Even Mosques Aren't Safe: Targeted by Extremist Attacks in Bangladesh

This report has been prepared on a mosque. The mosque is located in Porkara village of Sonaimuri Upazila in Noakhali district, Bangladesh. It was built in 2016 as an initiative by the main leader of the religious reformist movement named 'Hezbut Tawheed.' Since this organization works against religious extremism and terrorism in Bangladesh, various fanatic groups had been propagating false accusations against them from the beginning. In 2016, these extremists spread rumors in the area that members of the Hezbut Tawheed organization are not Muslims, and they are actually Christians constructing a church instead of a mosque. Fueling this false narrative, the extremists gathered and attacked the leader's house and destroyed the mosque under construction. On that day, two members of Hezbut Tawheed were brutally murdered by the extremists.

Several years have passed since that incident. Now, the same mosque stands tall again. The extremists advocating religious blindness have faced defeat. The video report was presented by Rafaideh Panni, the women's editor of Hezbut Tawheed.