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At least 15 injured in anti-Ahmadiya violence
Fifteen members of Bangladesh's small Ahmadiya community were injured when Islamist militants attacked a mosque near Dhaka.
Fifteen members of Bangladesh's small Ahmadiya community were injured when Islamist militants attacked a mosque near Dhaka.
Activists of the Khatme Nabuwat Andolan Bangladesh (KNAB), which wants the government to declare Ahmadiyas non-Muslims, tried to seize the Ahmadiya mosque at Naddapara in Uttara, on the outskirts of the capital.
A skirmish ensued in which some Ahmadiyas were injured. However, the police and Rapid Action Battallion (RAB) intervened.
The KNAB activists later announced a weeklong protests over the weekend.
They threatened to "shut down" the Zia International Airport Thursday and force the government to pass a law declaring Prophet Mohammed as the last prophet.
Noor Hossain Nurani, chief of KNAB, told The Daily Star newspaper: "After the bill is passed, we will ask the high court to scrutinise the religious texts of Qadianis (another name for Ahmadiyas) and declare them non-Muslims.
We will mount such pressure that the government will have no other option but to declare the Qadianis non-Muslims."
The movement against Ahmadiyas is aimed to ostracising several prominent people who belong to the sect, which has its headquarters in Qadian, in the Indian Punjab. The followers are therefore also called Qadianis.
Ahmadiyas are considered non-Muslims in Pakistan.
