Muslim men disrupt Hindu religious event claiming it interfered with Namaz, attack and threaten Hindu devotees
Rangpur, Rangpur District, Bangladesh 
23 December, 2024
Case Summary
A viral video from Bangladesh's Rangpur district shows members of the Muslim community confronting Hindu devotees during a religious event at Sitala Mata Mandir. The Muslim men disrupted a Kirtan program, claiming it interfered with their Namaz, and threatened the devotees against organising similar events in the future. Despite the Hindus turning off the sound system for the "Naam Yagna" to avoid disturbances, the men continued to disrupt the proceedings and issued threats, creating tension in the area. In the video, the Hindu men and women can be heard saying that the mike was shut, yet, the members of the Muslim community attacked the devotees and disrupted their religious event. This incident happened amidst the ongoing persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples have been destroyed in the area in a major crackdown on Hindus. Further, the arrest of three Hindu priests has exacerbated the situation with Hindu minorities protesting across Bangladesh seeking justice.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The case has been added to the tracker under two prime categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second category selected here is- Attack on Hindu religious representations and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attack on Temples. 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. The removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, escalated the persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in the predominantly Islamic nation, intensifying what can be described as a silent genocide. Since her ouster, Islamists have carried out unchecked atrocities against Hindus, including physical violence, the destruction of temples and religious symbols, and the systematic displacement of Hindus from their ancestral lands. Over 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses have been recorded following Sheikh Hasina's removal as Prime Minister. Many Hindus have been brutally murdered or injured in these assaults. Amid this, the report indicates that the Muslims in Bangladesh's Rangpur area barged into the Sitala Temple and disrupted a Hindu Kirtan program, claiming it interfered with their Namaz. They attacked and threatened the devotees against organising similar events in the future. Here, it is important to note that the attack on the Hindu devotees was an unprovoked one. The trigger for the attack was the Hindu community doing kirtan inside the temple premises, which coincided with the Muslims reading Namaz at the Idgah nearby. It was the Muslims who entered the temple; disrupted the religious event and created a ruckus. The Hindus can be clearly heard saying that they had switched off the mic, yet the Muslims attacked them. Here, it becomes evident that the initial trigger for the attack was religiously motivated as the Muslims barged into a Hindu religious place and halted the religious event being conducted peacefully inside the Temple premises. Further, it is pertinent to note here that the Hindus had not demanded that the Muslim devotees stop performing Namaz. In fact, it was the Muslims who had tried to impose their religious considerations on the Hindus by attempting to stop them from using a mic, that too within the Temple premises. Since religious intolerance is the primary purpose behind this incident, this case has been added to the hate tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
