Dhaka, Oct 17, (Asia Free Press): People came out on roads to protest in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday, amid a wave of violence against local Hindus after a viral social media image perceived as insulting to the Muslim majority, according to Associated Press.
Protesters numbered in thousands carrying banners condemning the desecration of Holy Quran
Took to streets outside grand mosque in Dhaka. Earlier on Friday, clashes had erupted between the protestors and the local police during demonstrations.
The crowd chanted “Down with the enemies of the Islam” and “Hang the culprits”.
Photos showing a copy of the Quran at the feet of a statue in a Hindu temple in the eastern district of Cumilla triggered the protests and incidents of vandalism at Hindu temples across Bangladesh.
“We ask the government to arrest those who defamed the Quran by putting it at the feet of an idol in Cumilla,” Mosaddek Billah Al Madani, president of Bangladesh’s Islami Movement. He added that protesters demanded “the death sentence” for those responsible for the images.
Several Hindus also protested against the attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees in another district where several temples were vandalized by Muslim mobs.
The local Police said that at least two Hindus were killed in Friday’s attacks, reported AP.
Communal tensions have risen as the minority Hindus celebrate their largest religious festival, the Durga Puja. About 9% of Bangladesh’s 160 million are Hindu.
