AMRITSAR, India -- Hundreds of angry Muslims in southeast Bangladesh
torched at least 10 Buddhist temples and dozens of homes Sunday after
alleging that a Buddhist man insulted Islam on his Facebook page,
authorities said.
The protest gained momentum late Saturday in the area of Cox’s Bazar
about 200 miles from the capital of Dhaka when Muslims, claiming that a
Facebook page showed a burned copy of the Quran, headed to several
Buddhist villages in the area. Although there have been periodic clashes between the majority Muslim
population and Hindus, tension is relatively rare with Buddhists, who
make up less than 1% of Bangladesh’s 150 million people. Authorities said extra security forces were called in to restore order after the mob burned and vandalized more than 100 homes. "We brought the situation under control before dawn and imposed
restrictions on public gatherings," Salim Mohammad Jahangir, Cox's Bazar
district police superintendent, told local media.
Tensions have increased in recent months, however, over a crisis in
neighboring Myanmar involving clashes between the majority Buddhist
population and members of the minority stateless Rohingya Muslim
community, in some ways a mirror image of Sunday’s attacks. Many people in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh also have been angered
recently by a low-budget film called "Innocence of Muslims" that was
made in California and mocks the prophet Muhammad. It has sparked
protests across the Islamic world.
“Generally, there is extra sensitivity at this moment, not just in
Bangladesh, but in other countries,” Hasan said. “We see people taking
advantage of this, and there are copy-cat tendencies. The population as a
whole needs to be far more vigilant in protecting minorities.…We all
need to be a bit more careful and circumspect so we don’t incite
sensitivities.” Bangladesh's English-language Daily Star newspaper reported that the
Buddhist who allegedly posted the offensive image on Facebook mistakenly
tagged it on his Facebook profile and that his account was closed soon
after violence erupted even as police escorted him and his mother to
safety.
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