Mutual respect and tolerance?

1 July 2016

Attackers wielding machetes killed a Hindu priest in Bangladesh on Friday morning, the fourth Hindu to be targeted during the past month in more than three years of similar killings by Islamist militants in this Muslim-majority country.

Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the death in a report by the group’s Amaq News Agency, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online.
More than 40 people have been killed in Bangladesh in a series of attacks that began in early 2013. The attacks initially targeted bloggers but then expanded to include foreigners, gay activists and members of religious minorities. In an effort to forestall further violence, the government announced a crackdown in early June and has arrested more than 11,000 people, 194 of them said to be linked to militant networks.

Kajal Debnath, a presidium member of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, said that Hindus, particularly in rural villages, are terrified and call his organization daily wondering if they will survive the latest outbreak of killings. They have been victims of oppression in Bangladesh for decades and do not know why they have suddenly become the “prime target of a series of similar killings,” he said.

The killing was similar to one last month of Anando Gopal Ganguly, 68, a Hindu priest, Mr. Kanjilal said. Mr. Ganguly was riding a bicycle in an isolated rural area not far from his home when three men on a motorcycle came up from behind to attack him.
The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the death of Mr. Ganguly in a report by Amaq, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.