Courtney McGrailIslamic militants in Bangladesh have issued threats to Christian businesses that they face attack if they do not comply with Islamic rules.
Among the demands made in an anonymous pamphlet delivered to Christian traders as well as Hindu businesses is that Islamic inscriptions be placed over entrances to hotels and shops, that a copy of the Koran be kept in all work places, and that all non-Muslim religious emblems be removed in favour of an image of the Kaba Sharif, the central building at the heart of Mecca and the holiest site in Islam.
In addition, the pamphlet imposes the impossible stricture on Hindu restaurants that if a Muslim orders beef (of an animal scared in Hinduism), he must be served accordingly. The penalty for failure to comply on any of the demands is death, the pamphlet warns.
Bangladesh is currently on a heightened state of alert in the wake of the slaughter of 20 people at a restaurant on July 1 by militants, an act claimed by so-called Islamic State and the worst single atrocity in months of attacks by militants on non-Muslims in the country.