While Bangladesh is grappling with a ravaging flood, a video went viral on Thursday (August 30), wherein a Maulvi is seen cutting off a sacred thread from a child’s neck in exchange for some relief material. The video is reportedly from Noakhali in Bangladesh.
In the viral video, a small boy is seen standing in knee-deep water when a Maulvi in a skull cap, accompanied by two other young men, stops him and displays a bag of relief materials. The Maulvi leans forward and cuts off the sacred thread the boy was wearing around his neck, while another youth hands the boy a plastic bag. As the boy clutches the bag with his left hand, he asks the Maulvi to return his Holy thread. One of the young men is then heard saying that it would bring bad luck and a curse if the boy took it back.
Though the audio in the video is somewhat unclear, one of the youths can be heard saying in Bengali, “taale tumaake shraap debe,” which roughly translates to “you will be cursed otherwise.” Another youth warns the boy that he will not receive the relief materials again if he asks for the thread.
The two youths then ask the boy to look into the camera and wave goodbye. He tells that boy in Bengali, “Jaao, jaao, khishi toh, tata dao”, which roughly translates to “go, go, hope you are happy, say goodby”.
#Bangladesh
— 🇮🇳Jitendra pratap singh🇮🇳 (@jpsin1) August 30, 2024
See how the new government of Bangladesh is destroying Hindus in Bangladesh
A Hindu child is trapped in floods in Noakhali, Bangladesh and is hungry for several days.
Before helping the Hindu child, a Maulvi of Jamaat-e-Islami first recites Kalma in his ear and… pic.twitter.com/xTPQDxrx60
In this video, it is unclear whether the boy is a Hindu or a Muslim, nevertheless, the Maulvi is seen removing the sacred thread from the child’s neck in exchange for relief material. Even if, for once, we consider that the little boy was a Muslim, we must understand that such things are symbolic of increasing radicalisation as a Puritan form of Islam insists on not following such practices. While apologists could claim it’s simply a maulvi doing his job, these are symptomatic of how Jamaat ideology is growing rapidly.
In fact, even attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated in recent years, driven by Salafists and other jihadist sects that view such practices as haraam (forbidden) within their interpretation of Islam. These extremist groups consider worship at dargahs (shrines), the use of tabeez (amulets), kalawa (sacred threads), and other Sufi rituals as heretical behaviours, which they believe deviate from the “pure” teachings of Islam.
The ideological opposition of Salafists and jihadists to Sufism has led to violent attacks on Sufi shrines, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These attacks are often brutal, involving bombings, shootings, and other forms of terrorism aimed at destroying the shrines and instilling fear in their devotees. The attackers view these acts as a religious duty to eliminate what they see as heretical practices.
How Islamists have been preying on innocent Hindu lives, homes and places of worship in Bangladesh
The violence in Bangladesh, which began on August 5, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina has been unrelenting, especially against the Hindu minority of the Islamic nation. There have been several instances reported of Hindus coming under attack by Islamist mobs. Hindu houses have been burnt, some have been lynched and the unabated violence has engulfed several Hindu Temples in the country.
On 9th August, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad released a report detailing 205 instances of attacks on minority community members especially Hindus in the country’s 52 districts following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure.
Hindu temples in Natore, Dhamrai in Dhaka, Kalapara in Patuakhali, Shariatpur, and Faridpur, as well as houses in Jessore, Noakhali, Meherpur, Chandpur, and Khulna have been targeted. Dinajpur saw the vandalisation of 40 Hindu shops.
Several Hindu women in Bangladesh have come forward to share their tales of horror at the hands of the rampaging Islamist mob. In a video shared by Hindu Voice on August 8, several Hindu women living in different areas of the Pirojpur district in Bangladesh can be heard narrating their plight.
Earlier, OpIndia spoke to a few Bangladeshi Hindus who told us that the dire situation is only getting worse for Hindus. Speaking to OpIndia, the Hindus in Bangladesh who spoke to OpIndia said that Jamaat-e-Islami members have been making a list of Hindu businesses and Hindu houses since the fall of Sheikh Hasina.
The Hindus, on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns also said that many are unable to move to safer locations because the Jamaat-e-Islami groups and other Islamists are roaming the streets with guns, making it impossible for them to move to safer locations. Several videos and photos of attacks on Hindus surfaced on social media.
Note: An earlier version of this report identified the boy as Hindu given the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Hindus underway in Bangladesh. However, it is not clear whether the boy is a Hindu or a Muslim. It is, however, true that the sacred thread was cut off in exchange for relief material. The report has been updated to reflect the change.
