Religious freedom a must for harmonious co-existence

They said secularism is an essential element of democracy and that religious freedom is a must for harmonious co-existence of people of different faiths.

Autocrat Ershad scrapped 'secularism', one of the main pillars of the constitution, in a bid to destroy the spirit of the liberation war, said Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil.

The situation worsened further when the BNP took the Jamaat as its partner to form the government, he said, adding that under the direct patronisation of the BNP, the anti-liberation forces have started propagating that the AL believes in secularism, which means it wants to promote atheism.

The AL is now planning to approach the people of all strata, particularly in rural areas, in a campaign to explain the true meaning of secularism, said the AL leaders.

The Bangabandhu Parishad organised the discussion titled 'Secularism does not mean atheism' at the Engineers' Institution in the city.

“During the framing of the constitution, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman categorically said that 'secularism does not mean atheism' to avoid any confusion over the issue,” said Dr SA Malek, general secretary of Bangabandhu Parishad, in his keynote speech.

By the term 'secularism', Bangabandhu meant that people of all faiths would enjoy religious freedom and there would be no discrimination with regard to social, economic and political rights, he added.

The practice of secularism is very essential in this country in view of the socio-political and cultural trends of this region, said Dr Malek.

Bangabandhu himself was a devout Muslim but did not hesitate to recognise secularism as one of the four pillars of the constitution, as people of different faiths, cultures and races are living in the country, he added.

AL presidium member Suranjit Sengupta called for the repeal of the fifth and eighth amendments to the constitution and restoration of the constitution of 1972.

AL Joint General Secretary Obaidul Kader observed that the religious fundamentalists in Bangladesh are more powerful than those in Pakistan.

He said the people of the country are still secular in nature; they practice their religion and also respect the religions of others.

Justice KM Sobhan, president of Bangabandhu Parishad, AK Azad Chowdhury, former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Colonel (Retd.) Abu Osman Chowdhury, Prof Harun-ur-Rashid, journalist Harun Habib, cultural activist Ramendu Majumder, former ambassador Mohammad Zamir and Major General (Rtd) KM Shafiullah also spoke.