Amidst the ongoing ‘Hijab row’ in Karnataka which has now spread to other states, Islamists have threatened Hindus living in Bangladesh with dire consequences if Muslim students are not allowed entry into Indian classrooms with Hijab.
On Friday (February 18), radical Muslim mobs gathered in large numbers in Dhaka to protest against the ‘Hijab ban’ in Indian schools, reported Ruptly. They also protested against the rising price of commodities and large scale issuance of wine shop licences.
In a video shared by a Bangladeshi Twitter user, a large group of Muslims could be seen marching on the streets with placards while raising anti-India slogans. “The conspiracy about stopping education of Muslim girls in India should be stopped,” read one placard.
Protest rally at Dhaka 🇧🇩 in solidarity with Indian Muslim girls fighting for their rights of wearing HIJAB at educational institutes. #HijabRow #HijabisOurRight #KarnatakaHijabControversy pic.twitter.com/6vRuupq7UL
— _Shakib__ 🇧🇩 (@Sha_kib_haq) February 18, 2022
The mob, associated with the radical Islamist party Islami Andolan Bangladesh, also raised slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ while they rallied in support of the hijab on the streets of Dhaka. While threatening Hindus living in Bangladesh, an Islamist warned that life would become miserable for Hindu women in the country.
“Not a single Bangladeshi Hindu woman come outside homes and walk on the street with a religious symbol like Shaka, Sindoor…,” he threatened. The Islamist received overwhelming support from the Muslim mob standing in his vicinity.
Today Islami Andolan Bangladesh (Bengali: ইসলামী আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশ) threatened Bangladeshi Hindus. This party leader says ” Not a single Bangladeshi Hindu woman come outside homes and walk on the street with religious symbol like Shaka, Shidur etc at Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh.18/02/22 pic.twitter.com/5X8nQ9l0V9
— Pandit Pradip Chandra (पण्डित प्रदीप चन्द्र) (@PradipChandra7) February 18, 2022
Earlier on February 9 this year, the Islami Chhatra Andolan Bangladesh had staged a protest in Dhaka against the refusal of permission to some female Muslim students to attend classes in hijab in Udupi town of Karnataka.
Today, the Islamic Student Movement Bangladesh staged a protest in the capital Dhaka against the ban on hijab-wearing in Karnataka, India. pic.twitter.com/8EAYGP4hU1
— Nur Muhammad (@NurMuha09816961) February 9, 2022
A similar protest march was conducted by the Muslim women associated with the Bangladeshi Islami Mahila Majlis in Dhaka on February 10. “Wearing Hijab is a religious right of Muslim women,” read a banner carried by the Burqa-clad protestors.
In protest against the harassment of students wearing hijab in India, Mahila Majlis Dhaka Mahanagar organized a human chain in the capital today.#Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/YsHwflsaul
— Ahsan Uddin Gilman (@AhsanGilman) February 10, 2022
Jamaat-e-Islami women in Pakistan extend support to hijabi girls in Karnataka
On February 10, 100s of Pakistani women, who are associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, rallied in support of the ‘right to wear hijab in schools’ of India. They held placards that read, “Hijab is our right”, “Modi Stop Terrorism” and “Why is the world silent on this extremism?”
“We salute the courage and bravery of our Muslim daughter Muskan Khan. She chanted the slogan of ‘Allahu Akbar’. She declared that Muslims would not allow our values to be infringed under any circumstances,” remarked a JeI protestor.
Another niqab-clad female protestor said, “We demand from the government of India, which has a secular constitution to allow Muslim citizens, women and girls, to live according to their culture and values.” One Jamaat-e-Islami agitator drew false equivalences with the Hindu way of life to claim that girls should be allowed to wear hijab in schools.
Besides protests in Karachi, Islamists also burnt the effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lahore city and demanded that Muslim girls be allowed to wear hijab to schools.
