What lies behind robbery fears and insecurity
Khan Yamin
The capital Dhaka has turned into a deeply unsafe city. Every day, newspapers carry reports of muggings, killings by robbers, bag snatching by motorcycle riders, or stabbings. Areas like Mohammadpur, Khilkhet, and Sher e Bangla Nagar have now become known as safe zones for muggers. Once evening falls, residents in these areas live in fear and hesitate to step outside. This fear no longer stays limited to the dark of night. People now feel unsafe even in broad daylight.
A recent heartbreaking incident shows how serious this crisis has become. A school teacher from Bogura was traveling to an eye hospital in Farmgate for treatment. While riding a rickshaw from Gabtoli, a motorcycle rider snatched her bag near the National Parliament building. She fell off the rickshaw and suffered a severe head injury. Doctors could not save her life despite taking her to the hospital. The question of how a simple medical trip turned into a tragic death makes everyone pause and think. It raises a deeper question too. Why does crime keep rising so sharply, and why does the situation fail to improve despite various efforts by law enforcement agencies.
Most analyses point to unemployment, poverty, drug addiction, weak police monitoring, lack of justice, or poor urban planning as reasons behind rising muggings. These factors are real and cannot be denied. They truly demand solutions. However, the writer believes the deepest and most basic cause of this crisis lies somewhere much bigger. It lies at the very foundation of our collective way of life.
The writer argues that society has failed to accept Allah’s sovereignty in social and state life. It has failed to adopt the Quran as its constitution, instead choosing various man made ideologies and systems to guide life. Instead of accepting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the only ideal and leader, society has accepted leadership that oversteps its bounds. Islam has been reduced to personal religious practice rather than accepted as a complete way of life. People still perform prayer, fasting, Hajj, and zakat, but these acts have turned into mere formalities. On the question of establishing Allah’s law in social and state life, the writer says society stays silent.
According to the piece, Allah declares in the Quran that Islam is the only way of life He has chosen. Yet people limit Islam to religion alone and run the rest of their lives by different principles. The writer cites Surah Al Baqarah, verse 85, which warns that following parts of the scripture while ignoring other parts leads to disgrace in this world and severe punishment in the hereafter. The writer also cites Surah Al Anam, verse 88, and Surah Az Zumar, verse 65, which state that associating partners with Allah destroys all good deeds. This deviation in belief, in personal life, and in collective life reflects itself in society through unrest, moral decline, and lack of safety.
The core claim of Islam, the writer explains, is that it is not just a method of worship. It is a complete philosophy of life that covers governance, economy, the justice system, social relationships, and every part of personal life. When a society breaks this wholeness apart and limits religion to formal worship alone, while turning to other sources to set state policy, the foundation of justice, morality, and safety in that society grows weak.
The writer states that the only path to welfare and safety is accepting the Quran as the constitution of life, recognizing Allah’s sovereignty in social and state affairs, and accepting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the only ideal leader. Alongside this, people must show loyalty to a leader who follows the path shown by Allah and His Messenger. The writer cites Surah An Nisa, verse 59, where Allah instructs believers to obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and obey those in authority among them who are rightly chosen according to Islamic law. The writer argues that this framework holds the seed of a just, safe, and accountable social system.
When a person believes that he must answer to Allah for every action in the hereafter, a sense of accountability grows in his behavior, even in situations with no camera and no police watching. In contrast, when a society sets materialism, self interest, and worldly success as its only standard, preventing crime becomes difficult. In such a society, the moral urge to avoid wrongdoing grows weak.
The writer says people should not settle for surface level solutions like increasing police patrols or installing CCTV cameras. Instead, society must go to the root of the problem. This means fully embracing Islam in personal life, building a culture of God consciousness and accountability within families and communities, and giving serious national thought to prioritizing Quranic guidance in state policy making. The writer warns that without a positive shift toward these basic matters, no amount of new laws or new law enforcement units will bring true safety.
The death of the school teacher from Bogura is not an isolated accident. It reflects a sick social reality. The writer argues that the lack of safety spreading through every corner of Dhaka cannot be solved through police action alone. Its real solution lies deep within our collective values and philosophy of life. The writer closes with the belief that only by accepting Allah’s sovereignty, adopting the Quran as life’s guide, and following the ideals of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) can society build a safe, just, and welfare oriented future.
