The Ahmadiyyas are members of a minority Muslim community who have been living in different parts of Bangladesh since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Their rituals are very similar to the other sects of Islam but the predominant Sunni Muslims and hardline Islamists are opposed to their way of saying prayers among other issues.
They demand that the government banish the Ahmadiyyas from Islam through a formal announcement, a call first raised by Jamaat-e-Islami founder Abul Ala Maududi in 1953, leading to the slaughtering of over 2,000 Ahmadis in Lahore.
Since 1963, over a dozen Ahmadis have been killed and scores of others injured or assaulted in separate incidents across Bangladesh. Moreover, their mosques are also targeted by the Islamists.
In the face of growing demands during the Hefazat-e-Islam's movement in 2013, the government explained why it cannot do so.
The Constitution of Bangladesh, which recognises Islam as the state religion, also ensures rights of all other religions, irrespective of race, caste, sex or place of birth. Moreover, secularism and freedom of religion is one of the fundamental principles of state policy.
The principle of secularism shall be realised by granting of political status in favour of any religion, and the elimination of communalism in all its forms, abuse of religion for political purposes, and any discrimination against, or persecution of, persons practising a particular religion.
According to Article 28 (1) of the Constitution, the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Moreover, Article 41 states that (a) every citizen has the right to profess, practise or propagate any religion; (b) every religious community or denomination has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
As per Article 44 (1), a citizen can move the High Court if his/her religious freedom is violated.
