Bangladesh clerics issue fatwa against killings of intellectuals, minorities

Bangladeshi Muslim clerics have issued a fatwa against an ongoing spate of killings of secular intellectuals and members of minorities in the country.

Farid Uddin Masuod, who heads the Council of Bangladesh Clerics, said on Tuesday that over 100,000 clerics had signed the religious edict, which describes the killings as crimes against humanity.

"The fatwa unequivocally said these killings of non-Muslims, minorities and secular activists are forbidden in Islam," Masuod said, adding, "We've said these killings are illegal and are crimes against humanity."

Masuod said the fatwa would discredit any extremist groups that tried to defend the killings.

Sources say the edict will be made public on June 18.

Bangladesh has come under international pressure to end the ongoing attacks, which have killed 50 people, including members of religious minorities, foreigners and liberal activists, over the past three years.

The Bangladeshi government blames the local banned groups such as Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Hizb ut Tahrir for gruesome murders in recent months. The government rejects claims of responsibility by the Takfiri Daesh group and a branch of al-Qaeda, saying international terror groups have no presence in Bangladesh.

On June 6, Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan accused the Israeli regime of spearheading an “international conspiracy” behind the serial killings of secular intellectuals and religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country, which backs the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.

He pointed to an alleged meeting between an opposition politician and an Israeli spy as evidence of the Israeli involvement in the murders.

SS