A call for calm

Whether we like it or not, the turn of events is causing our tempers to be frayed.
First it was Awami League going after war criminals mainly consisting of those openly siding with Pakistani army committing genocide, some old Jamaat-e-Islamis and Razakars. Then, after the ICT verdict on Mollah (he must be regretting his V for victory sign), the youth, bloggers, communists, freedom fighters, commoners, all suddenly joined the fray. Then Jamaat and Shibir started attacking the police. Then some bloggers allegedly defamed the Prophet of Islam, and allegedly wrote derogatory things about Islam, (as if Islam and Jamaat-e-Islam are same).
Really, any Muslim worth his name will not tolerate an affront to the personality of their beloved Prophet (sm). (However it is the duty of everyone to verify that such insult has actually occurred or is a staged affair) Then the tragic murder of Rajib occurred due to his alleged comments on his blog. Now the Awami League MPs have started to castigate the judge. Excuse me, are these the same MPs with a holier than thou attitude, who deprived the exchequer of Tk.1,000 crore of custom duties? Are these the same MPs who by turn stay away from parliament but religiously collect their pay and abnormally lavish fringe benefits?
The irresponsible and alleged derogatory blogging by some has ruffled the religious sentiments of many Muslims, specially the Ulama and scholars of Islam. (read “dhormockery.”) Imams of many mosques all over the country vented their feelings at Jumma khutbas, and in many places processions were taken out. (Jamaat-Shibir, taking advantage, joined them, turning peaceful processions into violent ones.) I was surprised to see a responsible paper like The Daily Star naming imams to add fuel to the fire.
Now the police tried to break up these processions with a heavy hand (a mistake), firing tear gas, rubber bullets, baton charge etc. 4 persons were killed and a thousand wounded all over the country. People were picked up by the police for no other reason than being in the vicinity of the occurrence. Now that's really worrying.
What next? Are we heading towards chaos? Are some vested interest groups trying to destabilise Bangladesh by creating a polarisation? The situation is volatile, to say the least.
We need a call for calm, we need all parties involved to put aside their differences, we need mutual dialogue, mutual respect, clearheaded thinking, to work towards a solution.
We don't want strikes and hartals, and we don't want civil strife and beating of war drums. We don't want our fragile economy to suffer; we don't want to see our people lying dead on the streets killed by another set of our people. Please stop this madness, this rush to death in delirium.
We want sanity to return. We want our people to live in peace and harmony. Let love blossom not hatred. Can't we behave like responsible citizens? This is an urgent appeal to our leaders as well as to fellow citizens, to show political acumen instead of rabble rousing, to show maturity instead of petty bickering, to help lead the country out of this morass and self-destruction that we seem to be heading for.
Let us all work towards a viable solution so that we can hold our head high in the international arena and not become a laughing stock because of our pettiness and corruption. Let us work to offer a chance for a better future for our children and grandchildren. Let us not wash away all the fruits of sacrifices that have been made by our people in the past.

(We publish the above article, with which we do not necessarily agree, to promote exchange of divergent views on an issue that, we agree with the author, needs calm, deliberate and serious thinking to bring peace and harmony among our people).

The writer is an Islamic thinker who occasionally contributes to The Daily Star.