Dhaka: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expressed grave concern over the rise of “dangerous forces” in the country, warning that they pose a “serious threat” to democracy, religious freedom, and cultural diversity, local media reported on Monday.
Addressing a programme organised by the Diploma Engineers Association of Bangladesh in Dhaka, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday said that many of those involved in the July-August protests last year are now “attempting to enforce a new form of cultural dominance in the country.”
He also accused the radical Islamist Party Jamaat-e-Islami of exploiting religious sentiments in the country by trying to spread its founder, Syed Abul Ala Maududi’s ideology in the name of Islam.
The remarks came after Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar recently called for the cancellation of the recruitment of music and dance teachers at government primary schools and instead appointing religious teachers to instil moral values in students.
“Here people pray five times a day, watch dramas on television, listen to music - this is our cultural reality. But when you make everything one-sided, fascism will rise. And the ultimate form of fascism is the development of radical communalism and radical religious politics,” Bangladesh leading Bengali daily ‘Jugantor’ quoted the BNP leader as saying.
Rizvi also questioned the fairness of the recent student union elections of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University, where Jamaat’s student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, won the key posts.
He alleged that a hidden agenda might be at play to wipe out nationalist forces. (IANS)
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