Anger erupts in Bangladesh, India over comments about Islam

By JULHAS ALAM
Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people have marched in Bangladesh’s capital and in parts of India to urge Muslim-majority nations to cut ties with India and boycott its products unless it punishes two governing party officials for comments deemed derogatory to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The protesters in Dhaka also criticized their country’s government for not publicly condemning the comments made last week by the two officials in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party. One official has been suspended and the other expelled after the BJP denounced insults of religious figures, but Bangladeshi and Indian protesters said the actions were not enough. In India, thousands of Muslims took to the streets after Friday prayers and hurled rocks at police in several towns and cities.