Thousands of pro Islamists staged protests across Bangladesh yesterday, against a High Court hearing tomorrow, on scrapping Islam as the state religion.
More than 90 per cent of the population is Muslim, with Hindus and Buddhists the main minorities. Earlier this month, the High Court agreed to hear a petition by secularists, who have argued that for decades that Islam’s status as the state religion conflicts with Bangladesh’s secular charter and discriminates against non-Muslims.
Bangladesh was declared officially secular nation after a liberation struggle against Pakistan in 1971. But in 1988 the then-military ruler elevated Islam to the state religion.