Now Islamists want all statues removed, everywhere

Following the removal of Lady Justice’s statue from Supreme Court premises, now Islamist groups want demolition of statues installed across Bangladesh.

Hundreds under Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan marched in Dhaka today chanting slogans of such demand and thanking the government for taking down Lady Justice.

Mufti Fakhrul Islam, youth affairs secretary of the Islamist platform, came up with the demand while talking to reporters near national mosque Baitul Mukarram after Juma prayers.

“We initially demanded for removal of the murti (sculpture) at SC premises as it’s located very close to the National Eidgah where we offer Eid prayers,” he said.

He thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for “fulfilling her oath of removing the statue”.

“We hope the prime minister will take steps to remove all statues across the Muslim-majority country,” he said.

The statue of Lady Justice was taken down in the late hours of last night, a month after Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam demanded its removal from the Supreme Court premises.

Earlier on April 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting with the Alem and Ulema from Qawmi madrasas said she personally did not like the statue on the SC premises either.

Later on April 17, Hasina told her cabinet colleagues that she had asked the CJ either to remove the statue or reinstall it at another place so that it cannot be seen from the National Eidgah.

The removal sparked a wave of protest in the social media. This morning, protests broke out at Dhaka University, where police used tear gas shells and water cannons to quell protesters.