Exiled Bangladeshi author and human rights activist Taslima Nasrin stirred a storm of debate with her sharp remarks on Islam and terrorism during a session at the Delhi Literature Festival. Taslima Nasrin stated, “Terrorism will stay as long as Islam is there.” Speaking in the wake of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, where 26 people mostly tourists were killed most of them being Hindus. Taslima Nasrin compared the incident to the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka. In both cases, she noted, victims were allegedly targeted based on their inability to recite Islamic verses. “In the 2016 Dhaka attack, Muslims were slaughtered because they couldn’t recite the Kalma,” she said. “This is what happens when faith is allowed to overrule reason and humanity.”
Taslima Nasrin, author of the banned book Lajja, argued that Islam has failed to evolve over 1,400 years and continues to foster fundamentalist ideologies. “Until it does, it will continue to breed terrorists,” she warned. She further criticized the proliferation of mosques and religious schools, stating, “There should be no madrasas. Children must read all books, not just one.”
Now 62, Nasrin has lived in exile since 1994 after facing multiple death threats and blasphemy accusations in Bangladesh. Despite living in Sweden, the US, and India over the years, she shared a deeply personal sentiment during the session: “I am a permanent resident of the US and have lived there for 10 years, but I always felt like an outsider. It was only when I came to Kolkata that I felt at home. Even after being thrown out of West Bengal, I found another home in Delhi. This country has given me a sense of belonging that my own country could not.”
On the topic of women’s rights and religious reform, Taslima Nasrin voiced strong support for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India. “Every civilised country must have a UCC. I support it,” she said. “Islamic patriarchs want Quranic rights. Rights must never be religious. If women’s security is compromised in the name of culture, religion or tradition, then we must question that culture.”
