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| India-Pakistan |
| Muslims seethe over article in Indian Communist Magazine; Issue banned in Bengal |
| 2007-11-09 |
| KOLKATA: An unsigned article published in a Left-sponsored Bengali magazine has prompted the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to ban its autumn number. This despite the fact that it includes an article by Left Front chairman Biman Bose and a couple of front-ranking CPM leaders such as former school education minister Kanti Biswas and MLA Deblina Hembram. There is also an article by Sudhir Mridha in defence of the chief minister's industrialisation programme. This apart, two CPM ministers — Subhas Chakraborty and Debesh Das — have wished all success to the magazine: Pathasanket 1414. The controversial article, Taslima Prasange Bangladesher Bharatiya Rashtradut, Pradhan Mantri O Moulabadider Prasange, makes out a case for writer Taslima Nasreen, who has come under fire from religious fundamentalists and Bangladesh government that has banished her from her homeland. The article argues that Taslima's hitting out at fundamentalist sentiments from scientific outlook cannot be treated as an offence under Section 295(3) of the Bangladesh Criminal Procedure Code. While doing so, the article takes out a leaf from Osman Gani's book Mahamanabi to establish how blind some of the episodes related to the life of Prophet Mohammed are. Whatever the logic, the writer makes a vitriolic attack on the Prophet over his marital life, sending shock waves among the Muslim community. A copy of the article also reached the corridors of power and the government acted promptly on grounds that it contains all the elements that might be construed as an assault on Islam. The writer probably anticipated all this, which is why he made a passing reference to the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei who was put behind the bars at a ripe age because he refuted the Church's view that the sun moves round the earth. Idris Ali of the All India Minority Forum took strong exception to the article. "I am amazed at the audacity of the writer. How dare he write such things against the Prophet? I also can't understand how such an outrageous piece could come out in a magazine sponsored by senior Left leaders and ministers," Ali said. He, however, welcomed the government's decision to ban the autumn issue of the magazine, but said hundreds of copies have already reached the readers. "The government has to seize all the copies." |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 It doesn't actually mention what she said. Not that that matters... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-11-09 14:43 |