US State Department slates religious fanatics' intolerance in Bangladesh - III

Moinuddin Naser in New York

Societal abuses: There were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief or practice during the period covered by this report. Clashes between religious groups occasionally occurred. Violence directed against religious minority communities continued to result in the loss of lives and property, but the motives, religious animosity, criminal intent, or property disputes, were often unclear.
   Religious minorities were vulnerable due to their relatively limited influence with political elites. Like many citizens, they were often reluctant to seek recourse from a corrupt and ineffective criminal justice system. Police were often ineffective in upholding law and order and were sometimes slow to assist religious minorities. This promotes an atmosphere of impunity for acts of violence against them. However, persons who practised different religions often joined each other's festivals and celebrations such as weddings. Shi'a Muslims practised their religious beliefs without interference from Sunnis.
   Religious minorities were not underrepresented in the private sector. Some Hindus reported that Muslims tended to prefer hiring Hindus for some professional positions, such as doctors, lawyers, teachers and accountants.
   Since 2001, it has been routine government practice to post law enforcement personnel at religious festivals and events, since religious gatherings are usually large and make easy and more attractive targets. Reported incidents included killings, rape, torture, attacks on places of worship, destruction of homes, forced evictions and desecration of items of worship. These claims continued during the period covered by this report; however, many such reports could not be verified independently, and there were incidents of members of the Muslim community attacking each other on holidays as well, due to a perception that some events were un-Islamic. The Government sometimes failed to investigate the crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, who were often local gang leaders. Attacks against the Hindu community at the hand of societal actors continued. According to the Bangladesh Buddhist-Hindu-Christian Unity Council, during the period from January to November 2006 there were a total of 86 killings, 174 attacks on temples, and 80 incidents of assault, rape, theft, looting, or other intimidation.
   According to human rights organisations, the military continued to attempt to evict 120 families - 85 percent of them Hindu - from land in the Mirpur area of Dhaka abutting the military cantonment. A temple is also located on the property. The eviction was being carried out on the basis of a 1961 land purchase agreement by the military. The landowners challenged the land acquisition and eviction in court, and the case is still pending.
   
   Converted Christians
   On June 26, 2007, according to press reports, a group of Muslim villagers attacked recent converts to Christianity in the village of Durbachari. On June 12 several dozen Hindus and Muslims converted to Christianity. In the June 26 incident, a group of Muslims in the village allegedly attacked some of the converts and gave them 24 hours to leave the village. Two or three Christians were injured when they were struck with sticks. Police have stationed a special protective team in the village Durbachari to prevent violence and ensure the converts are able to remain in their homes and work their fields. Police officers have also increased patrols of the village, and by the end of the period covered by this report, the district police superintendent had taken steps to reduce tensions in the area.
   On April 28, 2007, Taher Miah raped a 10-year old Hindu girl from the village of Shibnagar. The family of the child filed a police complaint, and Taher was arrested.
   On April 19, 2007, police arrested Abdul Malek in connection with the gang rape of a Hindu girl in Toktabonia. Reportedly, she left the village with the perpetrator, who promised to help her find employment. Three other suspects in the crime are being sought by police.
   In April 2007, leaders of the Catholic Khasia community in Moulvibazar complained to the local government about harassment by local Forestry Department officials, who oversee the Monchhara Forest where many Khasia live. They stated several forest officials were filing false cases against members of their community, including the head of the local Catholic mission, in order to intimidate them.
   Choilesh Ritchil incident
   The Forestry Department has also been involved in allegations of abuse against minority communities in other parts of the country during the reporting period. On March 18, 2007, Choilesh Ritchil, a Christian Garo from Madhupur, was arrested by local soldiers along with a relative. According to human rights organisations, Ritchil was tortured to death at a local army camp. The relative was released after also being tortured. Ritchil and other local Garos have also been involved in a legal battle with the Forestry Department, which oversees the Madhupur Forest where many Garos live and work. The army denied torturing Ritchil, and claimed he died when he was intoxicated and ran into a tree while fleeing on foot.
   The government arrested several high-level Forestry Department officials and charged them with corruption. Since these arrests, no new charges have been filed against indigenous groups living in the forests, and harassment has been curtailed considerably.
   On October 28, 2006, Bashir Ahmed, a 27-year old Muslim, kidnapped Mary Das, a 12-year old Hindu girl in Chittagong and married her after conversion into Islam. Police failed to recover the girl or arrest Bashir Ahmed even after the girl's father filed a criminal case. Human rights investigators stated Bashir Ahmed habitually teased Mary Das on her way to school and lured her into going with him on the day of the kidnapping. Police filed charges against Bashir Ahmed and his relatives under the Prevention of Repression on Women and Children Act. Bangladeshi law prohibits marriage of women under 18 years of age.
   Reports of harassment and violence against the Christian community were recorded during the reporting period.
   Human rights groups and press reports indicated that vigilantism against women accused of moral transgressions occurred in rural areas, often under a fatwa, and included punishments such as whipping. During 2006 religious leaders issued 39 fatwas, demanding punishments ranging from lashings and other physical assaults to shunning by family and community members.
   There were approximately 100 thousand Ahmadis concentrated in Dhaka and several other locales. While mainstream Muslims rejected some of the Ahmadiyya teachings, the majority supported Ahmadis right to practise without fear or persecution. However, Ahmadis continued to be subject to harassment and violence from those who denounced their teachings.
   Since 2004, anti-Ahmadiyya extremists such as the International Khatme Nabuwat Movement Bangladesh and a splinter group, the Khatme Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh (KNAB), have publicly demanded that the Government pass legislation declaring Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. The Government rejected the ultimatums and successfully kept protesters a safe distance from all Ahmadiyya buildings. According to media reports, State Minister for Religious Affairs, Mosharef Hossain Shajahan, stated "There may be difference of opinion among the followers of a religion, but no one can attack others for such a difference." The Ahmadiyya community complimented the Government for its responsiveness to their concerns and its professional handling of the protests.
   The three small bombs that went off on May 1 in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet left one person in Chittagong injured. Signs left at the scenes of two of the bombings included messages threatening Ahmadis and NGOs. Police immediately increased protection of Ahmaddiyya facilities around the country.
   Local officials forced the cancellation of a regional Ahmadiyya conference in Panchagarh, scheduled for March 30 and 21, 2007, because of unspecified alleged security concerns. On January 11, 2007, police recovered 11 unexploded bombs from an Ahmadiyya graveyard in Brahmanbaria.
   In early March 2007 police helped Ahmadiyya leaders remove an anti-Ahmadiyya signboard from their mosque in Khulna. The signboard read that the building was not a mosque and the Ahmadiyyas were not Muslims. The removal of the signboard was the first such action by police.
   In June 2006, the KNAB again issued demands that the Government declare Ahmadis non-Muslims and on June 23, 2006, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 marchers attempted to seize an Ahmadiyya mosque near Dhaka. In response, police quickly deployed approximately 3 thousand police to prevent violence and prevent the protest from approaching the Ahmadiyya complex. KNAB supporters then attempted to block access to Dhaka-Zia International Airport but were stopped by the police. Some ten to twenty KNAB supporters were injured as a result. Following the KNAB's failure to seize the mosque, the group announced a dawn-to-dusk hartal (strike) and added the demand that Parliament pass a law declaring Muhammad as the last prophet; however, the hartal threat never materialized. A subsequent KNAB attempt to seize to another Ahmadiyya mosque in Dhaka, in October 2006, was also dispersed by police before protestors were able to get near the facilities.
   
   U.S. Government Policy
   The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with officials at all levels of the Government as well as with political party leaders and representatives of religious and minority communities. During the period covered by this report, the Embassy emphasised the importance of free and fair elections in early 2007, with a goal of averting the violence religious minorities experienced in 2001. When the elections were postponed and the state of emergency was declared, the Embassy expressed its concern about the need to respect human rights, including the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. Embassy staff travelled to regions of the country investigating human rights cases, including some involving religious minorities, and met with civil society members, NGOs, local religious leaders, and other citizens to discuss concerns about violence during the next election and to encourage law enforcement to take proactive measures to protect the rights of religious minorities.
   Embassy and visiting U.S. government officials regularly visited members of minority communities to hear their concerns and demonstrate support.
   The Embassy assisted U.S. faith-based relief organisations in guiding paperwork for approval of schools and other projects through government channels. The Government has been receptive to the discussion of such subjects and generally helpful in resolving problems. The Embassy has also acted as an advocate in the Home Ministry for these organisations in resolving problems with visas.
   The Embassy encouraged the Government through the Ministry for Religious Affairs to develop and expand its training programme for Islamic religious leaders. After an initial pilot programme, the U.S. Government provided, among other topics, course work for religious leaders on human rights and gender equality. For the second year in a row, the U.S. Government sponsored the visit of a prominent Muslim cleric from the United States to tour the country and speak to Bangladeshi audiences. He visited the north-western city of Rajshahi and also addressed groups in Dhaka about Quranic interpretations that support religious tolerance and freedom, as well as gender equity.
   During the reporting period, the U.S. Government continued to make religious freedom, especially the problems facing the Ahmadiyya community, a point of discussion in meetings with government officials. Embassy officers continued to visit the Ahmadiyya headquarters in Dhaka to show support for their security and religious freedom.
   The Embassy continued to encourage Jamaat Islami to reiterate publicly its position that it supports tolerance and minority rights in the context of an attack on a religious minority member. Democracy and governance projects supported by the United States included tolerance and minority rights components.
   (Concluded)
   [Released on September 14, 2007]

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Dr. Turin Chowdhury

Our daily lifestyle changes to a great extent during the Ramadan month. So we have to make necessary adjustment for our body to regulate these lifestyle changes. Apart from our food intake habit, most changes that occur during Ramadan are regarding sleep, rest and activity cycle. But on the other hand our work life or work stress remains almost the same in terms of activity and objective. In these circumstances we can take some steps to facilitate our body to cope with these changes smoothly.
   
   Ensure enough sleep
   Getting up during the Seheri breaks our normal sleeping pattern. It is very much true that we have to get up during the Fajar prayers during the non-Ramadan days also, but getting up and preparing Seheri and eating makes our sleep break longer. As a result after Faraz prayers it is difficult to sleep soon. Then again we tend to get up in the morning during the normal hours according to our habit. Thus there remains a shortness of the habitual sleep amount leading to daytime sleepiness during Ramadan.
   There is a habit of staying up late during the Ramadan nights. This also contributes to the lesser amount of sleep. Shortness of sleep can affect one person in his or her ability to perform daily activities smoothly. Just think of the dire consequences of a dozing off during driving in a busy street. Tiredness, dizziness, sleepiness, inability to concentrate is the symptoms associated with sleep problem. This generally tends to occur towards the afternoon. If someone feels like that then he or she should ensure enough sleep by going to bed earlier. Or if possible he or she should arrange for an afternoon nap or siesta. One should avoid drinking much caffeine containing drinks like coffee and tea.
   
   Frequent breaks during work
   During Ramadan if our work needs physical involvements, than we should take frequent break during those activities. This should be specially kept in mind during the first few days of Ramadan; at that time our body does not totally become accustomed to fasting. If possible we should plan our outdoor activities beforehand to avoid excessive outing during the Ramadan months. But lots of time this might not be possible, in that circumstances we should be ensuring enough rest during the leisure period to compensate for the added stress. After few days when our body becomes habituated with the fasting related daily routines, the situation becomes easier.
   
   Avoid physical exertion:
   During our work there may be some situation that we have to undertake physical exertion. In these cases we should be starting slowly and increase the intensity of our physical exertion slow and easy. This should especially be remembered for the later half of the day. So during the Ramadan time we should be careful about planning physical activities and careful about not to start and run our body engine very fast within a short notice.
   
   Diseases
   It is very important to keep the existing chronic diseases under control, such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. Monitoring existing body cholesterol is also important for the persons suffering from hyper-cholesterolemia. Now we already know that a patient is allowed not to fast in Ramadan. But as a matter of fact, types of illness differ in nature; some are not affected by fasting and some are. As for example if a patient needs to take regular insulin for the control of diabetes, then he or she might avoid fasting providing that fasting does have possibility of causing harm. People with chronic diseases should keep their condition in monitoring with the help of their personal physician to keep tracks of the body affect in regard to fasting.
   
   Consulting physician
   Ramadan fasting is a unique physical and spiritual practice requiring a great deal of preparation. If someone is physically unwell or not sure of his or her state of health, it is advisable that that person discusses with personal physician before the fasting commences. It is better to discuss the medical conditions and explore possible changes to medication or any other alternatives that doctors may suggest. Sometimes change of medication dosage and timing will help the person to keep fast. As for example - if a person used to take three pills per day - the physician can switch the drug and prescribe a new one which should be taken two times a day, enabling the person to take medication once during Seheri and once after Iftar.
   To stay healthy during Ramadan, we have to ensure a balanced diet in terms of quantity and quality and a well-managed physical lifestyle. We should ensure enough sleep and rest to keep our body machine comfortable.

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