Narinjara News


Madrasah Students from Burma arrested in Bangladesh

Teknaf, 13^th March 03:  The BDR, border guards of Bangladesh, arrested twenty-one Burmese Muslim students from Burma on 19^th February, said our correspondent quoting a source in the area.

The students were on their way to enrol into an Islamic Madrasah college in Patiya, near Chittagong  the main port city of Bangladesh.  The Burmese nationals were arrested on charges of illegal entry.  The arrested persons have now been shifted to the Cox’s Bazaar prison in the southeastern part of the country.

The move has been contrary to the undeclared permission of allowing Burmese Muslims to continue their religious studies in many madrasahs of the country, a practice that has never been challenged either the courts or Bangladesh or the law enforcement agencies here. 

An Islamic cleric from Cox’s Bazaar told our correspondent that since there is no permission for the Muslims of Burma to go to an outside country for religious studies, and because the Burmese junta do not issue legal passports to the Muslim madrasah students, they have no other way than illegally cross the border to Bangladesh and get degrees on Islamic studies from the Madrasahs in Bangladesh.  #