Bangladesh: Secular - v- Islamist?

[Ray]

Agni Kanyas fire youth revolution in Bangladesh

Meet Srabanti Akhtar Barsha, a 20-year-old Islamia College student who, along with other young women like Lucky, Shaon and Pritilata, has emerged as a symbol of youth revolution that has taken the country by storm. The venue is Dhaka's Shahbag Square. Rechistened Projonmo Chottor, it has spontaneously evolved into ground zero for youths demanding capital punishment for Razakars accused of genocide, rape and crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. They are also calling for a ban on fundamentalist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladeshi politics. Jamaat chief Delwar Hossain Sayedee is one of those convicted by the tribunal probing into the crimes four decades ago.

Initially sparked by blogs, it is the relentless sloganeering by the likes of Barsha and Lucky, christened 'Agni Kanya' or firebrand daughters by the country's media, that has kept the protest's tempo going for over a month now. The girls have been spending 18 hours a day — from 8am till 2 at night — at the square since February 5. But for these feisty women, all aged 20-22, the protests would have fizzled out like so many civil society movements have in the past. The Agni Kanyas have not only mobilized masses, they have ensured the media spotlight remains on Shahbag.

"Wrapping the Bangladeshi national flag as a bandana, the Agni Kanyas make for compelling images on TV. In them, viewers see a reflection of their own angst and aspirations. The future of Bangladesh — as a tolerant secular nation or an Islamist country — hinges on this movement," explained Munni Saha, a TV journalist based in Dhaka.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/18823838.cms

[Ray]

After the 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh, the governments of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh reached a tripartite agreement. One of the despicable results of this was the granting of clemency to some of the worst perpetrators of crimes against humanity in the last millennium. Some Bengali collaborators of the Pakistan forces indulged in mass-murders and rapes that have few parallels in recent memory. They have never faced the judicial process, until now.

The International War Crimes tribunal in Bangladesh has been pursuing some of the biggest leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Razakar, Al-Shams and Al-Badr militia — a process that has stupendous public support. One of the most hated of these characters, Kader Mollah, has been handed a life sentence and not a death sentence. This resulted in a protest assembly started by a bloggers and online activist network that was quickly joined by progressive and left-wing student organisations.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/col...namics_1803256

[Bill Moore]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22418379

Riot police battle Islamists in Dhaka Bangladesh

Up to half a million protesters gathered in the city, where rioters set fire to shops and vehicles as police fought to contain them.

Thousands of activists from Hefajat-e-Islam blocked highways, isolating Dhaka from other parts of the country.

They are calling for those who insult Islam to face the death penalty.

Clearly our stale approach of man hunting individuals is not the way to fight this war. We focus on the trees while the forest consumes us. It is past time for the free world to rise up and stop apologizing to the Islamists.

http://www.sacw.net/article4445.html

Bangladesh has seldom experienced brute violence of this scale. Several parts in downtown Dhaka now resemble a burned-out and looted zone.
Thousands of radical Hefajat-e Islam men, instigated and bolstered by Jamaat-Shibir activists, exploded into an awe-striking force and set fire to hundreds of shops and police outposts as the evening descended.
Dhaka’s night skyline turned orange, as flames leaped from burning establishments after power supply was cut off. The Hefajat men forced into a parking lot at Dilkusha area and torched at least 50 government buses.
The affected areas were rocked with loud explosion of bombs thrown by Hefajat and Jamaat men, while police rained thousands of teargas shells and rubber bullets on the marauding Islamists.

There are multiple issues that offend these clowns, but the major one is they don't have the intellect to challenge what they see as offenses to their perverted interpretation of Islam, so like spoiled children they call for the death of the alleged insulters. It is time to stop tolerating this, they need to be treated like the common criminals they are. Keep the truth coming, if they want to fight then fight them. Don't become another Taliban like state.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2...413485449.html

Hefazat, a newly created radical religious group, is demanding the death penalty for all those who defame Islam.

It said it held the mass protest to push a 13-point list of demands which also include a ban on men and women mixing freely together and the restoration of pledges to Allah in the constitution

.

Critics have branded Hefazat's demands as a charter for turning Bangladesh into a country like Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Women workers including female garment labourers have vented their anger at the group's call to segregate the sexes.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...-jihad/100487/

These European women, who have more sack than most of their male politicians, are calling a spade a spade and taking action based on an incident in Tunisia. Hopefully women will unite globally and address the larger issues and force our politicians to stop apologizing to some of the world's worst oppressors. This should be the beginning of the end for Islamists.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...-jihad/100487/

Femen Stages a 'Topless Jihad'

Earlier today, members of Ukrainian feminist group Femen staged protests across Europe as they called for a "topless jihad." The demonstrations were in support of a young Tunisian activist named Amina Tyler. Last month, Tyler posted naked images of herself online, with the words "I own my body; it's not the source of anyone's honor" written on her bare chest. The head of Tunisia's "Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," reportedly called for Tyler to be stoned to death for her putatively obscene actions, lest they lead to an epidemic. Tyler has since gone quiet, leading some to fear for her safety. Below are images from Femen's protests today in Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Belgium, and France. A warning, nearly every photo depicts nudity, and most contain offensive language. [31 photos]

Note the warning, the last link does have pictures of topless women protesting Islamists. God bless them.

[KingJaja]

This might be totally unrelated, but ideology is dead & the two most successful social movements among the World's urban poor are Conservative Islam & Pentecostalism.

The first makes all the news headlines, while the second does not.

Trust me, I come from Nigeria (land of Boko Haram), the narrative of conservative Islam resonates with the urban poor & there is nothing middle class secularists have that can rival it.

We've seen it in Egypt, Iraq, Syria - virtually anywhere with a large number of poor Muslims. That is the reality - and it is scary.

[Ray]

Bangladesh bans visas for Pakistanis putting trade ties in danger

“Yes, the Dhaka has placed the ban on issuance of its visas to Pakistanis on account of the allegations according to which Pakistan is sending some elements in the disguise of businessmen, journalists, intellectuals who are found in abetting the sentiments of Jihad in Bangladesh,” a senior official at commerce ministry confided to Pakistan Observer.......

The sources said that Bangladesh took this decision just because of the perpetual penetration of some people which are playing unscrupulous role in fomenting the sentiment of Bangladeshi masses for Jihad putting the peace of the country at stake. “They are also involved in objectionable activities which are against the interests of the country,” the official told quoting the concerns of Bangladesh.

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=207014

[davidbfpo]

An article on 'Open Democracy' that offers a different, non-MSM viewpoint on recent events and opens with:

On May 5th an anti-government protest took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, followed by an overnight sit-in. It was met with extreme brutality by the government's security forces. Organised by Hefazat-e-Islam (Protection of Islam), an apolitical group drawn from the independent conservative religious establishment, the rally was a response to, and in some ways mirrored, the Shahbag spectacle that began in February. The latter provoked the ire of the religious establishment when some of its leaders were accused of defaming Islam, the faith of up to 90% of their fellow citizens. Despite a state clamp down on media coverage, and the government’s denial of casualties, evidence of a massacre on May 5th has emerged. The ruthless violence that met the demonstration raises serious concerns for Bangladesh's moderate image and future.

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensec...out-of-control

[Ray]

Bangladesh opposition clean sweeps key city elections

The centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won by big margins in the major cities of Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Barisal, Election Commission spokesman S.M. Asaduzzaman told AFP.......

Analysts said the results reflected a nationwide erosion of support for the ruling Awami League party six months ahead of general elections, while the growing influence of Islamists who backed the BNP after their traditional parties did not contest contributed to the huge margins of victory......

“Many people believe this government is anti-Islamic and they did not like the way government aggressively cracked down on the Islamists in recent months,” Rahman added.

Leading Islamists including the entire leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami have been tried by the country's much criticised war crime court that is probing the atrocities committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence.

http://beta.dawn.com/news/1018630/ba...city-elections