The interim government of Bangladesh and all influential figures, such as scholars, must condemn the violence against minorities, especially Hindus, Malaysia’s Opposition MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.
“We are duty bound by faith to observe the Quranic and Prophetic injunctions…Non-Muslims who lived under Muslim majority rule must not be denied their basic rights and freedom of religion… Earlier, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim spoke to Bangladesh’s head of interim government Mohammad Yunus. We are hopeful he also spoke on attacks on Hindus privately,” Fayhsal said.
In the midst of this chaos, Muslim communities, especially in Bangladesh, must learn and take examples from the likes of Emir Abd Qadir al-Jazairi who protected the Christians during riots in Damascus in 1860, he said. “Don’t be misled and inflict injustices towards non-Muslims in the name of Islam,” he said.
THE ATTACKS
The apex body of Hindus in Bangladesh on Tuesday said the minority Hindu community faced attacks and threats in 278 locations across 48 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 and termed it as an “assault on the Hindu religion.”
The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance members also pointed to the increase in attacks in recent times and asserted, “We too have rights in this country, we were born here.”
The Alliance’s press conference took place on the same day as Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took charge as Chief Advisor of the interim government on August 8, reached out to the distressed Hindu community members at the famous Dhakeshwari Temple here earlier in the day and urged the people to “exercise patience” before judging his government’s role.
“As of Monday, there have been attacks and threats against the Hindu community in 278 locations across 48 districts. We have conveyed our concerns to Home Affairs Advisor Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, who has assured us that these issues will be raised at the next cabinet meeting,” he was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
The press conference by the group came a day after they presented seven demands to the government, including a judicial inquiry into recent attacks on Hindu communities, the creation of a minority protection act and commission, and the restoration of temples and homes at public expense. They also demanded speedy trials and public investigation reports for those convicted, the release of minority abuse reports from 2000 to the present, a three-day holiday during Durga Puja, and the establishment of a minority ministry, the Dhaka Tribune said.
Earlier on Saturday, two Hindu organisations — Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad — had claimed that members of the minority communities in Bangladesh faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 till the weekend.
Meanwhile, during his interaction with the members of the Hindu community, Yunus said: “Rights are equal for everyone. We are all one people with one right. Do not make any distinctions among us. Please, assist us. Exercise patience, and later judge — what we were able to do and not. If we fail, then criticise us.”
With Agency Inputs
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