٠٠:٠٣:٣٢Members of Bangladesh's opposition Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami held a meeting with Buddhist leaders in Dhaka on Sunday to discuss coexistence amid reports of attacks on minority groups as the country ushers in a new government following weeks of civil unrest.
"We are all human," one Buddhist leader said. "Our biggest identity is that we are human beings, why should we be jealous and hate people as human beings? As I said; first, we have to win through alliance. We have no objection to any political party coming here. No. We want to live in this Bangladesh of harmony. This is the hope of our Buddhist community."
"We have to leave the violence, discord, anger, anger between us. We have to spend our lives by giving up this hatred. Just as the beauty of the garden increases when there are different flowers," another added.
For his part, Jamaat-e-Islami's Party Leader Shafiqur Rahman called for unity as Bangladesh recovers from weeks of public unrest and expressed the group's desire for a 'happy, prosperous, orderly and secure country'.
"We want a peaceful country," he continued. "The rights that I have, my brothers of other religions also have the same rights. They will not diminish civil rights one iota. These words create a dividing line between people. We are all Bangladeshis. This country belongs to us, it is our motherland, our motherland. We cherish its sentiments in our hearts."
This comes as the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reports that sectarian violence has impacted at least 52 of the country's 64 districts since August 5.
Demonstrations by supporters of Hasina and the Awami League party in Dhaka began the day after Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as head of the interim government. On Thursday, hundreds of student protesters attacked one such protest.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the ongoing violence, while welcoming efforts made by the interim government to restore peace and move towards elections and urging it to ensure that women and minority communities are included.
The dissolution of the former British Raj in 1947 saw the area divided into the broadly Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, displacing around 15 million people, with up to 1 million believed to have been killed in sectarian violence. Bangladesh later seceded from Pakistan in 1971.
'We are all human' - Jamaat-e-Islami members meet with Buddhist leaders in Dhaka amid sectarian violence in Bangladesh
Members of Bangladesh's opposition Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami held a meeting with Buddhist leaders in Dhaka on Sunday to discuss coexistence amid reports of attacks on minority groups as the country ushers in a new government following weeks of civil unrest.
"We are all human," one Buddhist leader said. "Our biggest identity is that we are human beings, why should we be jealous and hate people as human beings? As I said; first, we have to win through alliance. We have no objection to any political party coming here. No. We want to live in this Bangladesh of harmony. This is the hope of our Buddhist community."
"We have to leave the violence, discord, anger, anger between us. We have to spend our lives by giving up this hatred. Just as the beauty of the garden increases when there are different flowers," another added.
For his part, Jamaat-e-Islami's Party Leader Shafiqur Rahman called for unity as Bangladesh recovers from weeks of public unrest and expressed the group's desire for a 'happy, prosperous, orderly and secure country'.
"We want a peaceful country," he continued. "The rights that I have, my brothers of other religions also have the same rights. They will not diminish civil rights one iota. These words create a dividing line between people. We are all Bangladeshis. This country belongs to us, it is our motherland, our motherland. We cherish its sentiments in our hearts."
This comes as the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reports that sectarian violence has impacted at least 52 of the country's 64 districts since August 5.
Demonstrations by supporters of Hasina and the Awami League party in Dhaka began the day after Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as head of the interim government. On Thursday, hundreds of student protesters attacked one such protest.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the ongoing violence, while welcoming efforts made by the interim government to restore peace and move towards elections and urging it to ensure that women and minority communities are included.
The dissolution of the former British Raj in 1947 saw the area divided into the broadly Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, displacing around 15 million people, with up to 1 million believed to have been killed in sectarian violence. Bangladesh later seceded from Pakistan in 1971.
Members of Bangladesh's opposition Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami held a meeting with Buddhist leaders in Dhaka on Sunday to discuss coexistence amid reports of attacks on minority groups as the country ushers in a new government following weeks of civil unrest.
"We are all human," one Buddhist leader said. "Our biggest identity is that we are human beings, why should we be jealous and hate people as human beings? As I said; first, we have to win through alliance. We have no objection to any political party coming here. No. We want to live in this Bangladesh of harmony. This is the hope of our Buddhist community."
"We have to leave the violence, discord, anger, anger between us. We have to spend our lives by giving up this hatred. Just as the beauty of the garden increases when there are different flowers," another added.
For his part, Jamaat-e-Islami's Party Leader Shafiqur Rahman called for unity as Bangladesh recovers from weeks of public unrest and expressed the group's desire for a 'happy, prosperous, orderly and secure country'.
"We want a peaceful country," he continued. "The rights that I have, my brothers of other religions also have the same rights. They will not diminish civil rights one iota. These words create a dividing line between people. We are all Bangladeshis. This country belongs to us, it is our motherland, our motherland. We cherish its sentiments in our hearts."
This comes as the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reports that sectarian violence has impacted at least 52 of the country's 64 districts since August 5.
Demonstrations by supporters of Hasina and the Awami League party in Dhaka began the day after Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as head of the interim government. On Thursday, hundreds of student protesters attacked one such protest.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the ongoing violence, while welcoming efforts made by the interim government to restore peace and move towards elections and urging it to ensure that women and minority communities are included.
The dissolution of the former British Raj in 1947 saw the area divided into the broadly Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, displacing around 15 million people, with up to 1 million believed to have been killed in sectarian violence. Bangladesh later seceded from Pakistan in 1971.