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| Islamist activists protest in Dhaka on Oct. 21, a day after deadly clashes following a Facebook post that allegedly defamed the Prophet Muhammad. The failure to punish extremists threatens religious harmony. (Photo by Munir Uz Zaman/AFP) |
An unusual but most welcome calm prevailed at Borhanuddin in Bhola district of southern Bangladesh on Oct. 20.
Tensions had run high in the area
over two days, involving the Muslim majority but also a handful of Hindus, over
a Facebook messenger post that defamed Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
A radical Islamic group, Touhidi
Janata (Movement for Islamic Uprising), vowed to avenge the "hurtful
religious sentiments" and declared a mass protest gathering on Oct. 20.
Biplob Chandra Shuvo, a Hindu man,
was in the eye of the storm for allegedly spreading the messages. He told
police on Oct. 19 that his account had been hacked and two Muslims were quickly
arrested for the crime, allegedly carried out for the purpose of extortion.
Police engaged with Muslim clerics to
assure them that action was being taken and asked them to cancel the impending
gathering to avoid likely violence.
The clerics agreed but failed to stop
Muslims from joining the protesters, who soon became a violent mob chanting
Islamic slogans and demanding the death penalty for the Hindu man.
They vandalized Hindu temples and
Hindu people's homes before attacking police with bamboo and bricks. Officers
fired back — four rioters were killed and more than 100 people, including
police, were injured.
News of the deaths infuriated Islamic
hardliners. In Chittagong, clerics and students from the Hathazari Mosque and
madrasa organized another march and attacked the local police station.
The escalating tension was only
defused after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of "stern action"
against anyone attempting to create "anarchy" over the situation.
Three men, including the Hindu,
remained in police custody a week later, while police arrested hundreds of
unnamed rioters in connection with the violence.
