‘The conflict between secularists and the religious-minded must stop’

Any conflict between secularists and those advocating a greater role for religion must be eliminated in order to combat extremism and militancy in Bangladesh, said Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, father of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan who was brutally murdered by militants two years ago. “There is a conflict between secularists and the religious-minded, and it is growing every day. This conflict only serves to instigate militancy in the country; it allows religion to be used by the politicians. We cannot say one side is better than the other; both sides have their flaws,” he said. Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the murder of his son Dipan, owner of Jagriti Prokashoni who was also the publisher of slain blogger Avijit Roy. In a phone interview with the Dhaka Tribune on Monday, the former Bangla professor of Dhaka University spoke about his son's horrific death allegedly due to his secular views. “Dipan was murdered as a result of bad politics. This is the first thing I said after seeing his dead body. All political parties are practising bad politics. We are in desperate need of good, intelligent politicians to defeat this vicious cycle,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. “People with ill motives exist all around us. We need to defeat this evil inside our country with the power of good people. If the political parties and the intellectual groups prioritise good intentions over the evil ones, I will feel that my son received some form of justice.” He also criticised the government for not putting serious efforts into bringing his son's murderers, as well as the murders of all other secular thinkers and activists, to justice. “After the terror attack in Holey Artisan Bakery left several foreigners dead, the government stepped up its anti-militant operations. But militants had already killed many Bangladeshi nationals over the years leading up to the Gulshan attack. The government did not take it seriously enough then,” he said. “In my view, there are no civil rights in Bangladesh, no freedom of speech and the opinion of a person is not given any importance,” he further added. With a stern resolve, Fazlul said the government had a responsibility to ensure justice to its citizens. “Dipan’s murder was not an isolated incident. It is a matter of national concern. The government must show its desire to bring the killers to justice, or the nation will suffer the consequences,” he warned. He further said his family would feel that justice had been served if Dipan's killers were punished by the court of law. “The families of many other murdered bloggers, such as Avijit and Rajib [Haider], suffered a terrible tragedy. If those families have to seek out justice, it does not bode well for the country,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. “Exemplary punishment is essential to strengthen the people’s trust in the judiciary.” The former professor also criticised the role of the ruling party in stoking religion-based extremism. “Some actions of the Awami League have provoked the religion-based political parties, which may have indirectly led to the rise of militancy in the country. The ruling party needs to reflect on its actions and amend them.” Asked about the progress in his son's murder investigation, the distressed father expressed disappointment, saying he was not contacted by the law enforcement. “I have no clue as to what is happening. I get the information from the news reports published by the media,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. There has hardly been progress in the investigation since Dipan was hacked to death by militants in his office at Aziz Super Market in Dhaka on October 31, 2015. Police arrested three Ansarullah Bangla team members – Moinul Islam Shamim alias Sifat alias Samir alias Imran, Abdus Sabur alias Raju alias Saad and Khairul Islam alias Fahim – in connection with the murder. However, sources said in the last two years, the deadline for submission of the investigation report has been deferred 22 times. Last October, the court set November 21 for submitting the investigation report of the murder.