DHAKA; Thousands of people mounted furious protests after dozens of copies of the Holy Quran were burned in Bangladesh, leaving several officers injured.

Police said they fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a crowd of “at least 10,000 people” overnight from Sunday to Monday as they tried to attack the two men accused of desecration. Fourteen policemen were injured in the clashes.

The two men were arrested in the north-eastern city of Sylhet — one of the most conservative parts of Bangladesh _ and said they had burned the copies of the Holy Quran as they were “very old and some had printing mistakes”.

Police named the accused as school principal Nurur Rahman and Mahbub Alam, saying they had “seized 45 copies of the burned Quran”.

According to some scholars, disposing of a copy of the Holy Quran that is no longer usable is permissible if done respectfully.

Last month tensions flared between Muslim countries and Sweden and Denmark following several protests involving public desecrations of the Holy Quran — including setting pages alight.

Both countries have condemned the desecrations, but upheld their laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.

Bangladesh has a population of 170 million, 90 percent of whom are Muslims.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2023