Islami Andolan Bangladesh has condemned the incident in Rajbari’s Goalanda, where a shrine was vandalised and a body exhumed and burnt, terming it “barbarism stemming from ignorance” and asserting that it has no link to Islam or Islamic politics.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the party’s Joint Secretary General and spokesperson Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman said those involved must be brought to justice. “What happened is sheer brutality rooted in ignorance. It has nothing to do with Islam, Islamic politics, or Islamic ideology,” he said.
He alleged that the local administration’s role appeared “mysterious”. “The administration was repeatedly informed about public unrest over the issue, yet they took no effective action. Their negligence and irresponsibility paved the way for such an incident,” he added, calling for a probe into the officials’ role.
The Islami Andolan spokesperson emphasised that Islam spread in this region through love, knowledge, and social reform, not through coercion. “Islam teaches respect even for the dead bodies of non-believers. To exhume and burn a corpse in the name of Islam is unimaginable in Islamic thought,” he said.
Maulana Ataur Rahman argued that both groups, those who desecrated the grave and those who turned shrines into centres of un-Islamic practices, are acting out of ignorance. “This confrontation between two reckless groups has led to such barbarity, which has no connection with the character or practice of Islam in Bangladesh,” he said.
Calling for institutional measures to prevent such incidents, he added, “Since Bangladesh is a country of religious-minded people, an acceptable system must be established to resolve religious disputes. Alongside punishing the perpetrators, such a mechanism is essential to prevent recurrence.”
