OCTOBER 15, 2012
With a great interest and a heavy heart, I’ve been following the media analysis of Ramu attack. The reason for my interest is based on my present research work where I am examining the scholarly debate of religion and politics and its relevance to South Asia. On the other hand, being a proud young Bangladeshi who always dreamt of raising his kid in Bangladesh, the news of Ramu attack was heart wrenching, even though not surprising, considering our political context.
However, what is more worrying for me is the limited view taken by most of the analysts on Ramu Attack. It is not an exaggeration, if I argue that one of the dominant narratives coined in by the media analysts as well as influential civil society members including Dr. Mizanur Rahman of National Human rights Commission, is based on the identification of the secular-religio philosophical foundation of Bangladesh as an instrumental discourse behind the Ramu attack. A brief summary of this narrative underpins the need for a religion free political context where religion based political parties should not be allowed to operate.
From an idealistic point of view, this recommendation looks fine. Nonetheless, if one looks closely, the danger of this narrative is that, it does not even go close to addressing the real problem. Overall, it has three major limitations: a) it fails to take notice the identity dynamics of people and local-central dynamics of political parties; b) it ignores the nature of our political context where people are used as a mean to achieving power and c) it fails to understand that philosophical foundation of Bangladeshi state is not real the problem, the problem is the political culture of Bangladesh.
Firstly, a number of news reports finding underpins involvement of all party members (Jamaat, BNP, Awami League) in this heinous and shameful assault. In my opinion, it’s an important finding in widening our perspective in understanding Ramu attack. A major point that requires attention from this finding is to noticing the identity dynamics of people and local-national paradigm of contemporary politics. What I mean by this is that, for example, it would be too naïve to consider that all Awami members believe in communal-harmony and all Jamaat-BNP denounce communal harmony. In reality, a person can be a Muslim, a father, a neighbour, a son, a husband, an Awami League or BNP activist who could believe or not believe in communal harmony. Now it is hard to define which identity determines their specific actions every day. Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen deals with this identity dynamic in his book ‘Identity and Violence’ in greater detail. Therefore, wholesale blame game on specific political party activists not only will jeopardize the hope of receiving somewhat objective findings regarding the situation but also such mentality only legitimizes illegitimate actions taken by people who publicly belong to the parties which theoretically believes in communal harmony.
Ramu attack further underpins the local-national dynamic featuring our politics today. There is no doubt that the major decisions regarding party policy and actions are taken at the capacity of major leaders, if not few influential ones. However, what constitutes actions of party wings or activists in everyday life in local areas, situating miles away from the capital city, is the dynamics of local context where political identities become less significant. The coordinated attack on the Buddhists’ temple participated by all party members, as claimed by the news reports, underpins the local-national dynamics of politics today. This brings me back to my original point which says accusing Islamists, fundamentalists only will ignore the reality of the situation on the ground, because it seems, secularists-nationalists-Islamists all were involved in this case. Ignoring such important factor only underpins the paucity of insightful analysis on the attack.
Secondly, reactions based on blaming rivals from major political figures in our country expose, yet again, the true nature of our politics. Peoples’ development and protection seems not the end goal of politics here. Rather people are only used as the mean to achieve power at the time of election. The result of such hypocrisy includes, increasing corruption, nepotism as well as events such as arson at Buddhists temple, MC College and the list could go on. It is noteworthy to remember that this is a country where political contest between elites resulted in number of killings of the elites in home and in streets where masses are caught between false paradigm of ideological distinctions and promises of real independence. The politics here is dirty and there should be little disagreement about that. However, that does not necessarily mean all politicians are dirty and in my opinion the real hope beams on the team of young politicians.
Finally, would anyone believe that against the backdrop of no change in current political culture, secularization of Bangladesh will not see any more assault on minorities? What is secularism anyway? Most people underpin the state neutrality in terms of religion and separation of religion from politics. In fact it does not exist in most of the world, including the western democracies. However, that does not necessarily mean that people are engaged in assaulting minorities in those places. On the other hand, inclusion of religion in state politics does not necessarily mean that secular institutions of a state will somehow influence religious discrimination.
In support of this point, I like to highlight a research findings published in the Comparative Politics, one of the influential academic journals on political science in the world (Synopsis available here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20072892). In 2005, two political scientists, Jonathan Fox and Shumel Sandler examined ‘five aspects’ of the separation of the religion and politics in the western European countries, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Muslims majority countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Turkey, Israel and Iran. Those aspects are: a) the structural relationship between religion and the state (the existence of an official religion or the legal position of religion within the state) and the status of minority religions, b) restriction or banning of or provision of benefits to some religions but not others); c) discrimination against minority religion and d) regulation of the majority religion; and e) legislation of religion. In the findings, they find Muslim countries are lagging behind the western liberal democracies. However what is striking for Fox and Sandler is that ‘there is clearly a significant amount of government involvement in religion in western democracies’ as according to their findings 80.8% of western democracies support some religion over others either officially or practically; half restrict at least one minority religion or benefits to some religions and not others; 61.5% engage in some form of religious discrimination and every western democracy …legislates some aspect of religion. The only type of religious practice eschewed by most western democracies seems to be the regulation of the majority religion.
This finding only strengthens my argument that says problem is not the philosophical foundation of the state; problem is not the religion, the major problem here is lack of political will, good governance and the dirty politics. Therefore, analysis and recommendations of the Ramu attack must keep an open mind and consider the identity formation of people and local-national dynamics in our politics. Once the behaviour of political context will change, debating about religion-politics-secularism would bring more conclusive result unlike now which seems gullible by all means.
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Mubashar Hasan is a doctoral candidate at the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Australia.
Prashanta Tripura
The minorities of our nightmares
OCTOBER 15, 2012 (Opinions)
Are you afraid to go to bed these days, out of fear that the forces of evil will leap out of your nightmares to rampage through your neighbourhood while you are asleep? If you have been following stories of recent attacks on minorities – first in Rangamati on September 22, then in Ramu starting at the late hours of September 29 – you would be. If you are not, you ought to be, at least if you care about yourself, about your dreams. If you ever dreamed of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh, then need I tell you that what are under attack are not just the ethnic or religious minorities in faraway places, but also your very dreams and ideals?
In mid-August, in a note that I shared with my Facebook friends, I made a casual remark that “for all the people who long for a democratic Bangladesh, it is still a prolonged hour of nightmares.” The immediate context of our discussion was surrealism in art and poetry. In that context, I was just trying to make the point that for many of us who grew up in the CHT, and for ethnic minorities generally, living in Bangladesh has been something of a surreal existence, more precisely like living through nightmares. As I skim through news reports over the attacks on Buddhist communities and temples in Ramu (and subsequent attacks, some targeting Hindus as well, in other parts of Chittagong), my eyes are drawn to a headline “A night of joy turns to nightmare” in a local English daily, carrying the story of a community that was preparing to celebrate a Buddhist festival the next day, only to see their plans and preparations give way to a sleepless night, when they had to watch homes and temples burn to ashes.
As news of the attacks in Ramu spread, strong condemnations have been voiced throughout the country, and government officials and media personnel rushed to the spot. Unfortunately, some news headlines indicate that the blame game or witch hunting also started in no time. The politicization of criminal activities can only mean allowing the real culprits to get away, if not encouraging them to carry on their acts. Therefore, it is perhaps not a surprise that after Ramu, similar attacks were reported to have taken place yesterday in other parts of Chittagong. Why is it that the law enforcing agencies always seem late in responding to situations like this?
This question came up last week as well, in the context of attacks in Rangamati carried out by rioters that remain to be identified officially. Nonetheless, it was interesting that the outbreak of violence in Rangamati was instantly reported as a “clash between Paharis (hill people) and Bengalis”. I wrote a short piece, published in a Bangla daily, in which I questioned this tendency. I raised a simple question: Of the entire population of Rangamati, say 60,000 people altogether comprising of various ethnicities, how many did really take part in, or condone, the attacks that were described as inter-ethnic clashes? 60? 600? 6000? Whatever may be the actual figure, it could not possibly constitute more than a small fraction of the total population. Given this, why was it that we allowed a minority (i.e. the real perpetrators of violence) colour the views of the rest? Why were we quick to describe the unfolding development as “clashes between indigenous hill people and Bengalis (or Bengali settlers, as specifically mentioned in some English dailies)”? My point was that such characterizations and perceptions mainly help the real perpetrators hide behind nameless, faceless mobs. Moreover, they also turn our attention away from the systemic roots of violence, namely state policies and laws that are discriminatory towards ethnic and religious minorities.
A Facebook friend of mine who lives in Ramu, provided a status update yesterday, saying, “The religious and communal harmony that we the residents of Ramu have always been proud of has been reduced to dusts in one night” (Translated from original post in Bangla). Many commented on his status expressing shock and anger at what had happened. More generally, through posts on the Facebook and blogs, there was expression of a strong sense of disgust and outrage that most people felt at the atrocities. “Shame!”, “Is this the Bangladesh that we dreamt of?”, “Is it what people died for in 1971”? – These were some of the typical reactions.
It seems to me that the kinds of anguish and soul-searching that are represented by the last two questions above are particularly strong among Bengalis (or Bangladeshis) who see themselves as embodying the ideals of the War of Liberation of 1971. What were these ideals? One was the idea of ‘communal harmony’, which now lies shattered in places like Ramu. Government officials or many political leaders and intellectuals in Bangladesh may not like to admit it openly, but the sad truth is that communal harmony had been shattered on numerous other occasions in this country in the past. The incidents like that in Ramu by themselves do not necessarily indicate that the majority of people in Bangladesh condone such acts. In fact, personally I am convinced that in a statistical sense, the criminal elements of society targeting the ethnic or religious minorities constitute minorities themselves. But the question remains, how is it that people belonging to the latter category of ‘minorities’ can dictate terms for the rest of us?
To me, a big part of the answer to the above question lies in the Faustian pacts that two generations of Bangladeshis made with undemocratic regimes in the ‘70s and the ‘80s. We know how the euphoria of 1971 began to evaporate in the face of enormous challenges that the new country faced. For the country as a whole, the year 1975 marked the crystallization of deep fractures in the polity of a young nation, fractures that in many ways remain unresolved to date. In fact, for the ethnic minorities of the CHT, their alienation and marginalization began as early as in 1972, when police and BDR operations purportedly conducted against war time collaborators resulted into acts of brutalities, and the newly drafted constitution also disregarded the existence of non-Bengali ethnicities. Even though the concept of Bangladeshi nationalism was introduced after 1975, one cannot say that this was done for the sake of ethnic minorities. Instead, it was part of fundamental changes introduced in the constitution of the country, involving increased manipulation of religious sentiments of the Muslim majority as a clever ploy to legitimize powers grabbed illegally. Moreover, on the ground, by the end of the 1970s, the whole CHT region had become heavily militarized, with thousands of destitute households from the plains being resettled in the hills in a manner that made it abundantly clear that the Bangladeshi state did not really look at the ethnic minorities of the CHT as trustworthy citizens of the country. Did people in the rest of Bangladesh know much about what was going on in the CHT? I doubt it. Unlike today, there was very little in the media about the CHT during 1975-1990 when the whole country was under de facto military rule. But there is an even deeper question. Even if there were people who knew about what was happening in the CHT, did they care, or could they have done much about it? No, apparently not. Be that as it may, the 1980s were a period when economic liberalization took roots in Bangladesh, with active international support, and tolerance of rampant corruption at the highest echelons of power. It was during this period that a new class of entrepreneurs-politicians-bureaucrats consolidated their hold on power and wealth, with very little regard for the ideals and principles of 1971, or the older social values of tolerance and pluralism associated with rural Bengali communities. If holding onto power meant declaring Islam to be the state religion, and entering into alliance with political elements known to support bigotry, so be it. This is what I meant by the Faustian pact.
The forces that are invading the dreams and cherished ideals of most decent people in Bangladesh may indeed constitute a minority. But they seem well organized, and ready to pounce whenever the time is ripe, as have been shown on numerous occasions. Moreover, they may enjoy the support of those who made pacts with the devil. Such people too may be minority in numerical terms, but they have money and power on their side. Are we ready to face these merchants of despair and destruction who have leapt out of our nightmares?
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OCTOBER 15, 2012 (Opinions)
The Ramu attack is a good reminder that Bangladesh doesn’t have the minimum commitment to protect the minorities. It was something far more than shameful as several hundred mullahs, probably supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami attacked Buddhist shrines and homes and vandalised those because of an alleged anti-Islamic photo in the facebook. It is at these moments that it becomes clear why Muslims are so unpopular in so many parts of the world. Few have taken collective and social barbarism to such heights even as they claim to be mistreated. If people want to practice such behaviour they should take flights to the Arab lands and do what is natural to such people there. Bangladesh is not for them.
* * *
Hundreds and thousands of Muslims recently took to the streets protesting the anti-Islamic film which was made in the USA and that has spewed violence in many parts of the world. In Bangladesh too massive rallies have been held protesting the movie so Bangladeshi ‘Muslims’ are clearly declaring which side they are on. Now that the Buddhists’ holy places have been vandalized and property stolen, it would be interesting to see how many Muslims here take to the streets to protest this sacrilege. It is important because Muslims are forever claiming to be victims but they are very silent when they commit the same barbaric acts on people of other faiths. We were not particularly concerned about how Arabs behave but this is Bangladesh in South Asia and we are committed constitutionally to protect all. The Ramu attack has challenged that basic principle and that is why it is so serious.
* * *
The Awami League response has been to blame it all on the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami which is a fine lesson on how to be and sound pathetic. It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that nothing happens and it has happened during their watch. They have such a wide network of spies and security agents so how come they never sensed anything? Or is it true what some people are saying on the street that the AL waited for the attack to happen so that they could blame the JI and the BNP to collect electoral brownie points? It would seem that the Government’s trust factor is substantially diminished and even the flow of benefit of doubt is being obstacled.
That the Government did know about the local MP who was anti-minority is absurd. It was not possible to gather so many to attack specific targets without a pre-plan but this seemed to have escaped the notice of the law enforcement agencies which is remarkable. We know that the law enforcement agencies are ineffective unless they are told to be so by the authorities so why they didn’t act is a mystery. And this makes the government looks terribly suspicious.
* * *
As for the BNP, it exists beyond shame. This is the party which allowed Jamaat-e-Islami to enter national politics just for political gain and now has become a partner to gain power. It shall be remembered as a party friendly to traitors and even now backing the Jamaat it shows how little it cares about the constitutional and moral obligations to the people. God alone knows from which bottomless pit of human degradation it draws its principles from. It supports a party that is committed to the denial of rights to all except their own kind of Muslims and bigotry and racism is structured as a faith element. It is convenient politics but immoral and vile as well and history shows such political constructs in the end collapse. Meanwhile, the strongest condemnation for the political company they keep and the cynicism they have displayed all along.
* * *
And so what of Jamaat-e-Islami? We have always argued that they have no space in Bangladesh or its politics. They have opposed the birth of Bangladesh so how can they be allowed to flourish in the same land whose birth they tried to end? It defies all logic but once one understands how Bangladesh functions, it becomes obvious. That doesn’t make the matter acceptable. The case for banning Jamaat is always there but what is required is the political will. If the AL can risk such a great deal of political uncertainty by passing the 15th amendment, why can’t it risk almost universal approval by denying Jamaat to be in Bangladesh?
* * *
After all the words are spent, what remains behind is the shame. We have allowed this to happen again and again. A fanatical, bigoted and backward people with a mindset of the 6th century, we don’t deserve Bangladesh. We didn’t need a new version of old Pakistan where more people die from internecine religious conflict than any other and it is perpetually mired in a medieval world of its own.
Bangladesh was to be the exact opposite but thanks to inefficiency, corruption, bigotry and religious excess, we have failed to build a state we could be proud of. For us there is only disgust.
On behalf of all who accept what we have said, our sincerest and humblest apology to the people who have suffered in particular and to all minorities in general.
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Comments Above.
Iftekhar Hossain on October 2, 2012 at 7:26 pm
রামুর আগুন
জ্বালিয়ে দিলে পুড়িয়ে দিলে
আগুন দিলে ঘরে
সেই বনহি ছড়িয়ে যাবে
তোমারই অন্তরে।
ঘর উঠবে,ফুল ফুটবে
আগুন হবে নাই
তুমি বন্ধু পুড়ে পুড়ে
নিজেই হবে ছাই।
-ইফতেখার হোসেন
২/১০/২০১২
Trimita Chakma
Secular democracy in Bangladesh, a failure or a sham?
October 1, 2012
“We, the people of Bangladesh, having proclaimed our independence on the 26th day of March, 1971 and through a historic struggle for national liberation, established the independent, sovereign People’s Republic of Bangladesh;
Pledging that the high ideals of nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism, which inspired our heroic people to dedicate themselves to, and our brave martyrs to sacrifice their lives in, the national liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution.” (1)
- The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
- The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Although secularism is one of the four founding pillars of the constitution of Bangladesh, the recent attacks on the Buddhist and Hindu minorities make us question its practice in reality. As I write this piece, reportedly 19 Buddhist and Hindu temples and more than 100 houses have been looted, vandalized and torched in Ramu, Patia, Teknaf and Ukhia of Chittagong over the last two days by religious fanatics, allegedly because a Buddhist man was ‘tagged’ in an Islam-insulting Facebook photo by an unidentified person. Following the rampage, Section 144 was imposed in Cox’s Bazaar’s Ramu Upazila, prohibiting assemblies of more than five people in the concerned areas. (2)
I was just recovering from the trauma of the recent attacks in my hometown of Rangamati that took place on 22-23 September 2012; where also Section 144 had to be declared.
Apparently this was yet another planned attack on minorities – who also happen to be indigenous peoples – where some 50 were wounded and property that predominantly belonged to indigenous people were vandalised. Locals present at the events reported that Bengali mobs were not stopped by security personnel in the areas. Indigenous groups who were patrolling their own localities for securing their boundaries and properties were dispersed by the security personnel, leading to the Bengali mob advancing into the indigenous localities. It is to be noted that the Right to Private Defence is sanctioned by the laws of Bangladesh, including the Bangladesh Penal Code.
This was not the first attack on the religious minorities this year. Earlier on 9-10 February several Hindu temples were vandalised and torched following which the authorities had clamped Section 144.
It is noteworthy that in all the above mentioned cases the authorities only took action after significant damage was caused. Where were the tear-gas shells and the police barricades when the temples and houses were burning in Ramu? Oh wait; the police were probably busy charging batons on the leaders and activists of the oil, gas committee on Sunday (3) while our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was attending the 67th Session of United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The fire service men did not show up in any of these arson attacked areas till much much later.
All these incidents bring out various questions that remain to be answered. Have the administration and law enforcers continuously failed to protect the religious and ethnic minorities from violent attacks, or they have been deliberately indifferent about these attacks?
According to a recent report published by a local daily, the Hindu population in the country has reduced by 900,000 between 2001-2011. (4) Wonder why?
The religious and ethnic minorities of Bangladesh – constituting less than 10 percent of the total population (5) – have been facing continuous attacks by a small group of Bengali Muslims, who most often are granted impunity on political or other grounds. The reality is that the minorities of democratic secular Bangladesh do not feel safe. At least not anymore. They have developed mistrust on the system of governance from experiencing decades of injustice.
The historical event of ‘71 happened because of the silence of the good people from the then West Pakistan. To this day, many of us still detest those Pakistanis, because they watched us suffer and did nothing to stop the brutalities that were perpetrated on their fellow citizens by the Pakistan Army and its cohorts. As Napoleon said, “The world suffers a lot not because of the violence of the bad people, But because of the silence of the good people.”
The majority population of Bangladesh may not be responsible for the recent attacks, but they cannot avoid the responsibility for the suffering being caused by these attacks. We are collectively responsible for actions that our fellow citizens and our government take or do not take to ensure the basic rights of fellow Bangladeshis.
As citizens of Bangladesh it is your and my responsibility to participate in the political and social processes of our country, to actively take part in processions, petitions, dialogues, forums, blogs and other forms of advocacy in order to create mass pressure on our administration bodies and mainstream media into taking action to protect our rights. It is your and my responsibility to look up and educate ourselves about the history of our country and shape its future. You and I are responsible for our own ignorance. There will be no secularism or diversity in Bangladesh if we do not protect our minorities.
Because simply being good is not good enough.
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Trimita Chakma is a member of Kapaeeng Foundation, A Human Rights Organisation for Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh.
Trimita Chakma is a member of Kapaeeng Foundation, A Human Rights Organisation for Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh.
Footnotes:
(1) Website, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf_part.php?id=367
(1) Website, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf_part.php?id=367
(5) BBS, Census 2011
Towheed Feroze
In the name of religion
October 5, 2012
The rage, directed so far, at the West is now right here in our own backyard. In Ramu, thousands of zealots, inflamed by what they said was a defamatory comment made on Islam in Facebook allegedly by a Buddhist, went on the rampage. They vandalized Buddhist homes and desecrated temples. In certain cases, Hindu places of worship were also targeted in Patiya, Chittagong. The images of total destruction plastered on all national and international papers spoke of one thing only – mad rage. In one photo, a Buddha statue was seen without a head. Someone had decapitated it in devilish fury. So, this is what happens when someone makes a derogative comment about Islam.
Does the violent mob feel better now that so many people’s lives have been abruptly turned upside down? Well, the issue is, if they feel themselves to be better Muslims by reacting like such fanatics. An anecdote from the Prophet’s life, taught to most of us during our school days, comes back.
An old woman who did not have high regard for the Prophet or Islam laid thorns on his path everyday and each day The Prophet carefully removed the obstacles and went on his way. One day, there were no thorns and the same happened the next day. Anxious, The Prophet sensed that some harm had come to the woman and after asking others went to her home. The old woman was sick but she was speechless at the kindness of the man whom she tried to harm for so long and became ashamed. The morale here is that: Islam never speaks of violence and never condones undermining other faiths. The Prophet also went to war but when there was no other way. So, the religion of compassion and empathy is translated into an ideology of hatred and intolerance when the so-called Muslims’ fail to grasp what religion actually stands for. That is not to say that when Islam is insulted or, made to become a victim of slander, Muslims should remain passive but their action needs to be sensible and supported by logic and not by uncontrollable wrath. The sad part is when the images of broken idols and ransacked temples are portrayed across the world Islam-phobia will only become more entrenched.
Already, the general people of the West have a weary attitude towards Muslims and while extreme acts are committed by a handful of radicals, the brunt of the suspicion falls on all Muslims. A bearded man can possess moderate values and may shun all extremisms but, at first glance, he may be regarded with skepticism. This is the hard truth and acts like temple attacking will only reinforce these fears.
The problem is that the when people erupt in anger and attack worship areas of other faiths they fail to look at the far-reaching repercussions. Today, many of those who broke into temples in anger may be feeling a sense of satisfaction but their action, in the long run, will only fuel anti-Muslim sentiment. In Western societies, Muslims will slowly begin to be avoided and an irreversible gap of understanding may develop. As for countries like Bangladesh, minority communities will be jolted into realising that any time their existence can face threat. The Buddhist community as a whole was not to be held responsible for the errant act of one man (assuming he made pejorative remarks about Islam).
Let’s change the context and the point here will become clear. Just because one Bangladeshi man breaks the law in a foreign land does not mean that all Bangladeshis are criminals. The same rule applies here. The bottom line is that religion’s main tenet is tolerance but while there is no dearth of diehard adherents of a faith, using religion to promote harmony and understanding is missing. The incident in Ramu comes amidst the global furore over an anti-Islamic film and the West’s stubbornness to permit anything in the name of freedom of speech and therefore, is loosely connected to the convulsions the world has seen in the last few weeks.
Unfortunately, by protesting with violence and vandalism, Muslims have only shown an ugly side. Had they united and forwarded a demand saying that there must be certain demarcations in freedom of speech, the picture would have been a sober one. Instead of putting a united front, the countries were busy quelling angry mob riots. But after everything said and done – this also has to be remembered that Islam is not a fragile religion and so, any kind of vilification will eventually have no impact on it. Muslims need to remember that by resorting to uncivil acts they are only branding themselves as fanatics. The truth to come out of years of Islam-bashing followed by outburst is that, insult on religion will never stop. Some evil brain will always try to become instantly in(famous) by attacking Muslims and their faith and the best course for Muslims would be to either form a platform consisting of all Muslim nations and protest or, simply ignore.
Meanwhile, Muslims who attack holy places of other faiths and defile religious images and idols need better understanding of the ideals of Islam. Often general people’s emotions are stirred by inflammatory speech made by Moulanas and off they go, screaming for blood, weapons in hand.
The scars of the Gujarat riot in India remain fuelling an invisible, uneasy division between Muslims and Hindus and the latest clashes between Muslims and Bodo people which trickled down to others parts of India have only shown that religious divides persist and can flare up at the slightest provocation.
Not surprisingly, immediately after the Ramu incident, main political parties began finger pointing, blaming each other for inciting sectarian animosity. For God’s sake, when a community is faced with the predicament of existence, let’s refrain from using it as a political weapon. The government needs to find the perpetrators and take stern action and as soon as possible. Inter-faith discussions and meetings must be held so that the minority people do not feel like outsiders.
Bangladesh always prides herself to be a country where people of all faiths live peacefully and this achievement sets us apart – let’s not allow a group of extremists to spoil that!
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Towheed Feroze writes on social, political, development and cultural issues.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
.
Does the violent mob feel better now that so many people’s lives have been abruptly turned upside down? Well, the issue is, if they feel themselves to be better Muslims by reacting like such fanatics. An anecdote from the Prophet’s life, taught to most of us during our school days, comes back.
An old woman who did not have high regard for the Prophet or Islam laid thorns on his path everyday and each day The Prophet carefully removed the obstacles and went on his way. One day, there were no thorns and the same happened the next day. Anxious, The Prophet sensed that some harm had come to the woman and after asking others went to her home. The old woman was sick but she was speechless at the kindness of the man whom she tried to harm for so long and became ashamed. The morale here is that: Islam never speaks of violence and never condones undermining other faiths. The Prophet also went to war but when there was no other way. So, the religion of compassion and empathy is translated into an ideology of hatred and intolerance when the so-called Muslims’ fail to grasp what religion actually stands for. That is not to say that when Islam is insulted or, made to become a victim of slander, Muslims should remain passive but their action needs to be sensible and supported by logic and not by uncontrollable wrath. The sad part is when the images of broken idols and ransacked temples are portrayed across the world Islam-phobia will only become more entrenched.
Already, the general people of the West have a weary attitude towards Muslims and while extreme acts are committed by a handful of radicals, the brunt of the suspicion falls on all Muslims. A bearded man can possess moderate values and may shun all extremisms but, at first glance, he may be regarded with skepticism. This is the hard truth and acts like temple attacking will only reinforce these fears.
The problem is that the when people erupt in anger and attack worship areas of other faiths they fail to look at the far-reaching repercussions. Today, many of those who broke into temples in anger may be feeling a sense of satisfaction but their action, in the long run, will only fuel anti-Muslim sentiment. In Western societies, Muslims will slowly begin to be avoided and an irreversible gap of understanding may develop. As for countries like Bangladesh, minority communities will be jolted into realising that any time their existence can face threat. The Buddhist community as a whole was not to be held responsible for the errant act of one man (assuming he made pejorative remarks about Islam).
Let’s change the context and the point here will become clear. Just because one Bangladeshi man breaks the law in a foreign land does not mean that all Bangladeshis are criminals. The same rule applies here. The bottom line is that religion’s main tenet is tolerance but while there is no dearth of diehard adherents of a faith, using religion to promote harmony and understanding is missing. The incident in Ramu comes amidst the global furore over an anti-Islamic film and the West’s stubbornness to permit anything in the name of freedom of speech and therefore, is loosely connected to the convulsions the world has seen in the last few weeks.
Unfortunately, by protesting with violence and vandalism, Muslims have only shown an ugly side. Had they united and forwarded a demand saying that there must be certain demarcations in freedom of speech, the picture would have been a sober one. Instead of putting a united front, the countries were busy quelling angry mob riots. But after everything said and done – this also has to be remembered that Islam is not a fragile religion and so, any kind of vilification will eventually have no impact on it. Muslims need to remember that by resorting to uncivil acts they are only branding themselves as fanatics. The truth to come out of years of Islam-bashing followed by outburst is that, insult on religion will never stop. Some evil brain will always try to become instantly in(famous) by attacking Muslims and their faith and the best course for Muslims would be to either form a platform consisting of all Muslim nations and protest or, simply ignore.
Meanwhile, Muslims who attack holy places of other faiths and defile religious images and idols need better understanding of the ideals of Islam. Often general people’s emotions are stirred by inflammatory speech made by Moulanas and off they go, screaming for blood, weapons in hand.
The scars of the Gujarat riot in India remain fuelling an invisible, uneasy division between Muslims and Hindus and the latest clashes between Muslims and Bodo people which trickled down to others parts of India have only shown that religious divides persist and can flare up at the slightest provocation.
Not surprisingly, immediately after the Ramu incident, main political parties began finger pointing, blaming each other for inciting sectarian animosity. For God’s sake, when a community is faced with the predicament of existence, let’s refrain from using it as a political weapon. The government needs to find the perpetrators and take stern action and as soon as possible. Inter-faith discussions and meetings must be held so that the minority people do not feel like outsiders.
Bangladesh always prides herself to be a country where people of all faiths live peacefully and this achievement sets us apart – let’s not allow a group of extremists to spoil that!
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Towheed Feroze writes on social, political, development and cultural issues.
Monday, October 15, 2012
HC seeks report over Ramu violence
The High Court on Monday directed the government to submit a report by November 6 on the security measures taken following the Ramu violence.
The court came up with the order during hearing of a writ petition that challenged the government inaction in preventing the violence in Ramu on September 29 that eventually spread to Ukhia, Teknaf and Chittagong on September 30.
Muslim fanatics destroyed 12 temples, monasteries and 50 houses on September 29 following posting of an alleged defamation of the holy Quran on a Facebook account of a local Buddhist person in Ramu of Cox's Bazar.
Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond on October 3 filed the writ petition saying that local law enforcers have failed to take appropriate measures to protect the temples, monasteries and houses of the minority communities.
The court also said it would hear the supplementary petition also on November 6.
SC lawyer on Sunday filed the supplementary petition seeking HC directive for forming a judicial probe commission to investigate into the violence.
During the Monday's proceedings, Deputy Attorney General Moklesur Rahman told the court that the government had taken security measures after the violence.
A report would be submitted to the court on the issue later, he added.
The deputy attorney general also prayed to the court for some time to submit the report.
After hearing on the issues, the HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar fixed November 6 for further order on this issue.
Monday, October 15, 2012
The government yesterday withdrew Chittagong Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Jaynul Bari and attached him to the public administration ministry.
The reason for his withdrawal could not be ascertained immediately.
Jaynul Bari was transferred to Chittagong from his previous posting in Cox's Bazar 15 days ago.
The authorities transferred Jaynul from Cox's Bazar before the mayhem took place in Ramu. He was staying in the district when mobs carried out attacks on Buddhists temples and homes on September 29, sources said.
It is alleged that Jaynul, though he was in charge of the Cox's Bazar district administration at the time, did not take any steps to quell the violence.
He also participated in a farewell programme at Cox's Bazar DC office even a day after the violent attacks, they added.
Monday, October 15, 2012
We are shocked at the spate of attacks on Buddhist temples at Ramu and other places. Hordes of marauders swooped on the temples at dead of night leaving behind an orgy of destruction. They set the temples on fire, desecrated the statues of Buddha and destroyed century-old manuscripts. These despicable acts of arson and vandalism are a huge blow to our ethos of communal harmony.
Attack on Buddhists...
Monday, October 15, 2012
Letters
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| Photo: AFP ZabedWali, On e-mail |
We are shocked at the spate of attacks on Buddhist temples at Ramu and other places. Hordes of marauders swooped on the temples at dead of night leaving behind an orgy of destruction. They set the temples on fire, desecrated the statues of Buddha and destroyed century-old manuscripts. These despicable acts of arson and vandalism are a huge blow to our ethos of communal harmony.
As the news reports suggest, the attacks were preplanned. So the masterminds behind the heinous attacks must be brought to justice. The law-enforcers have failed to provide security to those ill-fated temples. Now it is their duty to find out the culprits.
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