Jesmin Papri
Baul minstrels are alleging that “fundamentalist” Islamic threats against their performances have risen since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh, but the country’s interim administration and police say such incidents are isolated.
The Bauls, itinerant performers who follow Islam’s mystical and syncretic Sufi tradition, were a target of religious zealots during the Hasina years as well, as BenarNews reported. A hardline group, Hefazat-e-Islam, acknowledged that it was still demanding a ban on Baul performances, which it views as anti-Islamic.
However, a group that represents some of the community’s top Baul performers claims it never had to cancel as many performances back then as it did this year.
“Since October, 321 Baul performances have been forcibly canceled, with 91 in Dhaka alone,” said Sarder Hirak Raja, general secretary of the Bangladesh Baul and Folk Artists Association.
The elements who oppose the Bauls cut across the political spectrum, he said.
“There are individuals who, without understanding, perceive culture as harmful to religion. This reflects a form of fanaticism that exists across all political parties,” Hirak Raja told BenarNews.
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