The Battle over Culture: Fundamentalist threats and secular response in Bangladesh
The Baul statues episode
by Harsh Kapoor, 12 November 2008
A compilation of reports and analysis
sacw.net | 12 November 2008
Last Thursday the Shibir activists assaulted a female student of the university and threatened others for staging a drama, as part of their protest programme against the dismantling of the Baul sculptures. The Shibir men got away without any punishment or even a warning. The police did arrive and ‘calmed the situation’ which means they made no difference between perpetrators and victims. This was succour to the marauders and on Friday, according to a New Age report, they threatened to burn alive some individuals belonging to the cultural organisation Udichi. The report further mentions that a militant organisation, Anjuman Al-Baiyanat, announced reward for those who could kill the people declared as ‘murtad’ (apostates). This is an open declaration of selective terrorism. While the government has imposed an open ended state of emergency on the grounds of safeguarding the law and order situation in the country, it does nothing when radical Islamists are issuing death threats against citizens. All must unite to resist it. It is a challenge not only for the progressive secular sections but also for the moderate religious groups which are uneasy over the perverse zealotry in the name of religion but have not acted against it thus far.
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9:43 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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