Dipu Moni: We are proud of our religious harmony

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni has said Bangladeshis are proud of their religious and social harmony.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly to take that harmonious Bangladesh forward. It is unfortunate but true, that a certain quarter is always trying to spread communal hatred and destroy peace."

The minister made the remarks while responding to reporters after a seminar titled “Future of Education in Bangladesh Perspective” at the seminar room of the Computer Engineering Department of the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB) on Saturday afternoon.

Religion plays a big role in everyone's life and it is a personal matter, Dipu Moni said.

“Bangabandhu has ensured freedom of religion and the practice of religion in our constitution. In the same way, we have to move forward with science and technology,” she added.

Earlier in the seminar, the minister said: "We will not interfere in anyone's religion. We have to be respectful of religion and move forward with knowledge, science and technology”.

Hriday Chandra Mondal, a science teacher at Binodpur Ramkumar High School in Munshiganj, is in jail on charges of insulting religion.

Hridoy Mondol Collected

Dipu Moni said a teacher should not be harassed for teaching his subject. “The way he/she teaches can be investigated. If there are any allegations against someone, they can be investigated. But the whole incident seemed very sad to me,” the minister added.

Earlier, eminent writer Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal said he could not believe the arrest of the teacher for answering a question raised in the classroom logically.

Dr Zafar Iqbal said: "We have to teach our children science with utmost care for the sake of the development of our country because development is impossible without science. Science teacher Hriday Mondal has been made the scapegoat of communal people for doing his duty of teaching science."

"All the people who believe in science will believe the words of Hriday Mondal and will admit it as truth and that he cannot be arrested for it," he added.