Islamist attacks on mystic singers spark sharp reaction in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Several eminent Bangladeshi civil society figures on Monday denounced the arrest of a 'baul' singer on charges of "hurting" the public's sentiments and subsequent Islamists attack on fellow mystic minstrels in the past few days.

They claimed that religious strife had increased since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.

"In the period following the July mass uprising (that toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime in 2024), religious extremism has surged," read a statement signed by 250 distinguished citizens.

It said a particular group has emerged as a 'sole agent' of Islam, embarking on a purge across the country.

The "weapon of choice" has consistently been the ruse of blow to the public sentiment and thus creating a "suffocating situation," it read.

"Demolishing more than 200 shrines, declaring countless individuals murtad-kafir-shatim, exhuming and burning body, forcibly cutting the hair of bauls and fakirs on the street, harassing women over movement and attire, and disrupting programmes involving dance, music, theatre, and even sports and fairs -- eradication of people of different opinions and practices appears to be their objective," the noted members of the public said.

The statement, signed mostly by academics who were opposed to the past regime, including economist Professor Anu Mohammad and Prof Salimullah Khan, said it was evident that those entrusted with maintaining law and order were not taking any effective steps to stop "mob terror or vigilantism." "Rather, from the outset they have encouraged it (mob violence) by maintaining silence -- trying to downplay incidents by calling them 'pressure groups', and even detaining victims or attacking survivors in fabricated cases," the statement read.

Rights group Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) in its statement expressed "deep concerns" over the attack on Sarkar's followers and admirers following his arrest.

In another statement, the Bangladesh chapter of Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International said, the developments reflect a worrying rise in hostility toward religious harmony.

Poet and activist Farhad Mazhar, warned that a new form of "religious fascism" was emerging in Bangladesh, as he joined a protest rally in the capital.

"Arresting him (Sarkar) means arresting me. I will not accept this," said Mazhar, a staunch critic of the past Awami League regime.

The poet happens to be the husband of one of advisory council members of interim government chief, Professor Muhammad Yunus.

The detective branch of the police arrested popular 'baul' singer Abul Sarkar from a music show in western Madaripur on charges of "deliberately" provoking riots or violence and hurting religious sentiment.

Sarkar was produced before a court in suburban Manikganj and jailed the same day.

Two days later, Islamists under the banner of Tawhidi Janata, meaning 'people following monotheism', attacked fellow singers, leaving four of them seriously wounded on the northern outskirts of the capital Dhaka, during a street rally for Sarkar's release.

According to academics and connoisseurs of culture, 'bauls', like Lalan Shah, with their syncretic, liberal worldview existed in what is now Bangladesh far longer than modern votaries of "puritan movements" which the Tawhidi Janata represents.

Left-leaning student groups and cultural activists held separate torch marches in Dhaka and suburban Jahangirnagar University on Sunday evening to denounce attacks on singers.

A group of baul singers and artistes on Sunday also staged a demonstration in front of National Press Club in Dhaka, protesting the arrest of Sarkar, fondly called "Moharaj" by admirers.

Since last year, mobs under the banner of Tawhidi Janata have disrupted cultural gatherings and demolished multiple shrines of Muslim Sufi saints, who preached moderate Islam in the region, alongside carrying out attacks on minority and particularly Hindu communities.

"I think the government's position here is problematic. They should be taking action against groups that resort to violence against others. And there is also a question of why such cases are being accepted so easily," lawyer Sara Hossain told The Business Standard (TBS) newspaper.

She said over the past year "so much" was spoken about freedom of expression and questioned "what it means, how it was suppressed, and how it was enforced." Cultural affairs adviser of the interim government, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, effectively a minister, in a Facebook post, said the "Ministry of Home Affairs is trying to handle this 'extremely delicate and sensitive matter' with the utmost responsibility." He, however, added that the repression of 'bauls' was not new and it happened under multiple governments, including the ousted Awami League era. "You will find numerous instances where Bauls were attacked — their hair cut off, their instruments destroyed." Yunus's press secretary Shafiqul Alam called the attack "deplorable," adding, the administration was actively working to identify those involved in the attack.

The TBS newspaper, however, commented "condemnation without action rings hollow — especially when attackers operate publicly and with apparent impunity." The newspaper particularly called Farooki's statement a "rather poor defence for a government, which came on the promises of undoing all ills of Awami League."