Minority communities across Bangladesh are once again facing violence
and persecution by the Sunni Muslim majority. In the last month or so,
dozens of Hindu temples have been vandalized and hundreds of houses
burned down by Muslims in different districts across the nation.
In one incident alone, a group of Muslims
carried out attacks
that left more than 100 injured and several hundred victims homeless.
Hindus, at 9% of the total population the largest religious minority in
Bangladesh, were targeted in the attack on October 30, about 120 km from
the capital city, Dhaka. Muslims, led by two Islamic organizations --
the Tawheedi Janata ("Faithful People") and Ahle Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat
--vandalized more than 15 temples and 200 houses belonging to Hindus.
Violence continued a few days later, when, on November 5, extremists
repeated similar attacks in the same area despite police "vigilance."
A day before the attacks began, a rumor circulated that a 27-year-old
Hindu man named Rasraj Das edited a photograph superimposing the Hindu
God Shiva onto an image of the Kaaba (the holiest site in Islam) and
posted it on his Facebook page. Within hours of the post, he was caught
by local Muslims and handed over to the police. Prior to his arrest, Das
pleaded his innocence on his Facebook page, saying:
"At first I am apologizing to Muslim brothers because
someone has posted a photograph from my facebook account without my
knowledge. When I came to know yesterday night (October 28), I deleted
it immediately. Here we live side by side as Hindu-Muslim brothers, I
have no such mentality and of course I don't have such imprudent
courage."
Yet the uproar of the Muslim community was not appeased, and on
October 30, shortly after the early morning prayer, religious Muslims,
in the name of "hurting Muslims' feelings," called on fellow Muslims,
using loudspeakers from the
neighboring mosques,
to come out to retaliate. According to some witnesses, the local
administration and police had a nonchalant attitude and did not
intervene to protect the minority community.
After this episode, unrest spread across Bangladesh; many Hindu areas
experienced attacks of similar religious oppression. Muslim
fundamentalists vandalized idols, set fire to Hindu temples in
several districts
and, in some instances, looted the valuables from temples. Hindus
traditionally use gold for the ornamental artifacts of Goddesses, which
are sometimes hundreds of years old. These sacred items are extremely
valuable; in one incident, a stolen idol of Lakshmi (Hindu Goddess of
wealth and fortune) was later
recovered from a mosque. Eleven months earlier, Muslim fundamentalists from the same district
destroyed a museum containing a legendary Sarod (a musical instrument) belonging to the revered
Alauddin Khan,
who inspired many famous musicians including Pandit Rabi Shankar. For
many, this had been the biggest assault on the region's culture since
the 2001 destruction of the twin Buddha statues at the hands of the
Taliban in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.
Pictured
above: A Hindu temple in Bangladesh that was recently vandalized by
Muslims. The idol on the left was decapitated. (Image Source: FM Hindu
video screenshot)
|
India
has expressed
concern over the safety of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, which
houses the third-largest Hindu population in the world. In a tweet,
India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj wrote:
"I have asked Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka to call
on the Prime Minister and express grave concern about the safety and
wellbeing of the Hindus in Bangladesh."
Minority Rights Group International
summarizes the escalating acrimony:
"Since 2013, Bangladesh has experienced a series of
violent attacks by extremists. The victims have included besides
atheists, secular bloggers, liberals and foreigners -- many Buddhists,
Christians and Hindus as well as Ahmadis and Shia Muslims. A large
number of the attacks targeting religious minorities have been claimed
by... Islamic State (IS) – a claim vigorously denied by the Bangladeshi
government, which has attributed the attacks to domestic militant
groups. Regardless...the authorities have visibly failed to ensure the
protection of those targeted. Besides the rising death toll, including
civilians killed indiscriminately in bombings or individually selected
by armed assailants with machetes in premeditated attacks, the...
insecurity has diminished the ability of civil society to operate
freely... Communal violence -- long a problem for religious minorities
-- continues to take place on a regular basis, driven by political
rivalries, expropriation and the apparent impunity enjoyed by
perpetrators."
In another incident, on November 6, the staff of a sugar mill in Rangpur district, accompanied by local people,
attacked indigenous Santal
people. Three Hindu tribesmen were killed, and scores injured, when one
of the five magistrates on the scene ordered police to open fire on
them. Later, the mill's management blamed local villagers for the attack
on the Santals.
The cascade of Hindu persecution seems only to be gaining momentum;
furthermore, it appears that the government of Bangladesh is incapable
or unwilling to protect their Hindu citizenry from torment. Recently, on
November 29, ten idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses at family temples
were
vandalized not far from Dhaka, and in the same month, 60 more human rights violations
occurred. The result is a laundry list of abuses by Islamists -- with only one perpetrator incarcerated.
The growing tide of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh has also
seen an increase in Islamic terrorism tied to the Islamic State. Last
July,
gunmen stormed
a Dhaka cafe and killed 20 guests, including 9 Italians, 7 Japanese,
one American and one Indian, before the six attackers were killed by
Bangladeshi troops. The attackers tortured and killed anyone who was
unable to recite the Quran, the holy book for Muslims.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. According to
SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist networks, all the
attackers were Bangladeshi.
The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism and radical activity
in Bangladesh in recent years has taken on the form of bombings,
machete attacks and in general generating fear between Muslim and
non-Muslim communities. Prior to the events of September 11, 2001,
political Islam and other forms of extremisms were already on the rise
in the region. According to a 2014
Georgetown Security Studies Review:
"A new school of Islam from Saudi Arabia is transforming
South Asia's religious landscape. Wahhabism, a fundamental Sunni school
of Islam originating in Saudi Arabia, entered South Asia in the late
1970s. With public and private Saudi funding, Wahhabism has steadily
gained influence among Muslim communities throughout the region. As a
result, the nature of South Asian Islam has significantly changed in the
last three decades. The result has been an increase in Islamist
violence in Pakistan, Indian Kashmir, and Bangladesh."
===================
