Not afraid of ABVP says Kargil martyr’s daughter on FB, goes viral

February 25, 2017

Days after DU’s Ramjas college saw violent clashes, a Lady Sri Ram College student who is a Kargil martyr’s daughter has initiated a social media campaign, “I am not scared of ABVP”, which has gone viral.

Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, changed her Facebook profile picture holding a placard which read “I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. #StudentsAgainstABVP”.

“The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protesters, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in every Indian’s heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation,” she said in a Facebook status.

“The stones that you pelt hit our bodies, but fail to bruise our ideas. This profile picture is my way of protesting against the tyranny of fear,” she added.

The literature student’s classmates and peers started sharing the post, prompting students from various universities across the country to change their profile pictures with the same placard, as the initiative went viral.

Kaur’s Facebook post so far has 2,100 reactions, 3,456 shares and 542 comments.

Ramjas College had on Wednesday witnessed large-scale violence between members of AISA and ABVP workers. The genesis of the clash was an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar on ‘Culture of Protests’ which was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by the RSS student wing.

(With inputs from PTI)

The hidden agenda of Trump’s Muslim ban

February 25, 2017

The Islamophobia industry uses lawfare (courtroom drama) to skew the conversation about Islam. The President has learned from their success

Pamela Geller, president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, an Islamophobic pressure group. (Bryan Smith, PA Images)

The legal tussle over President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is being watched with the intensity normally reserved for a Super Bowl showdown. Experts track every move and countermove, trying to gauge which team is ahead and who will ultimate prevail. Unlike a normal game, though, there is more to these court battles than the points that flash on the scoreboard. They are also an opportunity for hate propagandists to air their tropes and talking points before a wide audience.

Indeed, if their past campaigns are anything to go by, this may be their primary objective – to exploit the high profile spaces afforded by democratic processes and institutions for propaganda purposes, thus nudging mainstream perspectives toward their own worldview. The actual implementation or enforcement of whatever policy they’ve been agitating for may be a secondary concern. Anti-Muslim ideologues have described themselves as fighting in a “lawfare battlespace”.

Anti-Muslim ideologues have described themselves as fighting in a “lawfare battlespace”. The explicit goal of their litigation is to change public policy directly. But lawfare also presents an opening “to influence and shape public discourse to ultimately influence and shape public opinion”, says a 2015 publication from the Center for Security Policy, a major anti-Muslim think tank.

“The drama of a courtroom setting attracts public attention and thereby provides a forum and an audience for expressing the appropriate public policy narrative.”

“Litigation creates earned media and thus provides an excellent opportunity to engage the public through this media,” the report says. “Indeed, the drama of a courtroom setting attracts public attention and thereby provides a forum and an audience for expressing the appropriate public policy narrative.”

One long-running nationwide campaign to shape the narrative has involved purchasing advertising space for anti-Islam messages in various metropolitan transit systems. When a metro authority rejects an ad on account of its hateful content, the activists promptly take the authority to court for allegedly violating their free speech rights.

Even if the legal challenge fails, the controversy generates publicity for the cause. Defeat has its benefits, as it can be spun as further evidence of a rigged system. Thus, when the Washington DC metro blocked their effort, leading hate propagandist Pamela Geller accused the authority of cowardice and buckling under the Muslim Brotherhood’s pressure: “This is sharia in America”.

Another Islamophobia initiative that has won considerable public airtime in state legislatures is the campaign to stop Islamic law gaining ground in the US. The manufactured paranoia over sharia has moved more than ten states to enact new statutes or constitutional amendments to insulate themselves from non-American laws (worded broadly since they cannot explicitly discriminate against one religion). Some 20 other states have considered such provisions.there has been no push for sharia from the country’s tiny Muslim minority, and even if there were, American laws need no additional protection against subversion by competing traditions.

According to the American Bar Association and all independent legal scholars, these states are reacting to a non-existent threat: there has been no push for sharia from the country’s tiny Muslim minority, and even if there were, American laws need no additional protection against subversion by competing traditions.

But then that’s not really the point. The anti-sharia campaign’s utility lies in the opportunity to defame an entire faith in state capitol buildings, through ballot measures put to voters, and the news reports it generates.

Lawfare has also been deployed against small Muslim communities trying to partake of their freedom of religion. In 2010, Muslims in Middle Tennessee found their effort to build a mosque obstructed by anti-Muslim activists. In addition to harassment and intimidation, the Muslims were dragged into a court battle. Among other arguments, their opponents said that Muslims were not entitled to religious liberty – as Islam is not really a religion but a violent political ideology.

Predictably, the argument was thrown out; religious equality prevailed. Before long, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was functioning as intended, as a place for prayer and education. But it was not a total defeat for the Islamophobia network: their talking points that belonged in the extreme fringe were dignified by being deliberated in court. The Islamophobia network’s direct links to the White House are beyond doubt.

The Islamophobia network’s direct links to the White House are beyond doubt.

This is the background against which one has to analyse current events. The Islamophobia network’s direct links to the White House are beyond doubt. Foreign policy advisers in the Trump campaign include individuals linked to the aforementioned Center for Security Policy think tank, which was also the source of fabricated statistics cited by Trump to justify his proposed Muslim entry ban.

This line in Trump’s Executive Order protecting the US from foreign terrorist entry fits with the Islamophobia industry’s modus operandi: “The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law.”

Crystallised in this sentence are talking points that anti-Muslim hate merchants have cultivated for years, treating Islam as a non-religion that threatens American life and law through a violent ideology of sharia. These are the dregs that will remain, polluting public discourse, even if the policy is struck down by the courts – which would of course be milked as further proof that the establishment cannot be trusted.

One of the most consequential struggles of our times is the battle for hearts, minds and lives going on between Muslims who prize peace, freedom and inclusiveness, and those who demand obedience to an intolerant absolutism. This is a legitimate debate within Muslim civilisation. But the Islamophobia hate merchants want to persuade Americans that it is instead a clash between civilisations. They want Islam talked about exclusively in the context of terrorism.

Trump’s executive order may not survive judicial scrutiny, but it has already helped skew the global conversation in the Islamophobia industry’s preferred direction.

(Cherian George is the author of Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offense and its Threat to Democracy (MIT Press, 2016). He is an associate professor in the communication school of Hong Kong Baptist University).

This story, first published on openDemocracy, may be read here.

250 persons detained for black flag protest against PM Modi’s participation in Isha Yoga event

February 25, 2017

11 organisations participated in the event, waving black flags and raising slogans against PM Modi and the central government.

Protests by multiple organisations broke out in Coimbatore on Friday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival at 5.30pm, for the unveiling of a 112-foot tall Shiva statue at Coimbatore’s Isha Yoga Centre.

11 organisations including the Forum against Bhavani River Dam, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam, All Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Federation, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Tamil Manila Congress, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and the Social Democratic Party of India, bore black flags and raised slogans against the PM and the central government’s “anti-Tamil Nadu policies”.

The protest attained a high pitch when the protesters tried to block public roads, and 250 people were finally detained.

Speaking at the protest, TPDK General Secretary, Ku Ramakrishnan said that the Isha Yoga Centre’s own actions in regard to wildlife proved the fact of its encroachments. “The fact that they have formed a committee to monitor the movement of wild animals, ahead of the event in which PM Modi is participating, shows that they have encroached onto the habitat of wild animals.

He also accused the central government of being anti-Tamil Nadu, and said that the centre’s bias against Tamil Nadu was shown in its failures to even follow Supreme Court directions on the Cauvery water issue.

Continuous protests have been occurring in Coimbatore since the announcement that PM Modi would be taking part in an event of the Isha Yoga Centre, which is embroiled in a series of legal cases over building and land violations, including a 2013 Madras High Court notice to demolish 44,000 sq ft of buildings. Activists have accused the PM of promoting an organisation accused of rampant environmental violations, and therefore tacitly endorsing its violations.

‘I need an answer from the US govt’: Grieving wife of Indian engineer shot in Kansas speaks up

February 25, 2017

Srinivas Kuchibhotla loved the US and refused to move to another country, says his wife.

A day after an Indian engineer, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was shot and killed in a bar in Kansas in the United States, his wife has spoken up.

Addressing the American media, Sunayana Dumala said, "He did not deserve a death like this. In two weeks, he would've celebrated his 33rd birthday…I don't know what to say. We've read many times in newspapers of some kind of shooting happening everywhere and I was always concerned if we were doing the right thing by staying in the US."

"He always assured me that only good things happen to good people…He was just enjoying a glass of beer with his friends. This guy (suspect) started saying discriminatory things about his (Srinivas') race. He was still minding his own business," she adds.

Sunayana went on to say, "My husband should've left but he was sitting there because he was not doing anything wrong. The guy came back and did what he had to do. He has taken a life. A very lovable soul from everyone. His parents, my parents, our entire family back home is in grief. I don't know what answer I had to give his mother, about why I was not able to save him."

She also told the media that she had considered moving to another country, but Srinivas had refused, because he loved the country.

"I need an answer from the government. What are they going to do to stop hate crimes? Not just for my husband, who lost his battle, but for everyone — for all those people, of any race, who have lost their loved ones." she adds.

Srinivas, (32), was killed and his colleague Alok Madasani, hailing from Warangal town, was injured when Adam W Purinton, a US Navy veteran, shot them at the Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas state, on Wednesday night.

The two engineers were working as aviation programme managers at Garmin, an electronics manufacturer.

Purinton reportedly got into an argument with the victims and hurled racial slurs. He yelled "get out of my country" and "terrorist" before shooting them.

Purinton, according to reports, provoked them into argument asking their presence and work in his country, and how they were better than him.

"Does the colour of a person state that he is a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian? How did the guy decide that? As much as I know my husband, he would want justice to be done, and we need an answer of what they're going to do," Sunayana concluded.

Watch the video there.

Courtesy: The News Minute

How a gurudwara in Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib preserved and promoted Punjabi for centuries

February 25, 2017

Gurudwara Patti Sahib was where Guru Nanak is said to have composed his poetry, elevating Punjabi to a language of literature and learning.

Photographer Iqbal Qaiser

Gurudwara Patti Sahib is relatively small, as far as Sikh places of worship go. The single-storey structure is surrounded by a courtyard, next to which there are several rooms. These were once reserved for pilgrims who would travel from across pre-Partition India to Nankana Sahib to celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru on whom this Pakistani city is named. Most of these rooms have now been taken over by Sikh families who moved to Nankana Sahib over the past decade after fleeing Taliban violence in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

It was at this gurudwara that Giani Pratab, a devotee, decided to teach young children the tenets of Sikhism and its holy book, the Adhi Granth.

Till a few years ago, just a handful of Sikh families lived in Nankana Sahib, said to be the birthplace of Guru Nanak, a majority of them having migrated to India after Partition. Today, the city is home to 200-250 Sikh families.

Giani Pratab had come to Nankana Sahib in the 1960s to pay homage to Guru Nanak. Looking at the condition of its gurudwaras, abandoned since Partition, he decided to stay on and look after them.

This was years before the Pakistan government started renovating Sikh shrines and Sikh families from tribal areas too had not yet migrated to Nankana Sahib. In a Muslim-dominated city he was the only Sikh. Starting from the late 1960s, Sikhs slowly started migrating here from India and the process gathered pace with the Talibanisation of Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Pratab, well-versed in the Adhi Granth, started acquainting children with the Gurmukhi script, giving them access to the sacred poetry of Sikh Gurus. Alongside their school education, the children were given religious learning at this gurudwara. This was essential for the children who, educated in the Pakistani system, would otherwise never have learnt the principles of Gurmukhi and would have been unaware of their religious scriptures.

Years later when Mastan Singh, a prominent member of Nankana Sahib’s Sikh community, established the Guru Nanak High School, the only institute that imparted religious learning alongside secular education to students in the city, the makeshift school at Gurudwara Patti Sahib was shut down.

Preserving Punjabi

Patti, in Punjabi, refers to a wooden board on which children learn to write and this gurudwara has a legacy of education.

As Guru Nanak was from the Bedi clan, who were ancient readers of the Vedas, it was imperative for him to learn Sanskrit. After mastering the ancient Indian language, he was taught Arabic and Persian, the two most politically dominant languages of his time. The place where Nanak was taught these languages, by Maulana Qutab-ud-din that came to be called Gurdwara Patti Sahib.

Almost five centuries after Nanak, young Sikh children, at this very place, were taught the alphabet of Gurmukhi, a script created by Nanak’s disciple and spiritual successor, Guru Angad Dev. The second Sikh Guru had sought to develop a new script to teach the message of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.

It was also at this gurudwara that Nanak the poet was born. Having mastered several languages, Nanak fused Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit words with the vernacular Punjabi for his first composition.

New words, phrases and symbols were added to a language which, before Nanak, was not considered worthy of containing serious philosophical knowledge. In this way, Nanak not only contributed to the spiritual development of Punjab but played an even greater role in its linguistic development.

Punjabi today has acquired the status of a sacred language in institutional Sikhism but when Nanak wrote, it was considered the language of the laypeople, not fit to be used by the educated elite. Literature, history, philosophy and religion were passed on in sacred languages – Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian – not accessible to everyone. This perhaps was one of the most revolutionary steps taken by Nanak.

He took knowledge from the elite, from their scriptures and their languages, and presented it in the vernacular. He democraticised philosophy and restored dignity to a language, a people and a culture that had for centuries been culturally subjugated.

However, years after Sikhism elevated Punjabi to a sacred language, it has once again been relegated to the sidelines in Nanak’s land. Urdu and English are the languages in which formal education is imparted in Pakistan’s Punjab province, while any references to Punjabi poets, literature and culture are obliterated. The common sentiment towards Punjabi is that of derision. It is considered to be a language of curses — for instance, last year, a private school listed Punjabi as an example of the kinds of “foul language” to be banned on its premises. Though the school claimed that this was a misunderstanding and they meant Punjabi curses, the controversy reiterated the disdain towards the language and its fading away in Pakistan.

On February 21, the world celebrated International Mother Language Day with a focus on promoting multilingual education. Now more than ever before, there is a need to revisit Nanak’s legacy and the significance of languages not just in Punjab but across the world, wherever they have been subsumed by purportedly powerful languages.

Haroon Khalid is the author of three books, most recently, Walking with Nanak

This article was first published on Scroll.in

Modi faces protests in Coimbatore, black balloons released in air

February 25, 2017

Nearly 500 members of various outfits were arrested here today when they attempted to stage a demonstration against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to unveil a 112-foot Adiyogi face at the Isha Yoga centre.

Some black balloons were also released into the air by a section of the protesters as Modi was travelling to the venue near here by a helicopter, police said.

The protesters raised slogans against Modi for his alleged failure in protecting farmers’ interests and for not taking action against the Isha Yoga for alleged encroachment of tribal land for construction of the face, police said.

During the protest held in front of a tehsildar office here, they also sought the Centre’s intervene to prevent construction of check dams across river Bhavani by Kerala.

Arond 500 workers of outfits including Dravidar Kazhagam, Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, TMC, MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Revolutionary Youth Front, SDPI, and Federation of Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association, participated in the demonstration, police said adding all were arrested.

Police also arrested 17 workers of a fringe outfit when they attempted to stage a demonstration against Modi’s visit near the airport.

Anger against Ramjas college violence spreads across India, students declare ‘I am not afraid of ABVP’

February 25, 2017

Delhi’s prestigious Ramjas College had turned into a battleground on Wednesday as students of Left-affiliated AISA were thrashed by the RSS-backed ABVP.

The ABVP were joined by some members of Delhi Police, which reports to the Centre’s BJP government, in thrashing the protesting AISA students and members of media present on the campus to cover the event.

The genesis of the clash was an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid, facing sedition charge, and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar on ‘Culture of Protests’ which was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by the ABVP.

Almost a dozen students and four journalists were injured in the clashes. Journalists who were victims of the violence unleashed by the ABVP members included Catch News’s Aditya Menon and Vishakh Unnikrishnan, Heena Kausar of Hindustan Times and Taruni Kumar of The Quint.

ABVP members were, however, kind to their ‘own’ journalists as they reportedly welcomed the arrivals of Zee News’s crew. Aditya said that there was a sense of excitement as soon as the reporter from Zee News arrived at the spot.

Some ABVP workers were heard saying, “Hamaray waalay aa gaye (Our own journalists have arrived now).”

The incident caused a huge public outcry as civil society members and political leaders began to condemn the violence unleashed by the ABVP workers.

Leading the condemnation was Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who termed the incident ‘shameful.’

He tweeted, “Shameful. Look at how Modi police treating women. I warn Modi ji- students se panga mat lo, ye khade ho gaye to apko barbad kar denge.”

On Thursday, an embarrassed Delhi Police had no option but to be seen as taking action against three of its personnel, who were placed under suspension.

Undeterred by public condemnation and widespread outrage, the RSS’s students’ body registered its presence in Khalsa college a day later by forcing the administration to cancel street programme, scheduled there.

Now the anger against the BVP is fast spreading across India with the students’ wing being termed as viciously violent outfit, hellbent on crushing free voice by using the help of friendly police.

Students up and down the country and now changing the display images of their social media pages by holding placards that say, ‘I’m not afraid of ABVP.’

Here are some of the images;

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

‘Hefazat’ protest across Bangladesh: Remove statue of ‘un-Islamic’ Lady Justice from SC premises or else

February 25, 2017

“Remove the Greek idol at once from the Supreme Court premises. Please douse the smouldering fire in the hearts of the Muslims. Otherwise, the fire will soon catch you"

Hefazat-e-Islam activists take part in a protest demanding removal of Greek sculpture from the Supreme Court premises in port city Chittagong on February 24, 2017 Photo: Rabin Chowdhury/Dhaka Tribune

Hundreds of supporters of hardliner Hefazat-e-Islam staged protests on Friday in Dhaka, Chittagong and Narayanganj, calling for the statue of a Greek goddess installed at the Supreme Court to be destroyed or removed.

This is a part of their ongoing protest demanding the removal of the Lady Justice statue from the Supreme Court premises.

Earlier on February 14, they had submitted memorandums to the prime minister and the chief justice. They stated the “idol” was anti-Islamic and threatened to stage demonstrations and bring out processions if their demand went unheeded.

Hefazat-e-Islam activists from the Bangladesh Islamist group chant slogans as they take part in a protest in Narayanganj on February 24, 2017. Hundreds of supporters of the hardliner Bangladesh Islamist group staged protests February 24 calling for the statue of a Greek goddess installed at the Supreme Court to be destroyed or removed. The sculpture of Themis, the blindfolded deity of justice and order, has ruffled feathers in the Muslim-majority nation since it was unveiled late last year on the premises of the country's top court Dhaka Tribune

Hefazat-e-Islam activists in a mass procession in Narayanganj city demanding the removal of the Greek statue from the Supreme Court premises on February 24, 2017 Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Court officials, however, defended the statue as “a symbol of justice.” The image of Greek goddess Themis, depicted with her eyes shielded and holding the scales of justice, represents fairness, law and custom across the world.

The Dhaka procession began from Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.

Hundreds of Hefazat supporters chanted slogans and wielded placards with phrases such as “Demolish the statue on the court premises and replace it with the Qur’an,” states a report from AFP.

“If you do not remove this idol, we will be forced to march to the Supreme Court and remove it ourselves.”

Hefazat’s Central Committee Joint Secretary General Junaid Al Habib said the “idol” had to be removed by any means.

In a country with a 92% Muslim population, people would not tolerate any “idol” in the country’s apex court premises, Habib added.

Conservative Bangladesh has seen increasing tension between hardliners and secularists in recent years: A spate of killings of atheist bloggers, religious minorities and foreigners combined with a series of changes in school textbooks, which are overwhelmingly secular, to reflect Muslim traditions.

According to sources, several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a BNP ally which has been absent from recent street demonstrations, and members of its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir are supportive of the recent radical Islamist moves to remove the Supreme Court statue of Lady Justice, avenge the persecution of Rohingya Muslims and make changes in school textbooks.

“The demands brought up by the Islamist parties are irrational and baseless. There is no reason to think that the sculpture will be removed just because someone demanded that it be so”: Attorney General Mahbubey Alam

Sources also said all paper materials and information for these movements are supplied by Jamaat-Shibir to the other parties, including Hefazat.

Security has been increased in the area around Baitul Mukarram, according to local police official Rafiqul Islam.

He added that at least 1,000 people had joined the rally there and a similar rally had also been held at Chittagong.

‘You too will burn’

Chittagong unit of Hefazat organised their rally at the Anderkillah Shahi Mosque premises.

Hefazat Joint Secretary General Mainuddin Ruhi threatened: “Remove the Greek idol at once from the Supreme Court premises. Please douse the smouldering fire in the hearts of the Muslims. Otherwise, the fire will soon catch you.

“Hefazat believes in systemic movement. We will be compelled to hold another rally at Shapla Chattar if our demand is unheeded.”

Azizul Haque Islamabadi, Hefazat’s organising secretary, said the premier was unaware that the “idol” had been installed on the Supreme Court premises.

“The idol was installed on the advice of a handful of atheists only to put the government in an awkward position,” he said.

He also reminded his audience of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s pledge that the country would run as per the Medina Charter and that installing an “idol” was a direct contradiction of the Medina Charter.

When contacted, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Nayeb-e-Amir Nur Hossain Kashemi told the Dhaka Tribune that they would launch a tougher movement against the government if their demand was not met.

Narayanganj Hefazat to take action

The Narayanganj unit of Hefazat also held a mass rally in front of the city’s DIT Jame Mosque after Jumma prayers on Friday.

At their programme, they threatened that if their demands went unmet, they would rally their forces and go destroy the Lady Justice statue.

Hefazat’s Narayanganj district unit President Mawlana Abdul Awwal said: “You can establish however many idols at the different temples in Bangladesh, but we will not tolerate the presence of an idol in front of the highest court in the country.”

“The protest to remove this idol from the Supreme Court begins here. It begins today, from Narayanganj,” he exclaimed, adding: “If you do not remove this idol, we will be forced to march to the Supreme Court and remove it ourselves.”

Mawlana Abdul Quadir, secretary of Narayanganj unit of Hefazat, spoke at the rally along with Hefazat leaders Ferdausur Rahman, Mufti Harunur Rashid, Ismail Siraji and Anis Ansari.

On Friday, Islami Andolan Bangladesh Chief Rezaul Karim told the Dhaka Tribune that if the sculpture was not removed, the public would “create a river of blood” in protest.

Also Read- AQIS supports Hefazat on SC statue removal

No justice for Lady Justice

Hefazat is hardly the only group to oppose the statue of Lady Justice on the Supreme Court premises.

Other Islamist parties and groups opposing the installation of the statue are Awami Olama League, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and Jamaat-Shibir.

Last year, divided Dhaka Hefazat Committee Convener Nur Hossain Kashemi, Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) leader Abul Hasnat Amini and IOJ Secretary General and Hefazat Central Joint Secretary General Mufti Faizullah met and began working together to unite all Islamist groups.

Recently, Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has also extended support for the ongoing movement of radical Islamists who demand that the “idol” of Lady Justice be removed from the Supreme Court premises.

Yet even with a similar agenda, not all of these radical Islamist groups can see eye to eye.

An al-Qaeda member, Mohammad bin Maslama, accused Hefazat Secretary General Junaid Babunagari of double standards, saying: “You are playing with Islam. Islam is not so insignificant that you will need to submit a memorandum or application to the kufr [government].

“You have cheated the people by signing the fatwa against the mujahids of Islam. You are trying to please the government and Islam at the same time.”

The senior member, however, said they would continue to support Hefazat, disregarding differences, as long as the radical platform was working to continue the spread of Islam.

The flip side reactions

Earlier, civil society members, lawyers and government officials dismissed the demands for the removal of a sculpture installed on the Supreme Court premises, calling it “irrational” and “baseless.”

Former law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that the sculpture was nothing but the symbol of unbiased conscience of justice, honoured by the countries all over the world, including Islamic countries like Iran.

Khushi Kabir, head of rights organisation Nijera Kori, told the Dhaka Tribune: “There are many sculptures in our country which carry the significance of our identity, history and tradition. They have no authority to demand the destruction of these historical and aesthetic sculptures.”

She feared that if this demand was fulfilled, these groups would raise questions about other sculptures such as Oporajeyo Bangla, Raju Bhashkorjo, or Amar Ekushey.

“The demolition of the Lalon sculpture from in front of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport [in 2008] encouraged the religious zealots to make such demands,” she added.

Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee demanded action against the people who threatened the highest court and judiciary system and stated in a statement: “Calling this sculpture an idol is politically motivated.”

The Islamist groups’ demands came at a time when the apex court issued two major verdicts – a banning of the use of scales as an electoral symbol and the erasing of the names of 20 convicted war criminals and anti-liberation people from roads and educational institutions across the country.

Republished with permission from Dhaka Tribune.

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Not afraid of ABVP says Kargil martyr’s daughter on FB, goes viral

The hidden agenda of Trump’s Muslim ban

The Islamophobia industry uses lawfare (courtroom drama) to skew the conversation about Islam. The President has learned from their success

250 persons detained for black flag protest against PM Modi’s participation in Isha Yoga event

11 organisations participated in the event, waving black flags and raising slogans against PM Modi and the central government.

‘I need an answer from the US govt’: Grieving wife of Indian engineer shot in Kansas speaks up

Srinivas Kuchibhotla loved the US and refused to move to another country, says his wife.

How a gurudwara in Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib preserved and promoted Punjabi for centuries

Gurudwara Patti Sahib was where Guru Nanak is said to have composed his poetry, elevating Punjabi to a language of literature and learning.

Preserving Punjabi

Modi faces protests in Coimbatore, black balloons released in air

Anger against Ramjas college violence spreads across India, students declare ‘I am not afraid of ABVP’

‘Hefazat’ protest across Bangladesh: Remove statue of ‘un-Islamic’ Lady Justice from SC premises or else

“Remove the Greek idol at once from the Supreme Court premises. Please douse the smouldering fire in the hearts of the Muslims. Otherwise, the fire will soon catch you"

‘You too will burn’

No justice for Lady Justice

The flip side reactions

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