October 02, 2012: About 25 thousand Muslims set on fire and destroyed 22 Buddhist
temples and hundreds of homes in south-eastern Bangladesh, one of the rarest and most
violent attacks against the Buddhist community in the country. The violence took place
on the night of September 29th and was sparked a photo posted on Facebook,
deemed "offensive" against Islam. According to some protesters, a Buddhist in the
area posted the image on the social network. For the moment, the authorities have
arrested a young man, Uttam Kumar Barua, but it is unclear whether he is really responsible
for the having posted the photo. During the disorder, two Hindu temples were also
demolished.
The violence has affected dozens of villages of the upazila (sub-districts)
of Ramu, Ukhia, Patia and Teknaf (Chittagong Division). The most serious losses were
reported in Ramu, where 15 Buddhist temples were razed to the ground and more than
100 houses burnt. It all started around 10 pm (local time), when hundreds of people
invaded the area of Choumuhani, staging a protest. The crowd soon swelled, reaching
thousands of people and breaking the security cordon of police. Around midnight, people
started to spread gunpowder and gasoline, and set fire to temples and homes. Among
the places of worship destroyed, there was also the 250 year old temple of Shima Bihar,.
So
far police have arrested 26 people for public disorder. According to local authorities,
Muslim Rohingya, the Muslim minority originally from Myanmar's Rakhine State, fomented
the protests. For months, this community has been a victim of ethnic persecution:
the country, in fact, does not recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic group, but considers
them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country
(90%). With a population of about 161milioni of people, it is one of the poorest nations
in the world, but the third largest Islamic state in the world. Hindus are about 9%
of the population, Buddhists and Christians, a minority of the small percentage of
just 1%. However, the Buddhist community has never experienced violence on this scale.