US report finds changes to secular Bengali textbooks

The Ministry of Education (MOE) made significant changes to the traditionally secular Bengali language textbooks.

It removed non-Muslim authors' contents and added Islamic contents to nonreligious subject matter.

This was observed in the 'Bangladesh 2017 International Religious Freedom Report'.

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the USA released the report on Wednesday.

"Despite government orders to the contrary, village community leaders, often working together with local religious leaders, used extrajudicial fatwas to punish women and other groups for perceived "moral transgressions," it said.

"Religious minority communities such as Hindus and Christians, who are also sometimes ethnic minorities, reported the government failed to effectively prevent forced evictions and land seizures stemming from land disputes" it added.

The government continued to provide law enforcement personnel at religious sites, festivals, and events considered to be possible targets for violence.

"There were attacks on religious minorities, particularly Buddhists and Hindus, during the year (2017). In June hundreds of Bengali Muslim villagers in the southeastern part of the country set fire to 300 houses belonging to members of the Chakma, a mostly Buddhist minority".

The Constitution designates Islam as the state religion but upholds the principle of secularism. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for equality for all religions.

The government provided guidance to imams throughout the country on the content of their sermons in its stated effort to prevent militancy and to monitor mosques for "provocative" messaging.

[email protected]