The Latest Religious Edict In Neighbouring Bangladesh

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam

13 September 2024

The interim government of Bangladesh Has " Urged " Hindu Community To Halt Their Durga Pooja-Related Activities, especially playing any musical instrument 5 minutes before Azaan and during Namaz.

Since I frequently visit Bangladesh and speak their language (Bangla), I've a gut feeling that there'll be no Hindus in Bangladesh anymore. Bangla-speaking fanatic Muslims of Bangladesh, whose ancestors were Hindus not long ago, will not let Hindus live in Bangladesh.

No exaggeration, I know several 'Muslims' in that country who were Hindus until a decade ago. Many neo-Muslims have told me that they've had to embrace Islam just to survive in a Muslim-dominated country.

While studying the psyche of the converted Muslims for the book 'Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples,' Sir V S Naipaul aptly observed that Muslims of Bangladesh were particularly fanatic and hardcore. He observed the same in the book, 'Among The Believers: An Islamic Journey.' Many years have elapsed since then.

Today, Bangladeshi Muslims are even more rigid in their religious approach and attitude. Muslim readers might call me an Islamophobe because it's one 'epithet' that quickly comes to their mind when they want to thwart or run down their critics.

Muslims generally abhor criticism, whether constructive or destructive. But there's no gainsaying the fact that Hindus in Bangladesh are living at the mercy of the bigots whose only objective in life is to convert the 'infidels' to the fold of the only 'true' faith in the world (read Islam).

Alhamdulillah ! This government, under the stewardship of a Nobel laureate, is even more inflexible. Since a majority of Bangladeshi Hindus are not very affluent as to leave the country and settle abroad, they're condemned to be treated like heathens and pariahs in an Islamic country. This is a very sad and dismal state of affairs. It's time to give a thought to the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh.

Lastly, I already mentioned in an article in NAI that even the non-Muslims in Bangladesh are forced to say 'Paani' and not 'Jal' (pronounced 'Jowl' in Bangla) for the English word 'water' which simply grates on ears. You can imagine the level of fanaticism in that country.   

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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.

URL:    https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/religious-edict-neighbouring-bangladesh/d/133186

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