In breaking news a Bangladeshi gay couple tied the knot in London, United Kingdom this past 14^th of September 2017. Mr Nobi Hossain and Zahirul Islam decided to get married after being together for reportedly 3 years.

However the news of Mr Zahiruls union reached his hometown of Kapasia, causing general unrest amongst its residents. Some local acted out, venting their anger by gluing derisory posters of Mr Zahirul Islam all across Kapasia. There was also a protest demonstration organized against him, in which he was declared a ‘kafir’ and a ‘murtad’ by the Imam of Kapasia Jam-E-Mosque. During the mass demonstration the local police station deployed extra law enforcement units on to the streets in order to maintain peace and order.

We managed to speak to some of the locals regarding the incident and nearly all of them expressed their distaste and repulsion at the incident. Some of them said that there should be tougher sanctions against such individuals. Some remarked that Islam strictly prohibits such lewdness and that the wrath of Allah will soon consume them.

It is worth mentioning that maintaining or wishing to form same sex relationships is a punishable offence here in Bangladesh, in accordance with the Bangladesh Penal code 377. It is also worth mentioning that the couple are perfectly within their rights to get married in Britain. Legislation to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in July 2013 and came into force on 13 March 2014.

We did managed to track down Mr Zahirul’s family Kapasia. However they flatly refused to speak to our correspondent regarding the incident and instead stated that Mr Zahirul Islam has been disowned by them.

Some of the locals also informed us that this is not the first time there have been complaints made against Zahirul.

This past 14^th of September 2017, a Bangladeshi couple quietly registered their union down at the Newham Council in East London.

Our London correspondent reports that Mr Nobi Hossain and his partner Zahirul were in a long standing relationship prior to getting married, and had been living together for quite a while before eventually deciding to get married.

The marriage ceremony meanwhile was conducted in as much secrecy as possible. In fact only a few of the newly-weds closets friends were present at the marriage. We were able to get in touch with one of them, a Mr Abdullah Al Hassan, who is a close friend of the couple. He informed us that Mr Hossain and Mr Islam’s union is something to cherish, particularly if one is aware of the hardships and adversities they had to overcome to finally have their special moment. He continues that the celebrations were perhaps slightly muted because the couple had to conclude their union in such haste and secrecy. He believes it is a shame that people like Mr Hossain and Mr Islam cannot openly celebrate what is perhaps the most important day of their lives. He blames the outdated mentalities of Bangladeshi communities across the world and their reluctance to recognise equal rights for LGBT people.

It is perhaps no surprise that Mr Hossain and Mr Islam had to register their marriage in such a manner. Same sex relationships are defined as a sin in Islam of course, and widely looked down upon in Asia, especially in Bangladesh were maintaining same sex relationships is a punishable offence under the Bangladesh Penal Code 377. Indeed individual who show homosexual tendencies in Bangladesh are often maltreated, ostracized, and even subjected to various forms of hormonal treatments in a bid to ‘cure their sexual orientation’. Both Mr Islam and Mr Hossain were unavailable for comment.

It is worth noting that this particular wedding follows that of one Jahed Choudhury, a Bangladeshi, who is widely believed to be the first Muslim man to have committed to same sex marriage. He married his partner Sean Rogan on June

A group Muslim fundamentalists violently attacked the Hindu community located inside Puran Bazaar, Chandpur, riled over the actions of one Miltan Kumar Dey whom they accuse of producing blasphemous content against towards Islam.

The Hindu community, a minority group in terms of the Chandpur’s (and Bangladesh’s) geography, where shaken by an attack reportedly coordinated by local Awami League and some Jamaat-E-Islami members in the area. The attack took place sometime after midnight on Saturday.

The culprits mercilessly wrecked everything in their path, including Hindu symbols in sanctuaries, Puja mantles, with some even attacking Hindu households in the area and the people within. Some locals reported hearing loud, energetic chants of ‘Naraye Takbir’ during the incident.

Saturday’s fiasco is intimately connected to a local Chandpur man named Miltan Kumar Dey, son of Mr Sammbhu Nath Dey and Mrs Mamata Rani Dey. Our local correspondent dug around for some information on him in and around Chandpur. He came to discover that Mr Kumar Dey is Hindu blogger and online activist currently on a study leave in London.

Now the fundamentalist group which laid siege to the peaceful Hindu community in the area claimed that Mr Kumar Dey is guilty of composing and uploading profane articles about Islam on his personal blog.

Aside from the concentrated attack on Hindu establishments, there were also reports that local Awami League cadets surrounded Mr Kumar Dey’s home. Local people who live there said that previously area’s local chairman reportedly summoned Mr Kumar Dey’s parents, and openly threatened them to either make their son stop what he is doing, or simply leave the area. We did track down his house in Chandpur and were surprised to find it locked, and uninhabited. We asked the neighbours about the incident and they informed us that they have not seen Mr Kumar Dey or his family for a long time now. The neighbours believe that the Mr Kumar dey’s family abandoned the premises out of fear for their lives, given the fiasco in Chandpur over Mr Kumar Dey’s activities as a blogger and activist.

Worryingly enough the local people claimed that fundamentalists blamed right from the start and would rebuke them for seemingly trivial things such as celebrating their Puja festivals, performing ‘kirtans’, spiritual singing sessions etc and so on, claiming that the ensuing ruckus distracts them from conducting their own prayer sessions (‘namaaz’) properly. Taranath Das, a local resident complained to our reporter that, “local police did not come on time. In fact, the local Police officer Mr. Shahin was reluctant to take proper action against the attackers”.

Mr Kumar Dey was in the UK at the time when the incident occurred and his home was surrounded, so was thus unavailable for comment. Unfortunately, we were also unable to get a hold of him through our contacts in London.

Such uncertainty leaves the air inside Puran Bazaar feeling heavy. It is plausible that things may escalate again in this current climate.