By Admin 
Major international human rights organization has strongly condemned the attack on devotees and vandalism of a dargah in Bangladesh. The organization is worried that not being able to stop such incidents and punishing the culprits will embolden extremist groups.
France-based Justice Makers Bangladesh (JMBF) said the attack on devotees at the shrine of Hazrat Shah Ali Baghdadi in Dhaka and the violent attack on people attending a peaceful weekly religious gathering on the night of May 14 are a serious blow to religious freedom, cultural heritage and the country’s age-old Sufi traditions.
Quoting eyewitnesses, the human rights organization said that armed attackers belonging to Bangladesh’s radical Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Shibir entered the Dargah premises with sticks and carried out a planned attack on innocent devotees, causing chaos and injuring many people. The organization also said that despite the presence of police outside the dargah, law and order officials allegedly failed to protect the citizens.
JMBF quoted an injured person as saying, ‘Some people came with sticks… they created complete anarchy. People started running here and there. I was trying to leave through the main gate when he hit me on the head. Citing followers of the Dargah, the organization said that the attack is part of a series of attacks and vandalism on Dargahs and Sufi sites in Bangladesh from August 5, 2024.
Shahnoor Islam, founding president of JMBF, said the incident was not an isolated incident but a series of worrying and systematic violence targeting religious minorities and Sufi sites. There are reports of attacks on more than 100 dargahs during this period.
The organization expressed concern that charges against any culprit involved in these incidents have not been proven, which makes it clear that they will not be punished. JMBF has appealed to the Bangladesh government to immediately, impartial and transparently investigate the attack on Shah Ali Baghdadi Dargah and identify all the culprits and arrest and punish them. The organization has also demanded to ensure security of all dargahs, religious institutions and devotees across the country and take strict action against increasing religious extremism and political violence.