Bangladesh has banned publications by the minority Ahmadiyya movement amid demands from Islamic hardliners that it be declared non-Muslim. The Religious Affairs Ministry took the decision late on Thursday, with the ban beginning on Friday. A 5,000-strong rally marched to an Ahmadiyya mosque in the capital Dhaka on Friday to denounce the movement. The Ahmadiyyas, who number 100,000 in Bangladesh, do not believe Mohammed was necessarily the last prophet. The government said it was banning the publication, sale, distribution and preservation of all books and booklets on Islam published by the Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh. A home ministry statement said the ban "was imposed in view of objectionable materials in such publications that hurt or might hurt the sentiments of the majority Muslim population of Bangladesh".
| A few days ago a commentor named Faisal was saying that we need laws and rules and regulations against hurting people's feelings. This is what that sort of thing leads to. |
Hardliners had threatened to start dismantling Ahmadiyya mosques if action were not taken against the group by Friday. The BBC’s Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says the ban is believed by many to be the first step towards declaring the 100,000 Ahmadiyyas - also known as Kadiyanis - non-Muslim.
The East Pakistanis are finally starting to catch up with their western cousins.
The Ahmadiyya movement, which claims 200 million members worldwide, was founded in the 19th century in what is now Pakistan. It vows to revive Islam by stressing non-violence and tolerance. But it also believes there can be prophets after Mohammed, which mainstream Islam regards as blasphemous.
| Therefore they're apostate. They must be killed. |
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