Bangladesh: Islamist parties demand removal of supreme court sculpture

Right-wing conservative partyHefazat-e-Islam has warned of waging demonstrationson February 24 in Dhaka and Chittagong unless the Bangladeshgovernment removes a sculpture that resembles a Greek goddess from the precincts of the supreme court.

Hefazat-e-Islam and other Islamist political parties such as Islami Oikya Jote said the sculpture of Lady Justicecarrying the scale in front of the supreme courtresemblesthe Greek deity Themis and contravenes the spirit, culture and constitution of Bangladesh.

"This[sculpture] has beencladded in a sari and presented in a way that givesinto vulgarity.We do not think we have to borrow civilisation of other country and practice that which is tantamount toshirk[sin of practising polytheism],"Mufti Foyzullah, joint general secretary ofHefazat-E-Islam, a rightwing Muslim conservative party told WION.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

More importantly, Foyzullah continued:"This has been installed in front of thenationalIdgah where theMuslim prayer congregations take place during two Eid."

Legal practitioners, however, see the installation as a symbol of justice. "Our culture in the delta is a mixture of many traditions and streams and this statue personifies a universal aspiration towards justice," retortedSara Hossain, a prominentsupreme court lawyer.

The latest demand fromHefazatcomes at a time when ultra conservatism has gripped the country.

Hefazatcame to popularitythrougha2013 protest and subsequent shootoutby security forcesat the Shapla Square in Dhaka.

The Chittagong-based pressure group came to prominence during the protests as they demanded enactment of blasphemy law in the country. They had penned a 13-point demand, including ban oninstallation of sculptures in the city,mandatory Islamic education in schools,among others.

(WION)