DHAKA: Around 10,000 Muslims demonstrated in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday in the second protest in a week over remarks about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) by an Indian official that sparked anger across the Islamic world.

Authorities in India have meanwhile ordered heightened security in several regions for coming Friday prayers after two people were shot dead in protests there last week, local media reported.Shouting slogans such as “Muslims of the world unite”, the Bangladeshi protesters on Thursday rallied in front of Dhaka’s biggest mosque and tried to march to the Indian embassy before being blocked by police.

“There were around 10,000 marchers. They were peaceful,” senior police official Enamul Haq said.

The protest was organised by Islami Andolan Bangladesh, one of the largest Islamist political parties in the country, which is home to the world’s fourth-largest Muslim population.

Around 150,000 people demonstrated last Friday in major Bangladeshi cities including 20,000 in the capital Dhaka and thousands more in towns and at universities.

Speakers at the Dhaka rally on Thursday called for a boycott of Indian products and demanded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally lodge a protest with India.

Hasina, who has been in power for 13 years, is a close ally of India and has stopped short of condemning Indian remarks.

Published in Dawn,June 17th, 2022