Muslim mob demands deliberate opposition and insult to Hindu faith by ordering all public restaurants to serve beef, says Hindu beliefs must be rejected

Case Summary
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Muslim Consumer Rights Council staged a rally in the Bangshal area, calling for a boycott of restaurants that do not serve beef, asserting that beef dishes must be mandatory on all menus. Protestors accused these establishments of being anti-Islamic and aligning with Hindutva ideologies, demanding their closure if they failed to comply. The rally took place outside Hotel Al Razzaque in Old Dhaka, where demonstrators chanted slogans such as, “No-beef restaurants are agents of India and Hindutva. Boycott such establishments” and “Cow dung or beef? Beef! Beef!” Muhammad Arif Al Khabir, the convener of the council, stated that consuming beef represents a declaration of faith and a rejection of Hindu beliefs, framing the demand as integral to Islamic identity. Muhammad Arif Al Khabir argued that eating camel meat is not obligatory, but it became a duty for Muslims to eat camel because they had to establish their allegiance to Islam over Jewish dietary rules. In a similar way, eating beef is not mandatory but it is necessary for Muslims to show their allegiance to Islam over Hindu beliefs. He quoted verse 208 from Surah Al-Baqarah of the Quran, explaining, “Although eating camel meat is not obligatory, it became essential for a Muslim due to its connection to Jewish dietary laws. Similarly, in the context of Hindu beliefs, consuming beef becomes a declaration of faith for Muslims.” Arif Al Khabir argued that beef consumption, while not explicitly mandatory in Islam, symbolically reinforces allegiance to Islamic principles, just as eating camel meat historically countered Jewish dietary restrictions. Arif criticised Western nations for excluding halal options in their restaurants, accusing them of alienating Muslims and promoting a double standard. He claimed that Jews and Christians in the West deliberately avoid accommodating halal food to marginalise Muslim communities, forcing Muslims to establish separate halal eateries. The council demanded that all restaurants in Bangladesh include at least one beef dish to demonstrate solidarity with the Muslim community. Arif further said that restaurants omitting beef from their menus were influenced by India and Hindutva ideologies, branding them as adversaries of Islamic principles and calling for a nationwide boycott of such establishments.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to two primary categories. The first primary category is 'hate speech against Hindus' under the sub-category 'anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith'. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The second primary category this case is being added to is 'Attack on Hindu religious representations' under the sub-category 'Defiling religious customs'. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, the Muslim mob demanded that all restaurants serve cow meat, specifically to prove their opposition to Hindus and their professed faith. The cow is a revered symbol of Hinduism and Hindus worship the cow. The cow has been used for centuries by Islamic invaders and Muslim extremists to undermine the faith of Hindus. Historically, there have been hundreds of documented instances where Muslim extremists slaughtered cows the denigrate Hinduism and persecute Hindus, fed cow meat to Hindus in a bid to convert them to Islam and throw cow meat inside Temples and sacred spaces of Hindus to desecrate their place of worship, owing to scriptural and doctrinal religious hostility towards Hindus. In this case too, the Muslim mob specifically asked for restaurants to serve at least one beef dish in a bid to oppose Hindus and their faith. The Muslim extremist admits that while cow eating is not a religious duty of Muslims, opposing Hindus is, and eating cow meat is a way to oppose Hindus. It is therefore evident that the aim of this action was exclusively to desecrate the faith of Hindus and to defile religious customs of the Hindus. Bangladesh is witnessing an ongoing ethnic cleansing of Hindus. On August 5th 2024, Bangladesh plunged into chaos after a successful coup ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, forcing her to flee the country as an enraged mob approached her residence. In the wake of the coup, Islamists exploited the unrest to launch violent attacks on the Hindu community, leading to numerous deaths, rapes, and the destruction of Hindu homes, shops, and temples, many of which were set on fire. Since the 5th, Hindus have been raped, murdered, lynched, asked to pay Jiziya and a campaign of violence has been unleashed to ethnically cleanse Hindus. This call by the Muslim mob is a part of the ongoing ethnic cleansing.

Case Status
Unknown

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown