After receiving Islamist threats, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan apologises for attending Hindu ceremony in India
Bangladesh’s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been forced to make a public apology after he received Islamist threats for attending a Hindu ceremony in neighbouring India.
The leading all-rounder is the latest victim of increasingly vocal Islamists, who also staged massive anti-France rallies in recent weeks over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Shakib ignited a storm of social media protests in the Muslim majority country – Bangladesh – after attending a ceremony in Kolkata dedicated to a Hindu goddess.
Islamic preachers in Bangladesh say that people shouldn’t attend ceremonies and events of other faiths.
"I was on the stage for barely two minutes. People are talking about this and thought I inaugurated it," Shakib told an online forum late Monday.
"I did not do this and being a conscious Muslim I would not do this. But, maybe, I should not have gone there. I am sorry for this and apologise," he said.
"As a practising Muslim, I always try to follow religious customs. Please forgive me if I have done anything wrong," he added.
Shakib spoke hours after man-made personal threats against him on a Facebook live forum for "hurting religious sentiment". The man later apologised and went into hiding.
Police state that they are trying to nab the man and were searching for a knife that was shown during the forum.
Shakib is currently the number one all-rounder in ICC ODI Rankings. In
October 2019, he was found to have breached the ICC anti-corruption code
and was banned for two years with one year suspended.
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