Editorial»
Plight of Ahmadiyas in Bangladesh
DEC 09 - Pakistan is known to be a nation that is rife with sectarian violence. Ahmadiyas who are popularly known as Kadiyani in South Asia are at the receiving end of inhumane torture these days. In the past two-year bombs have been thrown inside Ahmadiya mosque in Karachi and elsewhere in Pakistan that resulted in deaths. Bangladesh was reasonably free from this kind of sectarian violence. Nonetheless, things are changing as far as sectarian feuds are concerned.
We all have read in Bangladesh’s newspaper in the last few years about how the nation is veering towards Islamism. The nation is following the Pakistani model as far as sectarian feud is concerned. In the northern suburb of Nakhalpara in Dhaka there is a mosque belonging to Ahmadiya. This mosque was established a long time ago. I grew up in Tejgaon, which is next to Nakhalpara. We were aware of this mosque. It never did bother any of us. Ahmadiyas are docile folks. They are not Jihadis like al-Qaeda, Harkut ul Jihad or Jaishe-Muhammad. Sunni Muslims of Bangladesh never did show any malevolence towards other sects of Islam let alone Ahmadiya. However, all that changed because of the spread of fundamentalist movements.
Violence was perpetrated against the minority Ahmadiya sect members in Nakhalpara. The Sunni Maulana of nearby mosque has eyed the real estate that belongs to the minority sect. The Sunni Maulana had appealed to the government to declare the Ahmadiyas to be non-Muslims. In Pakistan, they have already done so few years ago. Therefore, Prof Salam, the Nobel laureate, was declared a non-Muslim along with thousands of Kadiyanis. What a shame! I read somewhere that Prof Salam who had strong Islamic identity was a broken-hearted man, as he had to endure this humiliation.
Some Sunni Maulanas of Bangladesh have this gall to try to persuade the Khaleda Zia Administration to declare the Kadiyanis non-Muslim. They are trying to mix religion with state activities. We should all resist this move. Now I read that these Islamists are going to start a movement to pressurize the government to declare the Ahmadiyas as non-Muslims. Who would be the next? This nefarious movement should be nipped at the bud. Nevertheless, knowing how much influence the Islamists have on the present government, the Khaleda Zia Administration will not arrest any of these Maulanas who are about to make trouble for decent law abiding Muslims belonging to other sects.
May I humbly request the government to tackle this issue with an iron fist? Sectarian violence is laced with hatred for other humankinds belonging to a different sect of Islam. Once a sectarian violence rears its ugly head, it may engulf the entire nation; there is no telling in which direction the movement may go.
Members of the civil society should therefore protest against this new abhorrent phenomenon before a select group of Mullahs fans the fire of hatred. Bangladesh is a big place; thus, the nation can accommodate different sects of Muslims, which evolved over couple of centuries.
This flame of hatred should be extinguished right away or else it would engulf the entire nation. Whatever happened to our Sufi brand of Islam, which is all-inclusive? Good sense should prevail. Say no to sectarian violence. Posted on: 2003-12-10 04:24
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