Kolkata, August 17
Activists of a Muslim group today threatened to “eliminate” Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen from India for allegedly “defaming” Islam if the Centre failed to expel her from the country.
“If the government does not take any action against her, she will be eliminated. The situation is such that we have to say this,” member of the Majlis Bachao Tehriq, Hyderabad, Majidulla Khan Farhad said addressing a rally.
Accusing Tasleema of insulting Islam in her writings, Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque Syed Barkati said “insult to the Prophet is an insult to God. When (painter) Maqbul Fida Husain painted Hindu goddess in the nude, there was a strong resentment. The same sentiment is at work here.”
Imam Barkati demanded immediate banishment of the writer from the country as “otherwise, we will intensify our campaign and the situation will explode.”
The group held a rally and road blockade to press for its demands and submitted memorandums addressed to union home minister Shivraj Patil, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Kolkata police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee.
When contacted, Tasleema said while her detractors had the freedom of expression, she also had the right to being a resident of a democratic country. “It is not the right thing to issue fatwas. I hope good sense will prevail,” she said.
— PTI
