Bangladesh: Muslim mobs assault Hindus, desecrate temple, Hindu families forced to leave their houses
Khulna Division, Bangladesh 
10 November, 2023
Case Summary
In Shailkupa upazila, located in the Khulna division of Bangladesh, several Hindu families found themselves compelled to abandon their homes and sell them at nominal prices to evade religious persecution from Islamist groups. According to local reports, the Hindus in the Shailkupa upazila have been facing threats of eviction from powerful Islamists for the past one and a half decades. Everyone involved in this organised form of ‘land jihad’ are politicians and political workers. In order to intimidate the Hindu residents of Shailkupa into selling their homes, the Islamists have resorted to threats, assault and even vandalism of Hindu temples. “Last year, they broke the idol of Goddess Kali and discarded the head of the deity. There is an upcoming election in the country. I hope such incidents are not repeated this time…I hope we can live in peace,” a local Hindu woman said.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two distinct categories of the tracker because of the various components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith. The first category relevant in this case is 'Attack on Hindu religious symbols'; within this category, the sub-categories that have been chosen per the case's details are 'Attack on Temples' and 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbol'. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. Similarly, icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The next category relevant in this case is 'Attack not resulting in death'; within this category, the sub-category that has been chosen per the case's details is 'Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area'. There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience threats and violence. The violence is employed with the aim of making the Hindus leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbor animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, violence by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances violence against the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and was directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and violence and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. In this case, the Muslim perpetrators attacked temples to intimidate and harass the Hindus. The act of targeting a Hindu site of worship demonstrates the perpetrator's inherent Hindumisia and disregard for religious traditions. Given that the fundamental motivation behind the crime is contempt for the Hindu religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
