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Holy verses to counter militancy

17 November 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Mallik Akram Hossain, Hong Kong
17 November 2005, 18:00 PM
. PHOTO: AFP
Dismayed at the repeated failure of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies to thwart bomb attacks, the government in desperation has started preaching Islam's teachings to the public to counter Islamist militancy (The Daily Star, 15 Nov, 2005). In the wake of the killing of two judges in Jhalakathi by Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives, the government circulated a compilation of four verses from the Holy Quran and the Hadith to the media offices.

One Quranic verse says he who kills one illegally has actually killed the humanity, the government says, "So, Islam does not permit killing of people by bombing in the name of religion.

Can we humbly ask the government whether crossfire is legal? Is giving shelter to the killers legal? Only holy verses will not work until the government withdraws tacit support for the (Islamic) militants.

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Islam has come to our land not through the Jamaat. Our spiritual leaders preached Islam in this subcontinent not by killing people. If all of us, irrespective of political backgrounds, are not getting united, our future will be at stake.