The recent social media attacks on national cricket player Liton Kumar Das reveal a disturbing level of religious intolerance in the country.
It is a sad commentary on our society today that so many people still think it is acceptable to publicly make hateful comments about someone else’s faith.
Hindus and other minorities, just as much as Muslims, have every right to practice their own religions and display their faith on social media. However, this kind of discrimination in any form is totally unacceptable. It is the sort of overt bigotry has no place in a religiously and ethnically diverse land such as ours, and can never be tolerated.
Bangladesh has always been an accepting nation as far as minorities are concerned, but this sort of heinous disregard for one of our fellow citizen’s religious beliefs — and a famous athlete no less — is perhaps an indication of how we’re headed in the wrong direction.
We are becoming woefully backward when it comes to tolerance of religious and cultural diversity. The intolerance is usually directed towards our minorities, as has been seen from our mistreatment of the various non-Bengali ethnic groups in Bangladesh. The abuse directed at cricketer Liton serves as a reminder that no one, not even a national celebrity, is safe from the pervasive bigotry.
There is an urgent need to shift our collective attitude back to how it once was and promote cultural harmony. For too long the Muslim majority in this country has taken its own freedoms of religious expression for granted, while persecuting minorities for expressing theirs. If we are to promote true equality, we must stand beside Liton, and advocate thinking that allows us to live together in harmony.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
