Hindu religious organisation falsely vilified as "Hindutva extremists" and "terrorists" by Muslims in Bangladesh
Bangladesh 
23 October, 2025
Case Summary
In Bangladesh, malicious anti-Hindu campaigns were propagated by Muslim extremists to falsely vilify the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation that is devoted to the worship of Lord Krishna. The accused labelled ISKCON as a “Hindutva extremist group” and called for its ban. According to media reports, this incident occurred after Friday prayers on 24th October 2025, when hardline Islamic groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam (an Islamist coalition mainly comprising madrassa-based groups) and Intifada Bangladesh (a radical Islamist organisation) held large-scale protests in Dhaka and Chattogram. These groups attacked ISKCON, branding it an “extremist Hindutva group." Intifada Bangladesh staged a protest outside Dhaka's Baitul Mukarram Mosque, presenting six demands to the government, with the foremost being the banning and investigation of ISKCON. This demand received support from Jasimuddin Rahmani, chief of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). Rahmani, released by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, falsely described ISKCON as an “extremist Jewish organisation” despite it being a global Hindu spiritual movement. He called the ban on ISKCON the “need of the hour.” Even Intifada member Ahmad Rafique accused the government of shielding attackers following the abduction and brutal beating of an imam who had spoken against ISKCON. Hefazat-e-Islam also held a rally in Chattogram, demanding ISKCON be declared a “terrorist organisation.” The glaring irony is that these violent groups, notorious for disturbing national peace, were demanding a ban on ISKCON under the pretext of maintaining harmony. Contrary to the claims of Islamic organisations, ISKCON has been serving selflessly in Bangladesh since the 1970s. During the 1971 Liberation War and subsequent recurring floods, ISKCON’s “Food for Life” programme provided meals to millions of people. ISKCON runs schools, orphanages, and care homes for the elderly, regardless of religion, and also organises free medical camps. The recent attacks and demands for a ban on ISKCON reveal the growing influence of Islamist groups over the country’s political landscape. This case serves as a stark reminder of the growing Muslim extremism and anti-Hindu sentiments in Bangladesh, which have only increased manifold since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. After her violent ouster, Bangladesh plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists took 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 various parts of the Islamic country in a major crackdown on Hindus. Reports have exposed how Muslim students forced around 60 Hindu teachers, professors, and government officials to resign. Exiled Bangladeshi activist Asad Noor has also revealed that the minority Hindu community is now being coerced into joining ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’. Hindu religious events have been repeatedly targeted. On 6th September, a procession carrying Lord Ganesha’s idol was attacked in Chittagong. Ahead of Durga Puja, multiple incidents of idol vandalism occurred, including attacks in Mymensingh, Pabna, Rajshahi, Kishoreganj, and Dhaka. On 29th November, a violent Muslim mob attacked three temples in Patharghata, Chittagong, immediately after Jumma Namaz. The crackdown on Hindu voices has also escalated. On 30th November, Hindu journalist Munni Saha was arrested in Dhaka. Muslim mob attacks have increased in Bangladesh, for example, on 22nd May 2025, a Muslim mob carried out arson attacks selectively on Hindu homes in Dahar Mashihati village in Abhaynagar upazila in Jessore district of Bangladesh.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is- 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. In this case, the false vilification of ISKCON as a militant or extremist Hindu organisation is a deliberate and malicious tactic employed by Muslim extremists in Bangladesh to defame and target the Hindu community. ISKCON is a globally recognised Hindu religious organisation with significant influence in Hindu society and has thousands of followers. It is not a militant or terrorist group but a spiritual organisation dedicated to preserving Hindu culture and faith through devotional worship and humanitarian service. ISKCON plays a crucial role in protecting and sustaining Hinduism in Bangladesh, where it remains the strongest and oldest Hindu religious presence amidst a country dominated by rising Islamic extremism. Following the political exile of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, persecution of Hindus sharply increased, including temple desecrations, targeted killings, rapes, and arson attacks. In this hostile environment, ISKCON stands as one of the few organisations actively keeping Hinduism alive and vibrant in Bangladesh. The fact that Muslim extremists seek to eradicate one of the only organisations preserving Hinduism exposes their deep-seated animosity towards the Hindu faith and community, constituting clear religiously motivated hate speech. The violent rhetoric against ISKCON, falsely framed as combating “Hindutva extremism,” is a euphemism crafted to mask the systemic targeting of Hindus. Hindutva, far from the destructive label slandered by extremists, is essentially a unifying ideology developed to preserve Hindu culture and identity amidst assaults from Islamic and Christian extremists. It serves as a vital unifying edifice for Hindus, not a militant platform. Misrepresenting Hindutva is a semantic tool to rationalise violence against Hindus simply because the victims embrace this ideology. This is not the first time ISKCON has been targeted. The Hinduphobia Tracker has documented several previous instances of ISKCON being falsely vilified and targeted. For example, in October 2025, a Muslim extremist in Bangladesh incited violence to destroy Hindu temples and idols, including ISKCON, in a viral video. Similarly, in November 2024, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, an ISKCON monk and spokesperson for Bangladesh’s Sanatan Jagaran Manch—a prominent Hindu rights organisation—was arrested on fabricated sedition charges for speaking out against violence targeting minorities. Following this, in December 2024, seventy Hindu lawyers faced false lawsuits designed to obstruct their defence of Chinmoy Krishna Das. In another incident, in February 2025, a petrol station in Madaripur district, Bangladesh, displayed a board with offensive language targeting ISKCON that read “F*ck ISKCON.” Attacks on ISKCON are essentially attacks on the Hindu community itself, representing religiously motivated hate speech and violence aimed at erasing Hindu faith and cultural identity in Bangladesh. ISKCON continues to provide vital spiritual, cultural, and social support to the Hindu minority. The intensifying persecution of ISKCON mirrors the broader assault on Hindus under escalating Islamist extremism in the country. Consequently, this case has been added to the Hate Crime Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
