Star Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has been forced to issue a grovelling apology after photographs of him attending a Kali Puja in Kolkata went viral on social media. He said that as a ‘conscious Muslim man’, he would never do such a thing as inaugurating a Kali Puja and profusely sought forgiveness from his fellow citizens for attending the event.
“I was on the stage for barely two minutes. People are talking about this and thought I inaugurated it,” Shakib Al Hasan said during his apology. “I did not do this and being a conscious Muslim I would not do this. But, maybe, I should not have gone there. I am sorry for this and apologise,” he said. “As a practising Muslim I always try to follow religious customs. Please forgive me if I have done anything wrong,” the cricketer added.
Shakib Al Hasan receives death threats
A Bangladeshi youth named Mohsin Talukdar in Sylhet, Bangladesh, went live on Facebook to threaten all-rounder cricketer Shakib Al Hasan to hack him to death over allegations of inaugurating a Kali Puja program in Kolkata, India. On Sunday, little after midnight, Mohsin went live on Facebook and threatened to hack Shakib to death.
On Monday morning, Mohsin again came live on Facebook and apologised for threatening Shakib Al Hasan. He said that after offering Fajr prayers, he realised threatening to slaughter someone was not right. “I apologise for that,” he said. Mohsin further added that he has prayed for Shakib’s salvation for having inaugurated Kali Puja program. “I prayed that Allah may guide him. Although I said a lot of things out of excitement, it was not right. I apologize for that,” he said.
Hindus attacked in Bangladesh following terrorist attacks in France
The Bangladeshi authorities on the 1st of November arrested two individuals, Shankar Debnath and Anik Bhowmik, over charges of hurting religious sentiments of people after an Islamist mob ran riot. The mob went burning and vandalising houses of Hindus in Comilla district after a man reportedly shared a Facebook post on the controversy surrounding the publication of a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed in French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo.
