The site for the second attack on Shias, barely a month after the one in the capital city, has occurred in a mosque in Shibganj Upazila of Bogra district. Gunmen brazenly entered a mosque and shot dead one and injured three others. This sort of attack on a mosque, let alone Shiite, is unheard of in our country. It represents a major escalation in terrorist attacks in the country that has over the past month or so left several dead including some foreign nationals. 

There is no history of sectarian violence among Muslim groups in Bangladesh. We are alarmed at the occurrence of such an incident in the spate of less than a month and the official explanation given is that members of the outlawed JMB unit are responsible for the latest incident. How low have we stooped that there are those amongst us who have no qualms about entering a mosque and shooting down devotees. A mosque is a very sacred place for any Muslim, Sunni or Shia, and those who commit such acts of violence have taken their hatred and their vindictiveness to new heights.

The actions of these men have brought nothing but shame to our land. They are not representative of the people of Bangladesh and they certainly do not speak for Islam.  We demand a strong response from our law enforcers because the atrocity committed by a handful of criminals cannot be allowed to fuel hatred among our countrymen and tarnish the image of the country abroad.