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Spread of religious extremism threat to S Asia's progress

International conference told

Staff Correspondent
Even if the misuse of religion in politics is not considered ]amaat-e-Islami should be banned for genocide, opposing Bangladesh's Liberation War, not recognising the constitution and creating the recent violence, said eminent scholai Shahriar Kabir yesterday.
“Jamaat still has not sought forgiveness for what it die during 1971," he told the concluding session of a two-day international public lecture series and conference, "Religior and Politics: South Asia”, in the capital's Cirdap.
Bangladesh Itihas Sammilani, a forum of historians organised the programme.
Shahriar said the secularism Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman put in Bangladesh's constitution wa; meant to “recognise all religions in harmony, not denying those”.
“This differs from the idea of secularism generated by the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein," he said.
He, however, observed that banning religion-basec politics in Bangladesh and around the globe might not be possible considering the present state of world politics.
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The scholars from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal participating in the conference observed that religious fundamentalism is spreading in South Asian countries and obstructing the progress of secularism.
Failure of secular forces to prevent this menace is partly responsible for the escalating threat of communal violence, they said.
Chairing the closing session, eminent Bangladeshi historian and the sammilani Convener Prof Muntassir Mamoon said the countries need to work as a single entity to fight all forms of religious extremism.
"Secularism has to be there for the sake of economic and other developments," he said.
The scholars also opined it was the state's duty to recognise pluralism and religious and lingual ethnic-
ity and assure minority communities a life without fear.
"In Bangladesh, we observe a serious practice of ethnicity-based communalism. While the whole world is recognising our language, we are yet to recognise our own ethnic languages," said Prof Mesbah Kamal of Dhaka University.
There are at least 39 dif-ferent languages in Bangladesh, he said, observing that unlike other parts of the world, cultural movements in this region have shaped political activities.
Historian Prof Syed Anwar Husain said politics and religion have different purposes and should not be mixed, while democracy is secular by nature.
"If communalism rises in the name of religion then I must say that we do not practice religion accordingly," he said.
Criticising Bangladesh's constitution which simultaneously states that the country is secular and recognises Islam as the state religion, he asked, "How can you mix oil and water?"
Prof Rohan Gunaratna of Sri Lanka made it clear that the next generation would be grateful if the present generation makes them believe in the need of a secular state.
Former Indian cabinet minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Pakistani Islamic scholar and columnist Syed Haider Farooq Moudoodi also spoke.