Blasphemous remarks against Islam: Fresh protest held in BD

Dhaka: Around 10,000 Muslims demonstrated in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday in the second protest in a week over blasphemous remarks about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by an Indian official that sparked anger across the Islamic world.

Authorities in India have meanwhile ordered heightened security in several regions for coming Friday prayers after two people were shot dead in protests there last week, local media reported.

Last Friday Muslims took to the streets in huge numbers across Asia following the blasphemous comments by a spokeswoman for India’s ruling party on May 26. The governments of nearly 20 countries summoned Indian envoys for an explanation of Nupur Sharma’s remarks.

Shouting slogans such as "Muslims of the world unite", the Bangladeshi protesters on Thursday rallied in front of Dhaka’s biggest mosque and tried to march to the Indian embassy before being blocked by police.

"There were around 10,000 marchers. They were peaceful," senior police official Enamul Haq told AFP. The protest was organised by the Islami Andolan Bangladesh, one of the largest Islamist political parties in Bangladesh, which is home to the world’s fourth-largest Muslim population.

Around 150,000 people demonstrated last Friday in major Bangladeshi cities including 20,000 in the capital Dhaka and thousands more in towns and at universities. Speakers at the Dhaka rally on Thursday called for a boycott of Indian products and demanded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally lodge a protest with India.