Rilek1Corner

Tag: Bangladesh

  • Racial Harmony Alive In Singapore: Multiracial Effort Helped Old Man Who Fell Off From Bike

    Racial Harmony Alive In Singapore: Multiracial Effort Helped Old Man Who Fell Off From Bike

    What happened last night reaffirmed my beliefs that RACIAL HARMONY is still strong in Singapore !

    About 7:30pm last night, I was about to chase a bus back home at Elias CC. Then a woman yelled “that old man fell down”
    My wife and I turned and we saw that an old man fell off his bike. We got nearer by walking and realized he was bleeding. It then turned into a sprint.

    I yelled to my wife to call the ambulance while I dug my bag for a shirt. I immediately applied pressure on his head where he was bleeding from. He was shivering and muttering. I continued applying pressure and carried him up to sit at the ledge. At that point of time all I could think of is to stop his bleeding as it has already went down to his shirt.

    Out of nowhere, a few passer by came by to help.
    1) a Chinese woman shielded the old man with an umbrella while asking the old man for his family member’s contact.
    2) a Malay man came to us and took the old man’s bicycle aside (it was still in front of me)
    3) An Indian man rushed to the nearest clinic and called the doctor to help
    4) a Bangladeshi man stood behind me to shield me and the old man from the rain while I was still applying pressure.

    The scary part to me was holding the shirt and feeling it getting heavier and warmer. I didn’t want to apply too much till I hurt the uncle nor do I want to be too soft till blood keeps flowing.

    Shortly after, the doctor that the Indian man went to get, came down. He came with an assistant. I relieved my position and the doctor covered the old man’s wound with a gauze. While this was happening :

    1) Malay man was constantly looking out for the ambulance
    2) the Chinese woman got a hold of the old man’s family and comforted the old man that they are on their way
    3) the Indian man gave his wet tissues to my wife so she could wipe blood of the old man’s hand and face
    4) the Bangladeshi man was still using his umbrella to cover the old man and also the doctor

    Like what it seems to be forever, the ambulance finally came. Bringing the old man and his grandson to the hospital.

    I don’t even know the names of the people who helped me last night but I was truly touched and moved by the unconditional help by our fellow Singaporeans (and Foreign help!!)

    What gave me hope that the uncle can make it was that he was even asking for his bicycle when he was being put on the ambulance ?

    Thank you my wife Jenny Insyirah Farhanah Lim for calling the ambulance and aided them to come to the exact location. Then also helping the uncle wipe off the blood on his face and hands.

    But most of all, to those people who rushed down and help, thank you very much. I am extremely touched (‘:

     

    Source: Khairul Farhan

  • Bangladeshi Expat: Books With Militant Propaganda Being Distributed To Bangladeshis Working In Singapore

    Bangladeshi Expat: Books With Militant Propaganda Being Distributed To Bangladeshis Working In Singapore

    They write provocative things against Jews and people of other religions.

    In a place like Singapore, where there is no prominent Muslim organisation for Bangladeshis or any influential cleric who they can follow, many of the overworked expatriates struggle to find spiritual comfort in their everyday life.

    As the pent-up stress and frustration of living in a foreign culture continues to grow, Islamist radical groups swoop in to brainwash these vulnerable expatriate workers into believing that hatred and violence are paths to salvation.

    In the city-state of Singapore, most militant propaganda are spread through books that speak of radicalised interpretations of Islam, the Dhaka Tribune found during a recent visit there.

    “It is easier to brainwash those of us who live in a foreign land. It is because we do not have any organisation here. We do not have any Pir [religious preacher] or religion-based group. So, different kinds of books are often distributed among us,” a young Bangladeshi expat told the Dhaka Tribune at Mustafa Centre, a hotspot for local Bangladeshis.

    “Even last Sunday [July 3], several thousands books were distributed in the Mustafa Centre area. A group of young men came and quickly distributed these books among everybody. One of the books is titled ‘Uphold Islam even in a foreign land.’”

    Several other young men who also spoke with the Dhaka Tribune at the Mustafa Centre said many Bangladeshis take these books back to their rooms. The books are written in a way that anyone getting a glimpse would be wanting to read more, they said.

    Fearing for their safety, the men requested that their voices not be recorded and that their names be excluded from the news report.

    Asked to describe what is written in these books, they said the authors mentally blackmail the Bangladeshis, writing provocative things against Jews and people of other religions. Sometimes references from the Qur’an are mentioned and words in Arabic are included.

    Even though no one understood what the Arabic words meant, many Bangladeshis believed whatever translation or interpretation was included in the books.

    “The books push Muslims to boycott Jewish products and offer namaz, and speak about jihad,” one of them said.

    Some of the youths, however, had a different explanation about the source of the books.

    They said these books might be distributed by Bangladeshi shop owners around Mustafa Centre to encourage Bangladeshis to boycott Singaporean products and buy stuff from their own stores instead.

    Several of the men also voiced their opposition against such books.

    “In Bangladesh, such books would have been known for spreading militancy. But since there is no such scope in Singapore, these books are now spreading fast,” one of them said.

    So far, at least 35 Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Singapore in connection with plotting terrorist activities.

    Earlier this month, a Singapore court convicted four Bangladeshi workers for financing terrorism and sentenced them to jail terms between two and five years.

    ‘Malaysian students being targeted’

    A different scenario was found in Malaysia, where university students told the Dhaka Tribune that they were the main brainwashing targets for extremists. Speaking on condition of anonymity, several of them said they receive many anti-Semitic messages regularly.

    The Bangladeshi students who regularly offered prayers and fasted were the ones usually targeted by militant recruiters, they said.

    But since it was revealed that Nibras Islam – one of the killers from the Dhaka terror attack – used to be a student in Malaysia, everyone has been on high alert, they added.

    The founder and incumbent president of Bangladesh Students Union Council, Mohammad Mohiuddin Mahi, told the Dhaka Tribune that monitoring of Bangladeshi students in Malaysia has been increased since the July 1 attack.

    “We have news that around 8,000 Bangladeshi students in 60 private, two public and six semi-public universities in Malaysia are being monitored. Malaysian police are secretly collecting information on where these students were living and who they had contact with, as well as tracking their mobile phones.

    “We have Bangladeshi student organisations at 29 Malaysian universities. Through these organisations, we have asked all expatriate Bangladeshis to stay alert,” Mahi added.

     

    Source: www.dhakatribune.com

  • 4 Bangladeshi Men Jailed Between 24-60 Months For Terror Financing

    4 Bangladeshi Men Jailed Between 24-60 Months For Terror Financing

    Four Bangladeshi nationals who contributed money to buy weapons and wage an armed jihad in Bangladesh were sentenced to between 24 and 60 months’ jail on Tuesday (Jul 12).

    The men – Rahman Mizanur, Miah Rubel, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader – pleaded guilty in May to one or two counts each of providing or collecting hundreds of dollars to fund terror attacks in Bangladesh.

    The group’s ringleader, Rahman, was sentenced to five years’ jail. Sohel was given two years behind bars, while Miah and Jabath were given 30 months each.

    “Much havoc can be wracked with inexpensive items. The cost of a terrorist act can be modest, but the cost to society is far greater. Singapore must take a firm stance against terrorism and terrorism financing,” said the prosecution.

    They are part of a group of eight detained in April under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, because of their support for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and their readiness to use violence overseas, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said.

    Ringleader Mizanur had set up the group, which called itself Islamic State in Bangladesh, after developing a “liking” for ISIS, prosecutors said.

    Mizanur had tried to join ISIS thrice, but was unable to obtain a visa to travel to Turkey and Algeria. He travelled to Singapore instead, where he recruited at least eight men, who met regularly in public parks to discuss waging an armed jihad against non-believers in Bangladesh.

    The prosecution had asked for 60 months’ jail for ringleader Mizanur, and between 24 months and 30 months for the other three.

    FOUR MEN YET TO BE DEALT WITH

    Two men – Zzaman Daulat and Mamun Leakot Ali – have denied the charges against them.

    Daulat claimed he did not know the money he contributed would be used for terrorism activities. However, other members of the group admitted they had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakar al-Bagdadi, the leader of ISIS, alongside Daulat in January.

    Another two men who were also part of Mizanur’s group, Sohag Ibrahim and Islam Shariful, both 24, will be dealt with separately.

    The punishment for financing terrorism is up to 10 years’ jail, a fine of up to S$500,000, or both.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Malaysia IGP: After India & Bangladesh, IGP Will Review Zakir Naik’s Sermons

    Malaysia IGP: After India & Bangladesh, IGP Will Review Zakir Naik’s Sermons

    KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s police chief announced today he will review all of Dr Zakir Naik’s sermons made in India and Bangladesh after the two South Asian countries launched investigations into the controversial Islamist preacher said to have inspired an attack on a Dhaka cafe last week.

    “I will comment when I have seen what he actually said in India/Bangladesh,” Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told Malay Mail Online in a text message this evening when contacted.

    He indicated that he will then consider the appropriate action to take if he finds that Dr Zakir’s speeches contain elements that could be seen as promoting terrorism.

    India’s National Investigation Agency is reportedly preparing to question the Mumbai-based preacher following claims he had inspired five gunmen to attack the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka that killed 22 people, including the attackers.

    Bangladeshi Information Minister Hassanul Haq Inu also reportedly said his country’s legal experts were looking into Dr Zakir’s speeches.

    Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam were two of the five Dhaka gunmen who were reportedly inspired by Dr Zakir, with Rohan allegedly posting on Facebook a quote he attributed to the preacher that “every Muslim should be a terrorist”.

    The head of the Hyderabad chapter of global terror group Islamic State, Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani, has attributed Dr Zakir’s teachings as the basis for his venture into militancy.

    Dr Zakir reputedly has 14 million followers on Facebook and 200 million viewers of his Peace TV channel.

    He was welcomed by the Malaysian government in April this year and held a week-long series of sermons and has been praised as a “very wise man”,  received tributes from the government including the prestigious “Tokoh Maal Hijrah” award in 2013 and was reportedly gifted three islands in Lake Kenyir from the Terengganu government.

    In the wake of the global controversy, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed has now advised Malaysians not to blindly accept the teachings of preachers whom he said may just want popularity.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Bangladeshi Foreign Workers Steadfast Observing Ramadan Despite Gruelling Schedules

    Bangladeshi Foreign Workers Steadfast Observing Ramadan Despite Gruelling Schedules

    On the last night of Terawih Prayers before Ramadan comes to an end for our Muslim friends, I had the privilege to witness and photograph how the men who built our houses practise their faith.

    Many of the construction workers in Singapore are Bangladeshi, and many Bangladeshi are Muslim, so I’ve always wondered how they continued to be faithful during the Holy Month despite their punishing and gruelling working lives here in Singapore.

    Last night (4th July 2016) I photographed these Muslim workers saying their Terawih Prayers outside their dormitory in Tuas, where space is so limited within the dorms that they have had to bring their faith out onto the roadside.

    *Please feel free to share this*

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    Source: Darren Soh I Photographer