By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka

Condemning London-based columnist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury’s reported derogatory remarks, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday demanded an investigation into whether he was provoked by any quarter.
The party also demanded punishment for Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN, Dr AK Abdul Momen, for presenting Gaffar Chowdhury with a crest after making offensive remarks.
“Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury at a seminar on ‘Bangladesh: Past, Present and Future’ at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in the USA made offensive remarks about Allah’s 99 adjectival names,” said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon.
Addressing a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan office, he said, “His (Chowdhury’s) comments have created serious discontent in the country. He has hit the religious sentiment of the entire Muslim world. We strongly denounce his offensive remarks.”
He also demanded a fair investigation into the matter to know whether there was any provocation from the foreign ministry.
“We don’t want to believe the government has any link to the incident. So, the government must look into it to identify whether any quarter has its hand in it.”
According to media reports, Chowdhury, an expatriate Bangladeshi living in the UK, made various offensive comments about Islam at a seminar arranged by Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the UN on July 3.
Mentioning that it is necessary to take approval of the authorities concerned before presenting any keynote paper in their programme, Ripon said such a seminar cannot be arranged in Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the UN without the foreign minister’s approval.
The BNP leader regretted that when the seminar should have been halted after Chowdhury’s anti-Islamic remarks rather he was presented a crest from the Bangladesh Mission. “We’re stunned as to why Bangladesh UN Mission chief Abdul Momen invited Chowdhury there to make disparaging comments about Allah.”
Ripon also criticised Chowdhury for his comment that the US will be doomed saying such remarks can affect the country’s ties with the US.