Significant number of attacks on religious minorities

US religious freedom report notes

There were a ‘significant number of attacks’ on religious minorities in the country in 2016, according to a United States report released yesterday.

“Terrorist organisations claimed responsibility for a significant number of attacks, many of them fatal, against multiple religious minorities. There were at least 24 individuals killed in these attacks including members of the country’s Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and other minority communities, says the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 released by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Terrorist groups also targeted religious converts, Shia, and individuals who engaged in activities deemed atheistic,” it says.

“On July 1, five militants attacked a restaurant in Dhaka, targeting mostly non-Muslims; 24 were killed, including two police officers. Individuals and groups continued to threaten bloggers and other individuals for offending Islam; attackers claiming affiliation with al-Qaida killed one blogger on April 6,” it adds.

The report further says, “There were a significant number of attacks against religious minorities, particularly Hindus. In October hundreds of villagers in the eastern part of the country vandalized more than 50 Hindu family homes and 15 Hindu temples, following a Facebook post believed by some to be offensive to Islam.”

High levels of election-related violence in June resulted in the death of 126 individuals and injuries to 9,000 others, it states, adding, “In one attack in a suburb of Dhaka, the media

reported hundreds of attackers used sticks and bamboo poles to beat a group of Catholics and vandalize their homes and shops, injuring an estimated 60 people.”

The report, however, acknowledges, “The government made some progress in arresting and indicting attackers of bloggers from previous years, although top officials continued to blame writers for offending religious sentiments.”

“According to religious minority groups, the government continued to discriminate against them in property disputes and did not adequately protect them from attacks. The government did not adjudicate any of the more than one million pending restitution cases involving land seized from Hindus declared to be enemies of the state before the country’s independence,” it says.

In meetings with government officials and in public statements, the US ambassador and other embassy representatives spoke out against acts of violence in the name of religion and encouraged the government to uphold the rights of minority religious groups and to foster a climate of diversity and tolerance, says the report.

The US embassy coordinated with other foreign missions to promote religious tolerance, identifying support mechanisms for threatened secular bloggers, and providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslim fleeing Burma, it says.

The report also says, “The constitution designates Islam as the state religion but upholds the principle of secularism. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for equality for all religions. Parliament enacted a new law further regulating groups receiving foreign funding, including religious organizations.”

The government provided guidance to imams throughout the country on some aspects of the content of their sermons in an effort to prevent support of militancy and said it would monitor mosques for provocative messaging,” it says.

 

Significant number of attacks on religious minorities

US religious freedom report notes

There were a significant number of attacks on religious minorities in the country in 2016, according to a United States report released yesterday. Terrorist organisations claimed responsibility for a significant number of attacks, many of them fatal, against multiple religious minorities. There were at least 24 individuals killed in these attacks including members of the countrys Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and other minority communities, says the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 released by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Terrorist groups also targeted religious converts, Shia, and individuals who engaged in activities deemed atheistic, it says. On July 1, five militants attacked a restaurant in Dhaka, targeting mostly non-Muslims; 24 were killed, including two police officers. Individuals and groups continued to threaten bloggers and other individuals for offending Islam; attackers claiming affiliation with al-Qaida killed one blogger on April 6, it adds. The report further says, There were a significant number of attacks against religious minorities, particularly Hindus. In October hundreds of villagers in the eastern part of the country vandalized more than 50 Hindu family homes and 15 Hindu temples, following a Facebook post believed by some to be offensive to Islam. High levels of election-related violence in June resulted in the death of 126 individuals and injuries to 9,000 others, it states, adding, In one attack in a suburb of Dhaka, the media reported hundreds of attackers used sticks and bamboo poles to beat a group of Catholics and vandalize their homes and shops, injuring an estimated 60 people. The report, however, acknowledges, The government made some progress in arresting and indicting attackers of bloggers from previous years, although top officials continued to blame writers for offending religious sentiments. According to religious minority groups, the government continued to discriminate against them in property disputes and did not adequately protect them from attacks. The government did not adjudicate any of the more than one million pending restitution cases involving land seized from Hindus declared to be enemies of the state before the countrys independence, it says. In meetings with government officials and in public statements, the US ambassador and other embassy representatives spoke out against acts of violence in the name of religion and encouraged the government to uphold the rights of minority religious groups and to foster a climate of diversity and tolerance, says the report. The US embassy coordinated with other foreign missions to promote religious tolerance, identifying support mechanisms for threatened secular bloggers, and providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslim fleeing Burma, it says. The report also says, The constitution designates Islam as the state religion but upholds the principle of secularism. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for equality for all religions. Parliament enacted a new law further regulating groups receiving foreign funding, including religious organizations. The government provided guidance to imams throughout the country on some aspects of the content of their sermons in an effort to prevent support of militancy and said it would monitor mosques for provocative messaging, it says.