Religious fanatics have found different social media and streaming sites as a highly effective platform to spread their ideology and anti-government propaganda.
They made the full use of the platform in their campaign against the installation of Bangabandhu’s sculpture and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Bangladesh.
They have huge followers in the social media and streaming sites, including Facebook, YouTube and Tweeter. How much the fanatics are exploiting the platform has been manifested in a statement by Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh joint secretary general Mamunul Haque on Friday.
Amid Brahmanbaria journalists’ boycott of Hefazat news, he said at a rally in Baitul Mukarram area, “It doesn't matter if the media refrain from covering our news. We’ll run campaigns on the social media.”
"You have television screens, we have 3.5 lakh mosques. If you have national newspapers, we have social media. I tell the media to disseminate real news.”
Hefazat, an organisation of teachers and students of Qawmi madrasas across the country, was the main campaigner against the government move to install a mega sculpture of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the city, and Narendra Modi’s Dhaka visit to attend twin celebrations -- Bangabandhu’s birth centenary and golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence.
Brahmanbaria Press Club recently announced an indefinite boycott of news from religious organisations, including Hefazat-e-Islam, in protest against the vandalism of public and private property in Brahmanbaria during their strike.
Hefazat people clashed with police at different parts of the country during their anti-Modi protest that claimed a number of lives.
Mamunul said at the Friday rally, “The [mainstream] media will be boycotted if necessary. Someone might have misguided the journalists of Brahmanbaria."
