While the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government has sprung into action to control the communal tensions in the country, across the border in West Bengal, hardliner Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, who is the cleric at Furfura Sharif, and the founder Indian Secular Front (ISF) has added fuel to the communal fires. Siddiqui’s latest statement that those who allegedly placed a copy of the Quran at a Durga Puja pandal in Bangladesh should be “beheaded” is one of the most dangerous ones made on the issue.

A video of Siddiqui recently went viral where he says the men who allegedly placed a copy of the Quran near the feet of a deity at a Durga Puja pandal in Bangladesh should be “beheaded”. Siddiqui reportedly made this vile and dangerous statement at a program in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas on Friday and said that it was not right that Muslim youth were even attending Durga Puja, claiming that he remembered that a few years ago, “a Kaaba themed Durga Puja pandal,” was made adding “if Kaaba is liked so much then why don’t you embrace Islam?” He screams that “intollerence to Islam will not be tollerated,” then adding in a mellow tone that “limits had been crossed”. 

As soon as that video went viral on social media, Abbas Siddiqui demanded an inquiry into the matter of the alleged desecration in Bangladesh. According to news reports, his brother Mohammad Nawsad Siddique, ISF’s sole MLA in the West Bengal Assembly, has also written to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeking a probe into the incident, and “stern action against perpetrators of crimes against minorities.”

Siddiqui’s rise a shot in the arm for BJP?

As controversy continues over Siddiqui’s statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that he be arrested. According to India Today, BJP MP Rahul Sinha has appealed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to order the arrest, alleging that Siddiqui “was trying to disturb the communal atmosphere in the state”. Meanwhile Trinamool Congress’s Kunal Ghosh reportedly took a dig at the Left leaders, asking them why they were not condemning Siddiqui’s statement. This is significant because Abbas Siddiqui’s ISF had contested the last election in alliance with the Left Front and Congress, against the TMC.

In March 2021, SabrangIndia had reported that Abbas Siddiqui from Furfura Sharif was being talked about all over the place, especially over the vicious, violent and sexist video against TMC MP Nusrat Sultan, in which he calls her (foul) names, and says that she should be tied to a tree and beaten up. Abbas Siddiqui and his older uncle the Pirzada, Toha Siddiqui, are the two important symbols there. Abbas Siddiqui is known as ‘Bhaijaan” there and the report stated that Abbas Siddiqui’s style was that of an  aggressive “rabble-rouser par excellence,” while Toha was discreet, committed quietly to Trinamool.

However, as time has proven, Abbas Siddiqui’s aggressive style and his way of courting controversy has also kept his party, ISF in the news. On the flip side these hardline aggressions have also cost his allies CPI(M) and the Congress dearly in the state. That leaves the BJP hoping to reap the political benefits that Siddiqui’s conservative, and perhaps even fundamentalist ideas and hate speech, may have in the long run. He has in the past, reported Outlook “wished before ‘Allah’ in the aftermath of the Delhi riots in 2020″, and that, “He should send a virus to India that could kill crores.” Siddiqui has also “lambasted France over the Muhammad caricature row in the aftermath of a school teacher’s beheading,” and said that “those insulting the Prophet were illegitimate born” and called for giving them “proper treatment.” He has reportedly called secular Muslims ‘kafir’, or infidels on occasions. 

According to Outlook, “His uncle Tawha Siddiqui, who was so-long the most-known face from the Furfura Sharif, rubbished Abbas as nothing but a creation of the BJP” around the Assembly elections and had added, “Let a hundred Asaduddin Owaisis or Abbas Siddiquis come. The people of Bengal are in favour of communal harmony and they will not vote for the agents of communal parties. Mamata Banerjee is all set to return to power.” Tawha Siddiqui’s words were prophetic.

Abbas Siddique criticised widely

The Furfura Sharif cleric has been condemned widely for his hate speech, and according to news reports both Congress and CPI(M) have distanced themselves from him. The WBPCC President Adhir Chowdhury called Siddique’s statement deplorable saying, ”Congress had never indulged in communal politics. For us protecting the harmony of the state and country is more important than vote-bank politics.” Left front leader Sujan Chakraborty said, ”Only he can explain why he made such an irresponsible statement. We condemn his utterances about beheading” reported Devidiscourse. TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh had earlier urged CPIM and Congress ”to unequivocally condemn their alliance partner Siddique who has threatened to sever the head…..please say you disapprove such statements.” 

Bangladesh clerics call for peace

In Bangladesh, Abul Kalam Azad Bashar, an Islamic scholar said that it was “absolutely unislamic to attack any place of worship and gave reference of quranic ayat “lakum deenakum waliyadeen, (you follow your religion, let others follow theirs)”. According to a video shared on Facebook, he can be heard saying, “Police fired at the violent mob to stop the violence, those who died in firing are not martyrs, don’t call them Shaheed. How can anyone dying in the process of committing a crime can be called a martyr?” He calls for peace and says police and other government agencies will investigate and “if there has been any disrespect to the scripture… allow the justice to prevail.” 

According to Bashar, as translated by social media users, to “attack minorities and attack their places of worship is a crime in itself and it triggers a reaction in India and innocent minorities in India are also targeted by similar mobs. this is the result of such mindless aggression.” He reportedly refers to teaching of the Holy Quran to explain that “you can not punish any other individual for someone else’s crime” and that any action without understanding and conscience will make you crazy and destroy you.”

Related:

‘Nothing but communal pretense’: Op-ed in Dhaka Tribune

‘Hindu brothers and sisters, don’t be afraid, we are with you’

Bangladesh: Mass strike called on October 23 to protest attacks on minorities

Don’t consider yourselves as minorities: Sheikh Hasina reassures Hindus

Battleground Bengal: Notes from Furfura Sharif and village bylanes

Statements by Muslim religio-political leaders condemned

Indian Muslim groups must show maturity and restraint while protesting Islamophobia 

The post Furfura Sharif cleric Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui adds fuel to communal fire appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Once a religious fundamentalist, always a religious fundamentalist. Hate speech is a habitual offense and an addiction which keeps returning for those who are extremists across the religious spectrum. And in a recurring atmosphere of intolerance and polarisation, this is a vicious cycle waiting to be repeated. 

Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui of the famous and secular bastion of Furfura Sharif has yet again put his foot in his mouth with violent and aggressive hate speech. He has stoked widespread controversy on a delicate and sensitive subject now stalking various districts of Bangladesh, where the communal fault-lines have been sharpened and intensified by fundamentalist forces. 

The Bangladesh government has declared that those who were against the liberation of the country in 1971 are actually behind the violence unleashed against the minority Hindu community during the Durga Puja festival. This clearly points fingers at Islamic fundamentalists who have been pushed to the backfoot by the current Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Abbas Siddiqui has said that the man who placed a copy of the Quran in a Durga Puja pandal in district Comilla should be beheaded. A video doing the rounds shows him using this language. He was apparently addressing a religious gathering in North 24 Pargana. Earlier he had passed derogatory comments against some secular initiatives in Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal. 

Siddiqui had founded the Indian Secular Front (ISF) in alliance with the CPM and Congress in the recently held assembly elections in West Bengal. Even at that time, he was accused of inflammatory speeches and the Left was criticised for aligning with him. The CPM had countered by arguing that the ISF comprises minorities, Adivasis and Dalits, among others, and is essentially secular. The alliance got drubbed. Even a young rabble-rouser with apparent vociferous and loud supporters could not translate this support into votes. Even his own uncle, the senior Pirzada, refused to align with him. 

Earlier, his sexist and abusive speech against a Muslim MP from Trinamool Congress, who is also a famous film actress in West Bengal, was criticised widely. He, however, seemed unrepentant.

As SabrangIndia had reported from the ground in Furfura Sharif during the election campaign, even secular Muslims in his own bastion seemed reluctant to vote for Siddiqui, while, later, they overwhelmingly voted for Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress to defeat the BJP across the state. Despite his rabble-rousing skills, there was transparently lukewarm support for him in Furfura Sharif. Indeed, Muslim women, like most women in Bengal, especially in rural areas and among the economically weaker sections, voted for ‘Didi’. 

Since then, Siddiqui has been lying low while his alliance partners are still rubbing their wounds. The communal flare-up in Bangladesh has given him a chance to spread his wings yet again, it seems, as it has done to various hues of fanatics and fundamentalists across both sides of the border. 

Apparently triggered by inflammatory content on social media and crass propaganda, Durga Puja pandals have been attacked in multiple locations across various districts of Bangladesh, including in Comilla, Chittagong, Noakhali, among other locations. Hajiganj in Chittagong witnessed widespread arson and police opened fire on a violent mob which was attacking a temple. Four persons have reportedly died in the firing, while around seven Hindus have been reportedly killed. 

Even in Dhaka which witnessed over 200 Durga Pujas, the police had to intervene when a crowd gathered to protest the ‘sacrilege’ in Comilla. Five people were arrested. Despite fears of violence, all the immersions of the goddess were conducted peacefully with heavy police protection. 

The Bangladesh government, from day one, has moved with decisive intent and speed. The most elite and special forces were deployed to protect the Durga Puja pandals. Violent extremists were nipped in the bud even as they went on a spree of arson and attacks on the pandals. 

Sheikh Hasina called upon the Hindus to feel totally safe and secure in her secular country and said that the government stands with them and will not tolerate any violent extremism from any quarter. She instructed Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan to take quick and effective action. She also asked the Puja Committees, including the small ones, to inform about their location etc. to the administration and police so that they can be protected from the rowdy elements. She and her home minister have appealed to the people to not believe anything on the social media without fact-checking; they have categorically declared that rumour-mongering on social media and hate speech will be dealt with an iron hand. 

“A thorough investigation is under way on the incidents in Comilla. Nobody will be spared. We are getting a lot of information about the incident. It does not matter which religion they belong to. They will be hunted down and punished,” said Sheikh Hasina. She was addressing worshippers at the historic Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka during the festive days via a virtual speech. 

The police have meanwhile narrowed down on one man who apparently did the act. He is currently on the run. Besides, activists and leaders of the Awami League party have been holding harmony and peace rallies and processions across the country. “Do not fear, Hindu brothers and sisters. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are with you. Sheikh Hasina’s government is a minority-friendly government,” Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader is reported to have said at a rally at the party’s office on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka. “Resist the communal forces on the streets,” he has appealed to his party workers. 

Civil society groups, artists, writers, academics and students too have joined in the peace process while restoring old cultural and social ties of friendship and harmony with the minority community. Bangladesh has an ancient and inherited tradition of celebrating Durga Puja across communities, and this communal violence seems instigated by fundamentalist forces out to create polarisation, especially since they have been effectively marginalised in recent times. 

Bangladesh has around 10 percent Hindus who live as dignified citizens observing their cultural, social and religious beliefs in a largely secular society, which has been strengthened under the Awami League government. There have been no cases of any discrimination against them in the recent past. 

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has appreciated the support of the Bangladesh government and the large majority of the public which has helped in conducting the Durga Puja celebrations peacefully. Its spokesperson said that the Bangladesh government has promptly dealt with the disturbing events. 

The question however remains is: Will the West Bengal government act against the hate spewed by Abbas Siddiqui?

Related:

Furfura Sharif cleric Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui adds fuel to communal fire
Battleground Bengal: Notes from Furfura Sharif and village bylanes

The post Hate Speech: Abbas Siddiqui does it again! appeared first on SabrangIndia.