The Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh

Over the past year and a half, the Ahmadiyya community in Bangladesh has been the target of a politically motivated campaign of hate speech. The sentiments of antipathy towards the religious minority, perceived by mainstream Muslims as falling outside the purview of Islam, has been exploited by radical groups to pave the way towards an Islamic state. As a result, Ahmadis have been victims of acts of intimidation, including attacks on their mosques, destruction of property, social boycotts, forced evictions and murderous assaults. The government of Bangladesh has failed to investigate the abuses perpetrated against the Ahmadis. Instead, it has surrendered to the most radical elements of its four-party coalition by promulgating a ban on Ahmadiyya publications. The persecution of the Ahmadis in every form constitutes a flagrant violation of their freedom of religion both under the Bangladeshi Constitution and international law. The government of Bangladesh has the obligation under international law to ensure that the abuses against Ahmadis are thoroughly investigated and that those responsible, including state officials and members of government, are duly brought to justice.

The Context 

The Ahmadis are a small religious minority of 150,000 members in Bangladesh. While Ahmadis profess to be Muslims, they are rejected by orthodox Muslims who consider their belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as contrary to a fundamental tenet of Islam, namely the finality of the prophet Muhammad. While Ahmadis have long been persecuted in Bangladesh, it is only recently that the government has been directly involved in abridging their religious freedom. In January 2004, after months of demonstrations and agitation throughout the country, the government conceded to anti-Ahmadiyya groups by announcing a ban on Ahmadiyya publications. The government action, alleged to be necessary to prevent further violence against the Ahmadis, seems more likely to be a political strategy to appease its more radical electorate. This tactic has translated into more attacks and acts of intimidation being perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community in an atmosphere of impunity. 

The current composition of government provides the backdrop for understanding the sudden resurrection of the Ahmadiyya issue in Bangladeshi politics. Recent events have rehabilitated in the political arena fundamentalist parties (namely the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islamic Okye Jote) whose alliance with the party in power, the BNP, has given them more influence in the government. While their involvement in some of the attacks targeting the Ahmadiyya community is well documented, the Bangladeshi government has failed to take appropriate measures to bring the culprits to justice. In this context, the age-old Ahmadiyya question appears nothing less than a political strategy used by extremist political parties to gain visibility in Bangladesh and advance an Islamic fundamentalist agenda. Regrettably, the BNP has yielded to the pressure of its most radical elements, trading the religious freedom of Ahmadis for a firmer grip on power. 

The Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh

Ahmadis have long been victims of harassment and acts of intimidation in Bangladesh. However, it is only in recent times that they have been the targets of a mass scale campaign of hate speech by fundamentalist organizations.  The most notorious, the International Majlis-e-Tahaffuze Khatme Nabuwwat, has since 1991 steadily organized mass rallies and demonstrations to pressure the government into declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims. Most of these rallies and demonstrations have catalyzed attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques all over the country.  

In 2003, anti-Ahmadiyya agitation reached dramatic proportions when a group of local Islamic activists in Uttar Bhabanipur, Kushtia District, excommunicated seventeen Ahmadi families and held them illegally under house arrest. During 25 days, these families were prohibited from harvesting crops, selling or buying goods and even sending their children to school. The situation was resolved only after the Home Minister intervened.  Despite the fact that the instigator of this social boycott has been positively identified, no action has been taken against him or against those who applied the edict.  

Just a few days later, Ahmadis were again plunged in horror and humiliation when a group of hardliners murdered a local imam in Jessore District. Shah Alam was savagely beaten by a group of extremists during a planned attack on an Ahmadi mosque. It was reported that the incident occurred just after a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader incited his followers to attack the Ahmadis.  Although several witnesses have identified the perpetrators of the attack, no one has been apprehended by the police. Further, despite evidence of its involvement, the government has not held the Jamaat-e-Islami responsible for the attack.  

In November 2003, anti-Ahmadiyya agitation reached a second peak after Sunni extremists launched a virulent campaign in Dhaka. Anti-Ahmadiyya groups staged mass demonstrations in Dhaka, presenting to the government a series of ultimatums for declaring Ahmadis non-Mulsims and evicting Ahmadis from the Nakhalpara mosque in Dhaka. Although the State Minister for Religious Affairs rejected the demand on 8 December, no one was arrested in relation to the aforesaid events.   

On 8 January 2004, succumbing to pressure, the Government of Bangladesh passed a ban on all publications of the Ahmadiyya community. Unfortunately, this concession did not calm Islamic hardliners who continued to harass Ahmadis throughout the country. Even if the ban has no legal force due to the failure of government to notify it in the Official Gazette, it was reported that Ahmadiyya publications were confiscated in some mosques around the country with the participation of local officials. In December 2004, at the request of human rights organizations, the High Court of Bangladesh issued an interim order suspending the ban. The full hearing is expected in 2005. It is unclear whether the suspension will remain in force should the government publish the ban in the Official Gazette. 

Legal Obligations of Bangladesh  

The acts of violence perpetrated against the Ahmadiyya community are in flagrant violation of the guarantees enshrined in the Bangladeshi Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (which Bangladesh ratified in September 2000). Even if both documents allow states to impose restrictions on the manifestation of religion and the exchange of information, these restrictions must be prescribed by law and necessary to protect a legitimate interest, such as public order and morality.  These restrictions must further be directly related and proportionate to the specific ends for which they were prescribed and cannot be imposed for discriminatory purposes. The ban on Ahmadiyya publications cannot be said to be directly related or proportionate to the objective of protecting the Ahmadis. If the ban serves any purpose, it is to appease the more fundamentalist elements of government and keep the alliance intact. Far from being a measure necessary in the interest of public order or morality, the ban gives further munition to anti-Ahmadiyya groups in their political campaign for an Islamic state. 

Minority Rights at Stake 

Born a secular nation, Bangladesh has long resisted the pressure for an Islamic state. Over the years, however, conceding to its more fundamentalist elements, it has gradually shifted towards a more intolerant society, sacrificing in the wake some of its founding principles. It is important that the international community does not underestimate the political significance of the current anti-Ahmadiyya agitation in Bangladesh and exhorts its government to reaffirm its allegiance to the rule of law and the supremacy of fundamental rights and freedoms. At stake is not only the freedom of religion of Ahmadis but also the rights of all other religious minorities who live in Bangladesh.  The international community should therefore not hesitate to remind the government of Bangladesh of its obligation to investigate thoroughly the human rights abuses committed against the Ahmadis and lift the ban imposed on their publications.

 Human Rights Features