Rajshahi University teacher takes down Facebook post calling Begum Rokeya an ‘infidel’

He says the post brought him and his family a lot of trouble

Amid widespread criticism and public backlash, Rajshahi University teacher Khandaker Mahmudul Hasan has removed his Facebook post targeting Begum Rokeya, a pioneer of women’s rights, an “infidel”.

Mahmudul said the post caused undue stress for himself and his family.

Mahmudul, who teaches physics at Rajshahi University, took down the post from social media on Wednesday, explaining the reason behind his decision in another post.

“Ever since I made the post, I have been facing many problems, which have become very burdensome for me and my family. I made the statement based on the principles of breach of faith,” he wrote in the latest post.

“My statement sounded like a fatwa [Islamic religious ruling or legal opinion]. A fatwa can only be given by a religious scholar, not by someone like me. That’s why I have deleted my post,” he wrote.

Mahmudul made the controversial post on Facebook on Tuesday as the country marked Begum Rokeya Day.

“Today is the birthday of the apostate, infidel Begum Rokeya," he had written the line after sharing a post of another Facebook user named Sajid Hasan.

The post had gone viral immediately, drawing public backlash.

Mahmudul followed his first post with a second one, defending his stance. In the second post, he wrote Rokeya denied the Book revealed by Allah, denied the prophethood of Muhammad, called him a deceiver, and made disparaging remarks about the laws revealed by Allah.

After all this, a person would no longer be seen as adhering to the faith, he wrote in the second post.

“You could say that I overstepped. Anyone who has a basic understanding of the causes that nullify faith would never call such a person a believer,” he wrote.

He has deleted his second post as well.