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Despite
what officials state, the Islamists of Bangladesh have been violently urging
all non-Muslims to get out of the country. Buddhists, for example, mostly
settled in the southeast part of Bangladesh and less than 1% of the population
of 150 million, have been struggling to survive. More than 1,000 have fled; the
situation is no different for Christians and Hindus.
What is clear is that Rabita Al Alam al
Islami, known as Al-Rabita, a powerful Saudi Arabia-based non-governmenal
organization [NGO] has taken charge of Islamization, especially in the remote
areas. Since 1980, Al-Rabita has been working throughout southeast Bangladesh
to convert the hill people to Islam. There is serious concern that Al-Rabita
has been funding terrorists.
Throughout
the area, construction of mosques and madrassas [Islamic religious schools]
continues. There are now 800 mosques and nearly 300 madrassas built by
Al-Rabita. Al-Rabita also has an Islamic Missionary Center with the goal of
converting poor tribal people. This Saudi NGO has been spending millions of
dollar to promote Shariah law and violent Islamism in the country.
And
because Saudi Arabia is one of the top foreign aid donors to Bangladesh -- the
government of Bangladesh has taken no action against this NGO. Saudi Arabia has
also threatened that if it is discontented, it will send back to Bangladesh the
tens of thousands of laborers who work in Saudi Arabia.
For
three days beginning September 29, more than 25,000 radical Muslims attacked
different Buddhist communities in Bangladesh, as reported in news coverage
worldwide. The Islamist attackers claimed that a photo of a burned copy of the
Koran was posted on Facebook by a Buddhist youth.
The
youth denied the allegation and proved that someone else posted the photo in
his Facebook wall. At the mere rumor, however, thousands of radical Islamists
burned dozens of Buddhist temples and around 100 houses, and looted golden
statues of Buddha. Some valuable manuscripts written in the ancient Pali
language were also burnt to ashes.
Officials stated that the radical Islamists
used gunpowder and petrol. Afterward, the administration ordered compliance
with "CRPC section 144," which restricts gatherings of more than four
persons.
In
recent years Muslim extremism and violent tendencies, especially in the mountainous
areas of Bangladesh, have intensified. According to a Congressional Research Service Report
of 2008, the authorities in Bangladesh have expressed concern about the use of
madrassas by a network of Islamic activists being investigated in connection
with a number of incidents of violence.
The report states, "There is concern among observers that the secular underpinnings
of moderate Bangladesh are being undermined by a culture of political violence
and the rise of Islamic extremists."
In
2010, the mountainous areas were rocked by violence, reigniting decades-old
ethnic and religious tensions, as Muslim settlers set fire to hundreds of homes
of indigenous Buddhists. The attacks resulted in countless injuries and deaths.
Since
1980, there have been 20 major occurrences of massacres against the indigenous
non-Muslim people by Muslim settlers -- in co-operation with the government.
More than 100,000 Jummas -- the indigenous Buddhists -- have fled across the
border to India. Many villages have been completely burnt down by the
Islamists. Thousands of Buddhist families who were displaced have not been
resettled, and the number of poverty-stricken Buddhist refugees has
substantially increased.
Daw Aung San Su Kyi,What are you doing?
THOUSANDS of rioters have torched
Buddhist temples and homes in southeastern Bangladesh in a rare attack against
the community over a photo posted on Facebook deemed offensive to Islam.

"They became unruly and attacked
Buddhist houses, torching and damaging their temples from midnight to Sunday
morning," he told AFP. "At
least 100 houses were damaged. We called in army and border guards to quell the
violence."
The
authorities had temporarily banned public gatherings in the area to prevent
further clashes, Bari said. It was not immediately clear if there were any
casualties, and authorities did not say if any of the rioters were arrested.
Buddhists,
who make up less than one per cent of Bangladesh's 153 million population, are
based mainly in southeastern districts, close to the border with
Buddhist-majority Burma. Sectarian tensions have been running high since June,
when deadly clashes erupted between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in Burma's
western Rakhine state.
Although
Bangladesh has witnessed deadly clashes between Muslims and Hindus in the past,
sectarian clashes involving Buddhists are rare. In recent weeks tens of
thousands of Muslims have hit the street across the country to protest a
US-made anti-Islam film mocking the prophet Mohammed.

Those who
launched the attack chanted, "Naraye Takbir," the slogan Jamaat-e-Islami
use in its political programmes. According to locals,
leaders of an Islamist party held a rally at 10pm on Sunday night alleging
defamation of the Quran by posting a photograph on social networking website
Facebook.
Those who
addressed the rally claimed a Buddhist youth named Uttam Barua of Bouddha Parha
posted the photograph on his Facebook account. The rally touched off a mayhem
that lasted for five hours starting around 11:30pm. Seven Buddhist Viharas or
monasteries, around 30 houses and shops were torched, and more than a hundred
other houses and shops were also attacked, vandalised and looted.
District
administration had to impose section 144, which bans public gathering, for an
indefinite period on Sunday morning to rein in the unrest, followed by the
commissioning of an inquiry into the incident. The incident shocked Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently visiting New York, who ordered
bringing attackers into book.
Buddhists
and other ethnic and religious minorities were living in fear in Ramu and areas
close by even though huge contingents of Police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border
Guard Bangladesh and Army were deployed to contain the unrest.
Locals
alleged the unrest turned catastrophic just because of 'negligence' by police
and RAB officials in ensuring security to distressed people. Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan
Alamgir, while visiting the area on Sunday, said the attacks were
"planned."
"The
attack was conducted in a coordinated manner. Temples and houses were set on
fire using patrol and gun powder. It would have been impossible if the attacks
were not planned," he revealed.
Resident
Director of Sheema Rajban Vihara at Merongloa Parha in the Ramu, Progyananda
Bhikkhu, shared his firsthand experience with bdnews24.com. He said at first a
procession came and hurled brickbats at the houses in the area and vandalised
boundary walls made of corrugated iron sheets.
"Around
four to five hundred people chanting 'Naraye Takbir' entered our Parha
(locality) as the night got darker. They set the temples on fire first,"
said Progyananda. According to him, two
donation boxes and a gold idol of Buddha were looted during the attack and at
least 10 houses were set ablaze.
The
Buddhist religious leader said it was the first time he encountered such
violence and did not know how to respond. "The
violence spread due to a reluctant administration. Had police and RAB members
taken the early initiative, the whole incident would have been averted,"
he said.
General Secretary of a temple in the Vihara, Tarun
Barua reported seeing people whom he had never before seen in his locality. "We have been living long
alongside the Muslims. We did not even imagine that they could attack us. Such
a big attack in reprisal of such a trivial incident was unbelievable,"
said Barua.
Residents
of different areas including Mithachharhi and Shreekul had similar observations
to make. Barua believes
the anger of the Rohingya refugees living in Cox's Bazaar was fanned.
"Jamaat-e-Islami may have instigated the unrest," he suggested.
Cox's
Bazaar Jhilongja Union Parishad Chairman Gias Uddin Ziku said he found
Jamaat-e-Islami activists gathering around different villages of minority
people and he himself made them to leave and reported it to the police.
Ziku, also
Office Secretary of Cox's Bazar district committee of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal,
heard the news of the attack minutes later. Ramu
Upazila Parishad Chairman Sohel Sarowar Kajal thought the violence was carried
out by hiring people from outside Ramu.
He also
pointed the finger at the neglect of RAB and Police for the situation getting
worse. "They reached the crime scene way later. Many damages could have
been avoided if they had arrived as soon as violence broke out."
Cox's
Bazaar district Superintendent of Police Selim Mohammed Jahangir declined
comment on the matter. "Everybody
is interpreting the incident to their liking. Members of the law-enforcing
agencies including the police were deployed for containing the situation in the
affected areas," said Jahangir.
Home
Minister Alamgir and Industry Minister Dilip Barua visited the affected area on
Sunday morning, promising financial assistance from the government in the
rebuilding process. Alamgir ordered investigation into the allegation of
negligence on the part of the law-enforcing agencies. Chittagong Divisional
Commissioner Sirajul Hoque asked the five-strong probe body to report in ten
days.
He said he
heard the slogan 'Naraye Takbir' during the attack.
Cox's Bazaar district Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami
Md Shahjahan brushed aside the allegations of instigating the unrest.
"Causing damages to life and livelihood, or
attacking religious institutions should not be the language of protests. Islam
does not permit it either. Jamaat-e-Islami despises these acts," said
Shahjahan. He, however,
said instigators were those who want to turn the country into a 'militant'
state.
The
incident also left Muslims of the area shocked and grappling with the
justification for the attack on Buddhists. "I
don't understand why it all happened? We all live together," said Chhalim
Ullah, a rickshaw-puller, as he visited the ravaged area.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
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