Monthly Archive: April 2013

I really feel uncomfortable saying this but I had to say it. Look at the screenshot below taken from the news portal bdnews24.com. In its latest photos section, bdnews24 shows a picture of the stick procession of the Gonojagoron Moncho, where it says that “Thousands join the stick procession in Dhaka on Tuesday protesting the …

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I ask, what have they done wrong? Hefazat-e-Islam is a Qaumi madrasah based organisation of Islamic scholars based in Chittagong. On March 9, it announced a month’s protest programmes, including a long march towards Dhaka on April 6, to press home its demand to stop the activities of all anti-Islamic bloggers and to bring them …

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The BBC interview of Sheikh Hasina was another bleak eye opener. Let me go straight to the points that mattered: 1. When asked about the demands of Hefazat-e-Islam, especially the demand to introduce the death penalty for blasphemy, Sheikh Hasina directly said that “we don’t have any plan to implement it.” Asked whether she rejected …

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After reaching Farmgate, we met with a group of rally activists and decided to start marching together towards the grand rally at Motijheel due to lack of any transport in light of the blockade announced by Shahbag and enforced by the government. Starting towards Motijheel from Farmgate Going towards Moghbazaar On the way to Shapla …

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The situation in Bangladesh is fast deteriorating . The government has decided it cannot allow the Hefazat-e-Islam march to Dhaka from Chittagong to continue. Although it has fallen short of any official announcement, its actions speak louder than words. Also the red-eyed announcements of various government ministers talking of zero-tolerance towards any violence that might …

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A press conference was held by a new organisation, “Shachetan Hakkani Alem Shamaj” to boycott the 6th April long march by Hefazat-e-Islam, at Jatiya Press Club, on Wednesday. It has been reported that this government supported organisation had been offering money (250 taka per person) to get participants in the conference. The matter came to …

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Hefazat-e-Islam has come to the forefront of discussion in the public sphere as the eve of its long March to Dhaka on the 6th of April draws near. But what are the demands of this movement? On the 9th of March, Hefazat-e-Islam leader Shaykh-ul-Islam Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi put forward a 13 point demand at …

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Something seems fishy. Everybody knows by now that the government has arrested 3 atheist ‘bloggers’ in the name of arresting defamers of Allah, Mohammad (S.A.W) and Islam. However, few in the online realm know of them and the initial lukewarm response that the arrest of these ‘bloggers’ managed to get out from Shahbag speaks a …

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Police are being beaten. Police are being attacked. Police are being forced to fire. Police are being chased. Pro-government and complicit media are usually awash with such heart rendering news of law enforcers being subject to such severe instances of violence. As a citizen of the state, it hurts me. Attacking law enforcers is highly …

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Listen my friends to the story of a human being. A human being facing injustice at the hands of justice. Dr. Farid Uddin Ahmed is an ophthalmologist by profession and a distinguished philanthropist. Resident of Kaderabad Housing Society at Mohammadpur, Dr. Farid was, incidentally, also the ex-ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami at Madaripur. On the 12th of …

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