Bangladesh and Di-Islamisation

By Abu Abdullah 7 Min Read
**Note; Action Alert: Bangladesh – Demand a fair trial for Professor Ghulam Azam – click here** 

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You may know that Bangladesh is now going through the worst crisis in its history. This third largest Muslim country of over 160 million people was once one of the  two parts of Pakistan which was created to give space to aspiring Muslims for a separate homeland. 


However, the leaders of Pakistan had failed to realise the founding principles of the country leading to a war of secession and eventual break up in 1971; and the birth of Bangladesh as an independent state.

During that era, the nation became divided into two, those who supported the break up of Pakistan and those who did not. All the Islamic parties and Ulema of the country wanted to maintain the unity of Pakistan in order to be secured from Indian hegemony. On the other hand, the liberation war was led by the left-leaning secularists under the close supervision of Indian military and intelligence.

Since the independence, communists and ultra-secularists are working closely to uproot Islam from the fabric of the society and its moderate reference to the constitution and other spheres of life.  

Although the previous efforts for de-islamisation were harmful, no doubt, but the present government, with the blessings of the powerful neighbour, for the first time in the history of Bangladesh, was formed as a direct result of communist-secularist coalition with an agenda to defame and degrade Islam. A large number of the cabinet ministers of the present government are atheist and was heavily involved in communist movements. They not only hate Islam but also want to wipe out the Islamic symbol and practices forever. 

Needless to mention that almost 89% of population are Muslim; however, the situation today has become so dire that Islam, is treated in Bangladesh as if it is something alien or foreign . Young men are discriminated in the work place and on the street because of their practice  of Islam and sporting  of beard.

There are times when the teachers forced the Muslim pupils to take their headscarf off in front of other students or at times headscarf were torn apart on the street in broad daylight. This amounts to almost a ban on young women with hijab entering the school/college/university/work place. Many had to stop education or work to save their belief. Prayer facilities within the educational premises had been shut on health and safety pretext. For the first time Islamic Studies has been withdrawn from the curriculum during this government.

Police had been raiding mosques and other places of worships, mainly to harass Islamic dawah activists belonging to opposition parties and arresting over 20,000, many thousands were tortured and  hundreds went missing or shot dead by the state intelligence and police. Alongside the government, a large section of journalists, intellectuals, writers and media outlets have been working day and night to fulfil their anti-Islamic agenda.

The process of de-Islamisation has reached its climax when recently the Muslims of Bangladesh were stunned by discovering most abhorrent blogs and facebook writings degrading Allah, the Prophet and everything Muslims hold dear.  No one in the 1400 years history of Islam ever dared to vilify Islam  to this extent A group of atheist writers and bloggers are promoted and protected by state to defame Islam and Islamic. Despite the order from the highest court and call from the  Imams and Khatibs around to shut down those Islam-bashing websites, the government not only turned a blind eye rather used encouraged such bloggers in Shahabagh protest to chant vile slogans such as; ‘Hang Islamic leaders and scholars’, ‘ban the Qur’an’ and ‘Ban islamic organisations’.

When on Friday the February 22nd the faithful came out en mass to protest against such vulgar attack on Islam, the police attacked the peaceful procession and shot over a dozen to death. A number of Imams and Khatibs were harassed and beaten inside the mosques by the ruling party thugs and police and hundreds arrested.  However, on Thursday the 28th  February an unprecedented mass-killing of Muslim protesters took place all around the country and 74 people were mercilessly shot dead while protesting against the unjust sentence of death verdict imposed upon the most popular Islamic scholar, Mawlana Delwar Hossain Saydee. 

Since last three years, the government had set up a highly controversial tribunal to prosecute the pro-Islamic opposition leaders under the pretext of crimes against humanity committed during the liberation war in 1971. The controversial tribunal had already sentenced two prominent ulema, Sheikh Abul Kalam Azad and Shiekh Dilowar Hussain Sayedee, to death by hanging for no other reason but for Islamic dawah.  

The entire international community, international NGOs, Jurists, Human Rights organisations including the United Nations had severely criticised the trial process and termed it flawed and not in accordance with the international standard but the government took no heed as they just want to hang the Islamic leaders.
 
Presently, a public campaign has been orchestrated by intelligence and popular left-wing medias to ban not only the Islamic parties but also the businesses, banks and newspapers and media outlets owned by pro-Islamic block were attacked, smashed and burned down by the ruling party thugs watched by the police. 

The picture above is a small part of the large and alarming reality; if our brothers in Ummah do not come forward to save 160 million Muslims and their faith from such onslaught and carnage, we will all stand responsible in the eyes of Allah Subhanahu Ta’ala. 

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Notes:
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