[Five Muslims and two Hindus die in
violence that followed claim that a Qur’an was desecrated]
The government deployed
paramilitary troops to 22 districts after religious tensions and violence broke
out in the city of Cumilla on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of four
Muslims after police fired into crowds.
On Friday and Saturday, further
communal violence erupted in the capital, Dhaka, as well as in the southern
town of Begumganj. One Muslim and two Hindus died in these incidents, one from
stab wounds.
The trouble was sparked by videos
and allegations that spread across social media that a Qur’an, the Muslim holy
book, had been placed on the knee of a statue of the Hindu god Hanuman, in a
shrine set up for the Hindu holy festival of Durga Puja.
After the video went viral on
Facebook earlier this week, mobs of more than 500 people gathered in Cumilla
and neighbouring districts over the alleged blasphemy. About 10 Hindu temples
and shrines were attacked and vandalised by the crowds, who threw stones and
smashed statues of the Hindu gods.
In Cumilla, police shot teargas and
fired on the crowds. Dozens were injured, including several police officers.
The anti-Hindu violence continued
into Friday and Saturday. More than 80 special shrines set up for the Durga
Puja festival were attacked, with about 150 Hindus injured and two killed.
On Friday the prime minister,
Sheikh Hasina, promised severe action in response. “The incidents in Cumilla
are being thoroughly investigated,” said Hasina. “Nobody will be spared. It
doesn’t matter which religion they belong to. They will be hunted down and
punished.”
Md Faridul Haque Khan, the state
minister for religious affairs, said the incident involving the Qur’an would be
investigated but added that communal harmony should be protected and urged
people not to take the law into their own hands.
Obaidul Quader, a minister with the
ruling Awami League government, visited a Hindu shrine in the aftermath of the
violence. He said “fanatic elements” were responsible for the attacks on the
Hindu festival, adding that the government would “not let them proceed with
their evil design”.
The Bangladesh Hindu Unity Council
said in a tweet that it “could not publish” what had happened over the past 24
hours, but stated that “the Hindus of Bangladesh saw the real faces of some
people. We don’t know what will happen in the future. But the Hindus of
Bangladesh will never forget Durga Puja in 2021.”
Hindu religious leaders alleged the
attacks were part of a conspiracy to attack their community. Hindus make up 10%
of the Muslim-majority country.
In August, four Hindu temples were
attacked in the country’s Khulna district and in March, during a visit by the
Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, hardline Islamist groups attacked Hindu
shrines.
The initial trouble prompted
outrage in neighbouring Hindu-majority India.
On Thursday, the Indian government
spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, described the incident as “disturbing” and said
officials were in communication with the Bangladesh authorities about the
attacks.
