The current leader of the Ahmadiyya community worldwide is Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Al-Khaamis, born in Pakistan in 1950 and elected in 2003 as “Khalifatul Masih V (Fifth Successor to The Promised Messiah)” (source: www.baitulfutuh.org)
Dhaka, June 24 (IANS) — Local people rushed to the spot to douse the fire but it spread very rapidly as bombs exploded one after the other early Friday. Witnesses said several bombs were hurled.
A national level leader of Ahmadiyya Muslims, Abdul Awwal, told IANS in Dhaka that the attack was pre-planned and part of the hate campaign against the community.
He said both the mosques were partly damaged in the bombings and fire that also left two people, including a woman, injured.
Security has been tightened around Ahmadiyya mosques after the attacks.
“Religious zealots are going out of control as the government is going soft on them and we appeal to the government to ensure the security of our members all over the country as there is a threat to their life and freedom of religion,” another Ahmadiyya leader said.
Members of the community in Bangladesh – about 100,000 in number – have been facing a hate campaign started by Islamist groups of the Sunni sect, who want the former labelled as “non-Muslims”.
The Ahmadiyya community has suffered attacks in different parts of the country since October 2003. In January 2004, the Bangladesh government banned all publications of the Ahmadiyya Muslim jamaat that evoked protest at home and abroad. The high court later imposed an injunction on the government order.
© 2005 IANS India Private Limited, New Delhi. Posted on Religioscope with permission. — Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) is India’s first multinational and multilingual wire service.Website: www.ians.in. Subscription enquiries: contact IANS (mention Religioscope).