• Ahmadiyya community says it has come under severe attacks through various riots
• Statement highlights series of attacks on Ahmadiyya community across Bangladesh

File Image: A religious program of the Ahmadiyya community, known as Salana Jalsa, in Panchagarh town comes under fierce attack soon after the Jummah prayers on Friday, March 3, 2023. Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Tribune Desk

Publish : 01 Sep 2024, 06:19 PMUpdate : 01 Sep 2024, 06:19 PM

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community has denounced several violent attacks on them in Bangladesh since the resignation and subsequent departure from the country of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Amidst the political turmoil in the Bangladeshi nation, the  Ahmadiyya have come under severe attacks through various riots, according to an official statement from the community.

“On the afternoon of August 5, 2024, the announcement of stepping down and departure of the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina was announced. Immediately after the announcement, countrywide anarchism spread. Taking the advantage of absence of law enforcing authorities, a group of religious extremists started attacking religious minorities in Bangladesh including members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (community),” the statement said.

The statement highlighted a series of attacks on the Ahmadiyya community across the country: on August 5, the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Taraganj, Rangpur district, was targeted; on August 6, the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Bamnail village, Rajshahi district, and the one in Choraikhola, Nilphamari district, were also attacked. That same day, the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Madartek, Dhaka city, faced two assaults by local religious extremists. Additionally, on August 6, a group of religious fanatics attacked and vandalized an Ahmadiyya mosque and homes in Rangtia, Sherpur district. On August 9, another attack on the Ahmadiyya was orchestrated by a group of religious fanatics, reportedly incited by a local Union Council chairman.

The statement further said: “Mentionable that in 2023 fanatic religious groups attacked Ahmadiyya Annual Convention in Ahmadnagar, Panchagarh where one member of the community was killed, over 100 injured. The attackers looted, vandalized and burnt over 200 houses of Ahmadi Muslims at Ahmadnagar and nearby two villages, Shalshiri and Sonachandi.”

“Whatever beliefs we have, Ahmadiyya Muslims want to believe and practice our religious ideology and enjoy religious freedom according to the constitutional rights of Bangladesh and International Human Rights,” it added.

source https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/356884/ahmadiyya-muslims-denounce-attacks-on-community