Outrage in Bangladesh as blogger’s posts spark calls for death

Protests have erupted, with demonstrators publicly burning images of a controversial blogger, Kamran Husen, who is accused of spreading false information about Islam and religious scholars. The protests have drawn participation from Jamaat-e-Islami, Chhatra Shibir, among others, all calling for Husen’s death.

Protesters claim that Husen, on his website www.search70.com recounts being sexually abused by his Quran teacher, allegedly a member of Jamaat-e-Islami , during his childhood. His website contains articles detailing abuse within religious institutions in Bangladesh. Protesters are outraged by articles where Husen suggests the Quran does not explicitly forbid sexual abuse of boys, as a result of which clerics feel free to abuse boys. Husen even goes as far as to state that the Prophet Muhammad would be considered a child rapist for his marriage to Aisha, if he were alive today.

These claims have led the ulama and other religious leaders to denounce Husen’s writings as blasphemous, urging severe action.