- May 02, 2026
Staff Reporter | PNN:
This month, incidents of religious insults and disrespect have reached a new high in educational institutions across Bangladesh. Apoorva Pal, a student of North South University, has been permanently expelled from his campus for desecrating the Holy Quran and is currently in prison. Similarly, Md. Monser Ali, a student of United International University, has also been permanently expelled for a related incident.
Recently, four students from Dhaka University (DU) have faced accusations of religious disrespect. Among them, one student has been suspended for six months, while investigations against the other two students have been completed and are awaiting administrative review. Additionally, a new complaint has been filed against a student in the Department of Physics.
At Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, protests were held demanding the expulsion of a student accused of making derogatory remarks about religion. Similar incidents and reactions have been reported among students at Islamic University and Rajshahi University.
University administrations have stated that all such complaints are thoroughly investigated and appropriate measures are taken. Saifuddin Ahmed, Proctor of Dhaka University, noted that students will be formally warned through university notifications.
Islamic scholars and education experts attribute these incidents to gaps in educational curricula, lack of religious knowledge, and, in some cases, Islamophobic attitudes. Dr. Muhammad Tajammul Haque, Proctor of Jagannath University, remarked that these incidents reflect a long-term problem of spreading Islamophobia in the past 15 years of governance in the country.
Associate Professor Md. Didarul Islam of Dhaka University added that historically, people in the region have respected all religions, but recent actions by some misguided individuals are undermining this tradition, signaling social decay.
University administrations and experts hope that increasing student awareness and implementing strict punitive measures will help prevent the recurrence of such incidents of religious insults and disrespect.
