UPDATE: Bangladesh: The position of the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) community continues to deteriorate
The position of the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) community in Bangladesh continues to deteriorate rapidly, raising grave concerns for their safety.
We therefore urge you to respond with increased pressure on the Bangladesh Government regarding their duty to protect minority communities.
In December 2003 we circulated an alert for action regarding attacks on the community. The Bangladesh Government has now banned all Ahmediya (Qadiani) publications and the level of persecution - both by the government and by non-state groups - is increasingly daily.
As WLUML has seen in Pakistan and other contexts, persecution of Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) groups and other minorities has been frequently used by governments as a means of diverting attention away from real political and economic problems facing the people. Extreme Right politico-religious groups have also raised questions regarding the status of the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) community as a means of monopolising local politics and of pressurising governments. The violence that has followed such develops has terrorised all peace-loving citizens - minority as well as majority - in these countries.
In December 2003 we circulated an alert for action regarding attacks on the community. The Bangladesh Government has now banned all Ahmediya (Qadiani) publications and the level of persecution - both by the government and by non-state groups - is increasingly daily.
As WLUML has seen in Pakistan and other contexts, persecution of Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) groups and other minorities has been frequently used by governments as a means of diverting attention away from real political and economic problems facing the people. Extreme Right politico-religious groups have also raised questions regarding the status of the Ahmadiyya (Qadiani) community as a means of monopolising local politics and of pressurising governments. The violence that has followed such develops has terrorised all peace-loving citizens - minority as well as majority - in these countries.
For more information, please read the original alert issued in December 2003.
Also see the 13 January 2004 press release by Drishtipat on the banning of books by the Ahmadiyya movement.
Also see the 13 January 2004 press release by Drishtipat on the banning of books by the Ahmadiyya movement.
Source:
ASK
Submitted on Wed, 01/14/2004 - 00:00
Related News
- Mauritania broadens death penalty for blasphemy
- UN Special Rapporteur in Field of Cultural Rights on the Paris Attacks: “Crime against humanity, crime against culture”
- What ISIS has done to the lives of women
- Climate Change is Forcing Bangladeshi Girls into Child Marriage
- Afghan clerics uneasy as civil rights movement gains momentum
Related Actions
- Joint Statement | To the Human Rights Council: Let’s Protect Women in Sudan
- STATEMENT--Denounce, Protect, Act: Our Collective Duties against Rape and Sexual Assault in Senegal
- URGENT APPEAL ON BEHALF OF EGYPTIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
- Raise Your Voice Against the 'Protection of the Family' Resolution
- Drop the terrorism charges against Silan Ozcelik
Relevant Resources
- Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms
- Special Issue: Gender and Fundamentalism
- Position Statement on Apostasy and Blasphemy
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, Human Rights Council 28th Session
- Only Until the Rice is Cooked? The Domestic Violence Act, Familial Ideology, and Cultural Narratives in Sri Lanka