Bangladesh University of Professionals

Submitted by: Samiha Tasnim Promi

Roll: 2022151045
Section: A
Department of Finance and Banking, Batch-5
Bangladesh University of Professionals

Submitted to:
Dr. Mohammad Mozahidul Islam
Professor
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance and Banking
Bangladesh University of Professionals
 CT-2
Bangladesh- Dawn of Islamism
The documentary tells about the practice and effect of Islam in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a
secular country and secularism has been one of the monumental aspects since its birth. This
documentary shows the perspectives of people from different paths of life about Islam and
Bangladesh. There were several proclaims in the documentary about the rise of Islamic
terrorism in Bangladesh. The murder of Avijit Rai along with several other bloggers in 2015, the
riot between the Hindus and Muslims of Aladinagar village, the call of execution of a minister by
Imam Mufti Fayezullah have been stated as the issues and have been directly linked to Islam,
whereas these are merely political and due to the extremist mentality in people.

Islam has always been the religion of peace. The despiteful acts mentioned in this documentary
are never preached by Islam. Some people have taken it to an extremist level. They have lit
houses on fire and murdered people in the name of religion. It’s not the religion, the problem is
among the people. Any murderer or extremist of any kind can’t be a sound- minded human
being. They have made Islam look like an issue of religious fundamentalism.

The documentary starts with the views of a female student using a pseudonym Ayesha who is a
self- proclaimed atheist but doesn’t share such views with her family. She is a local blogger who
doesn’t even want to reveal her face because she understands the danger she faces in this
society which doesn’t accept atheists. She thinks hiding her real identity is the safest here
otherwise it isn’t wise to stay here. She also thinks giving religious education is a type of
brainwashing in this country which is like a virus and also thinks right education is the type of
vaccine that can stop this virus. What is right education according to her? Shouldn’t children be
enlightened about their religion? It is not the religion that’s causing such situations, it is
intolerant and extremist behavior in people.

Avijit Rai’s murder is an example of utter nonsense in the name of religion. In today’s world
people have the freedom of expression. It is true the word said by Avijit are hateful to the
believers. He thought religious beliefs are superstitious which disrupt society and impede
scientific progress. And has also said some controversial things about the Holy Prophet (SM).
This fueled some serious hate in some Musalmans who then murdered him. Though we have
the right to say whatever our view is but we should respect the belief and sentiments of others.
But killing a person is never a right thing to do. The killers could have asked for his punishment
and got Avijit arrested for blasphemy instead of just murdering him. And Avijit was only one of
the five bloggers killed in 2015. None of the killers have been still convicted. In February
2013 Abdul Qader Molla, a leader of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party (a small Islamist
party within the opposition coalition), was sentenced to life imprisonment by the tribunal. The
perceived mildness of the sentence was condemned by Bangladesh's secularist bloggers and
writers, who helped organize the 2013 Shahbag protests in response, calling for the death
penalty for Molla. Shortly after the first Shahbag protests, counter-demonstrations, which
quickly degenerated into violence, were organized by Islamist groups. Islamist leaders
denounced the war crimes tribunal as political and called for an end to the prosecution of
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders; they demanded instead the death penalty for secularist bloggers,
denouncing them as "atheists" and accusing them of blasphemy. In 2014 a group calling itself
"Defenders of Islam" published a "hit list" of 84 Bangladeshis, mostly secularists, of whom nine
have already reportedly been killed and others attacked. Avijit’s father Mr. Ajay Roy blames the
government but also says that the government isn’t incapable or insufficient, they just don’t
have the intention. I agree with Mr. Ajay’s view.

Imam Mufti Fayezullah once called for the execution of a minister who dared to criticize Hajj.
When the DW team asked if this was not an incitement of violence Imam denied it. In his
defense he stated that- “In Islam our dearest are Allah and Prophet. If you insult or abuse them
our heart bleeds. So, what you do when your heart bleed? You pick up a weapon? No, that’s
not what Islam teaches. But at least you can ask for the punishment for the person who hurt
you.” In my opinion it was a violent the way Imam said it in front of a mass congregation. Such
environment excites the feeling among the people. It is right to ask for the punishment but also
it should be in a civilized way. He went too far to ask for a punishment.

The issue in the Aladinagar village is also an example of extremism. There was a riot between
the Hindus and the Muslims where the Muslim side burnt down the temple and households of
Hindus. Rony Banik said that the temple has been rebuilt but the fear of fresh violence took a
long time to fade. This riot mainly took place after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced
Delowar Hossain Sayeedi, president of Jamaat-e-Islami to death for war crimes during 1971
liberation war.

Maulana Anis Adani of the Hatazari Madrasa said that every Musalman needs Islamic
education. It doesn’t mean to kill others. Islam teaches peace. Students will engage into social
activities so that the problems we have in the society will diminish. They will eradicate
immorality and corruption. Few weeks after this interview the teachers burnt 100s of phones
because they had songs and dance videos in them. It is a madrasa, place for complete Islamic
education. Listening to songs and watching dance videos is not allowed there and so the act is
justified. But the school’s leadership believes that women have no role in public life. Mufti
Sarowar said they encouraged women to contribute to the development of the country. They
can do handicraft, mind the children, tend to household, be obedient to their husbands and
kind to the neighbors. But there are no such restrictions in Islam that a woman cannot have a
public life. Women can go out and work maintaining the Islamic modesty. Therefore, I can’t
agree with Mufti Sarowar’s views.

Then the documentary takes a political turn. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a member of BNP has
been sent to jail several times just like the leader of his party. When the BNP was in power, they
were equally ruthless. Mirza Fakhrul says, the governing party always blame us for everything.
This is the problem of this country. Any democratic country will have a dialogue between the
governing party and the opposition. And as the government is on the way to destroy the
democratic system of Bangladesh there’s ample apprehension for extremists to rise.

The ordinary people of Bangladesh believe that it is the political issues that raise unrest here.
According to a textile worker, Arifa, the biggest problem is politics and the big political parties
blame each other for everything, organize demonstrations and provoke violence in the way,
which is true. The young generation like the band artists, Shafin and Wriyu, they want freedom.
They know there is freedom but they want more.

Religion is a peaceful thing which gives us hope in the most difficult times. As a Muslim I can be
taught the general things about Islam. It’s the upbringing that matters at last, not the religious
teaching. Religion never teaches us violence rather teaches us to have patience and be kind.
The main reason for such murders and instability in Bangladesh are the political issues. The
blogger murders and the anti- Hindu riots were all because of political disputes. Religion has
only been caught up in these extremisms. The extremists are taking advantage of the political
unrest and as the extremists are Musalman the religion Islam is dragged along with them and
all this is named as religious fundamentalism.

So, I would like to conclude saying, the way DW has shown Islam to be the reason behind every
issue cannot be agreed on. They have failed to address the in- depth reasons of the issues and
have been unsuccessful to completely do justice to explain the influence of Islamism in
Bangladesh.
 CT-3
The Government Initiatives in Managing
the Outbreak of the Covid-19 in
Bangladesh: A Critical Assessment
Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Coronavirus
disease was first identified amid an outbreak of respiratory illness cases in Wuhan City in China.  
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus
disease 2019. The first Covid-19 case in the country was reported on 7 March, and by
end-April, Bangladesh had over 8,000 cases. Such increase in infection was the result of
delaying preventive measures by the government.

Bangladesh had successfully evacuated about 400 Bangladeshi citizens from China by
late January, and quarantined them for 14 days. Most of them were PhD students
studying in China. But once the virus went global it hit Bangladesh too. As soon as the
first cases started popping up, Bangladesh opted for a contained shutdown. First, the
educational institutions were decisively shut down. Then non-essential businesses and
services were closed, while others were asked to expand their online services. Out-
migration from cities was managed in a guided way to avoid a migration crisis. Still such
steps were insufficient.

Despite the lockdown situation Bangladesh opened its garment factories in April. Garments is
one of the largest working sectors in Bangladesh. International flights were cut off with all
European countries except England. Screening devices were installed across its international
airports and land-ports. But it was too late as these flights were reduced starting from 21 st
March. The disease had already started to spread.

Within a week of the lockdown, the government decisively rolled out a stimulus package
of US$8.5 billion (3.5 percent of the GDP) and higher than those announced by India or
China. The package was catered towards employment retention, especially in the lower
income bracket. The first investment was to the export-oriented formal sector wage
payments. Then it was sectioned out amongst informal SMEs, domestic industries, agro-
sector and social security schemes. The stimulus is quite appreciable during such a
socio-economic crisis. Within two weeks of the announcement, the social protection
measures of food aid and cash delivery have reached nearly 28 million people.

Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced this situation head on. Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has first and foremost taken on the role of chief panic-diffuser. She conducts
national live-casts with local frontline workers almost every day. At the start of the virus
outbreak, Sheikh Hasina took measures to stabilize the commodity market . The
economic stimulus rollout, especially the sections targeting for the most vulnerable, was
done under Sheikh Hasina’s watch. Her rounded actions in tackling the Covid-19 has
already started drawing international headlines, especially among the  commentaries on
women leaders.

But for Bangladesh, the challenges did not vanish during the pandemic. A  massive
gathering of religious Muslims for the last prayers of a popular cleric took place amid
the height of the declared shutdown.  The need to save the people and the economy has
never been so pressing. Estimates by experts say that 15 million people (or 25 percent of
the labor force) have lost jobs in just one month and some 40 percent of the people who
have graduated out of poverty are at risk of returning below the poverty line. So, the
government let some shops open for the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. And consequently, the
infection rates and death cases rose drastically after Eid.

These challenges have also created opportunities and highlighted a myriad of good
practices. As one of the leading ready-made garment producers in the world, it has
mobilized to make personal protection equipment for its population and for exports. The
Bangladesh military’s research wing has already started making low-cost ventilators,
which would otherwise be imported at much higher price. The government has set-up
platform-helplines as go-to resource for Covid-19 related information or support.
Bangladesh’s dedicated coronavirus website and helpline have been instrumental is
seeking out help for people. Dozens of corporations and well-to-do folks are chipping in
to provide some relief in the short run while the government and development partners
work out long-term solutions.
 CT-4
Lockdown' during the crisis of the
coronavirus: Understanding the social
response in Bangladesh
Bangladesh confirmed its first coronavirus affected patients on 8th March, 2020. On 22 March, a
10-day lockdown was declared effective from 26 March to 4 April. Suppression, or basically
lockdown, aims to reduce case numbers to low levels by socially distancing the entire
population indefinitely, and closing schools and universities. Then non-essential
businesses and services were closed, while others were asked to expand their online
services. Out-migration from cities was managed in a guided way to avoid a migration
crisis. The government has avoided using the word lockdown in any of its reference to
avoid creating panic. It has been a rather soft and effective lockdown with an
equilibrium deployment of the civil administration, the military and the police. Once the
lockdown went into effect, a ‘6 pm to 6 am’ restriction was imposed, especially in dense
urban areas.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, more individuals, communities, and entire nations including
Bangladesh are feeling the impact in their daily lives. Beyond the global health crisis, the
coronavirus is having a severe economic impact on individuals, small businesses, and medical
organizations. Already over thousands of people are affected with Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
Fearing the massive spread of the disease, government has imposed lockdowns for over a long
time, putting restriction on the movement using public transports, limiting the production
process, forced closing of shops and markets selling auxiliary commodities. These activities laid
a huge impact on the people living on those also on those who are passively dependent. This
brings to the conclusion that people different classes in here will response differently.

Social distancing is tough while taking public commutes and living in the slums. In the context of
massively populated and lower-middle-income countries like Bangladesh, enforcement of social
distancing—as recommended by the WHO to stop the covid-19 spread—sounds fancy but
impractical. Indeed, staying at home is unlikely to be as effective here. Along with the slum
dwellers, Bangladesh also hosts over a million Rohingya refugees, most of whom are living in
close quarters in refugee camps where the sanitization facilities are even scarce.

During the first phase of the lockdown, people paid no heed to the request of staying indoors.
As a result, the government deployed military to help civil administration in field to ensure
people are staying in their homes. But still people were seen creating huge mass gathering like
in the Janaja of a religious leader in Brahmanbaria district and the gathering in ISCON temple at
Swamibag in the capital because of which 36 person including priest got infected. Most people
didn’t consider government guidelines seriously which lead to present repercussions. It is to be
concluded that the social response is remarkably poor during the lockdown. Only the
government can’t face the situation alone. Everyone must be conscious enough to maintain
social distance and stay safe by themselves.