Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh strongly condemns the arrest of 7 of its members for protesting against abuse of the Prophet (saw)

Today, 4 September 2007, 7 members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh were arrested for joining a protest organised by local residents at a prominent mosque of Badda, Dhaka. After finishing Asr (mid-afternoon) prayers, worshippers gathered within the mosque confines and strongly expressed their anger and grief in the wake of the abuse of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) by the Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. Police brutally baton charged them for gathering and forcibly dispersed the peaceful crowd. They singled out members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh and arrested them after viciously beating them with their batons.

Chief Coordinator and Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, Mohiuddin Ahmed said, "This offensive cartoon is the latest in a series of attacks on the core belief of Islam by the Western imperialists. Not satisfied with occupying our lands and looting our wealth, they resort to attacking us by insulting the most revered person for all Muslims, the noble Prophet Muhammad (saw)." He further added that the current government of Bangladesh, by this action has clearly taken an anti-Islam stance. The government must decide whether it will join the protest against this attack on the Prophet (saw), Muslims and Islam, or face the resentment of the people of Bangladesh for failing to secure the honour of their dearest Prophet (saw). In particular, Mohiuddin Ahmed made the following demands to the government:

· Immediately releasing the arrested Hizb ut-Tahrir members
· Closing of the Swedish embassy in Bangladesh and expelling their diplomats
· Cutting all diplomatic ties with Sweden and withdrawing the Bangladesh Embassy in Sweden
· Demanding an unconditional apology from the cartoonist, editor of Nerikes Allehanda and Swedish Government

Mohiuddin Ahmed
Chief Coordinator and Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh