DHAKA: A hard-line Islamic school in Bangladesh said on Tuesday it had confiscated hundreds of mobile phones and torched them in a bonfire because they were distracting students from their learning.

Pupils at the seminary in southeast Bangladesh were ordered to hand over their cellphones on Sunday to school administrators who then tossed the devices en masse into a fire in a nearby field.

“These devices are ruining their character,” said Azizul Hoque, a spokesman for the Darul Ulum Moinul Islam madrassa.

“The students use internet (on their phones) throughout the night and then doze during classes the next morning. Their parents are concerned.”

Hoque said the seminary — a 123-year-old institution with 14,000 registered students — was not against technology “but the negative results of mobile phones far outweigh its positives”.

“We are flooded with letters seeking fatwas from Muslims against the use of mobile phones, as many complained that the gadgets were frequently used for extramarital affairs.”

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2018