoff at a café in Dhaka that ended when 13 captives — including several foreigners — were rescued by Bangladeshi forces. But 20 of the hostages had already been killed before the rescue, and the father of one of the survivors said captives were spared if they could recite portions of the Quran. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the hostage situation, marking only the latest in a long line of humiliating and brutal attacks since the administration claimed the terror organization had been contained.

“Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such [an] act,” said the Bangladesh prime minister. “They do not have any religion; their only religion is terrorism.”

“Anyone who believes in religion cannot do such [an] act,” said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on CBS News. “They do not have any religion; their only religion is terrorism.”

Although terror-related violence has been escalating in Bangladesh in recent months, very little media attention has been devoted to it. On July 1, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death. On June 25, a Hindu practitioner was beheaded by Religion of Peace radicals. On June 15, a Hindu college professor was stabbed by Muslim radicals. Several other Hindus and Christians were targeted and killed by Islamic extremists during the month of June in Bangladesh, and the attacks had been piling up for months. But it took this most recent hostage situation for the escalating problem of Jihadism to come to light.

But Bangladesh is not the only country with increasing violence and terror during the month of Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan alone, at least 211 attacks have been carried out in the name of Islam, according to the Religion of Peace’s “Bombathon Scorecard.” And from those attacks, at least 1,458 people were killed.

These acts of Islamic extremism include the Orlando shooting on June 12 and the triple suicide bombing at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 28 that claimed the lives of at least 44 people and injured 230 more. Akhmed Chatayev, the man believed to be the mastermind behind the Ataturk attack, fled from Russia 12 years ago and claimed refuge status in Austria. Since then, Chatayev reportedly followed the refugee route through Syria and into Turkey.

[lz_table title=”The Ramadan Death Toll” source=”thereligionofpeace.com“]2016
Attacks,211
Deaths,1458
|2015
Attacks,314
Deaths,2988
|2014
Attacks,272
Deaths,2429
|2013
Attacks,310
Deaths,1651
|2012
Attacks,260
Deaths,1206
|Monthly Attack Averages
2015,238
2014,250
2013,235
2012,206
[/lz_table]

“He’s … probably the no. 1 enemy in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia. He’s traveled to Syria on many occasions and became one of the top lieutenants for the minister of war for ISIS operations,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told CNN.

As the threat of Islamic extremism has been growing steadily worse during the last few years and months, confidence in the Obama administration’s — and a potential Hillary Clinton administration’s — ability to deal with the problem has been dramatically falling.

A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday found that more than half of respondents believe Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would be more effective in handling the threat from ISIS. Trump garnered 52 percent of confidence in the survey, compared with Clinton’s 39 percent.

President Obama’s approval rating regarding his efforts in combatting Islamic extremism isn’t faring that much better than Clinton’s, either.

“This is an unprecedented pace of terror in modern times. So, to say they’re on the run absolutely defies reality,” McCaul told Fox News. “They are not on the run. They’re on the rise.”

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It seems to be giving a whole new meaning to “sex and the city.”

“There is no end game. I mean, this is a problem. You can’t separate. What they’ve been trying to do all along, the administration, is separate the counterterrorism fight from resolving the conflict in Syria. You can’t do that. They’re linked,” Dr. Evelyn Farkas, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, said on “Morning Joe.”

Host Joe Scarborough added, “The chaos of Syria likely will be every bit as much the president’s legacy 10 years from now, as Iraq was George W. Bush’s legacy. I’m not so sure people are going to be looking any more kindly on Barack Obama’s inaction than on George W. Bush’s overreaction.”