PM's meeting with Peter King
At a time when the world leaders at the UN General Assembly including the president of the United States of America and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were unanimous in their strong condemnation of the anti Islam film that has put global peace and security in serious jeopardy, I was shocked and saddened at the news of our prime minister receiving US Congressman Peter King.
Peter King has earned notoriety for being one of the main leaders of fanning Islamophobia in the United States. He is best known for his racial hatred and intolerance towards Muslims and Islam. In fact he has been chastised by columnists and US civil society leaders in reputed newspapers including the New York Times and Washington Post for his bigoted agenda.
King pursues a steady campaign of hate against Islam and Muslims. The latest of his campaign was the convening of two Congressional Hearings in his capacity as Chair of the Committee of Homeland Security on “Radicalization of Muslim Americans” in which he characterized all US Muslims as terrorists and instigated the New York police and FBI to put Muslims under surveillance.
He was the inspiration behind the infamous Florida Pastor Terry Jones and is the political mentor of hate-mongers such as Pamella Geller, Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer.
Whoever advised the prime minister to receive this extremist politician did her and Bangladesh a great disservice in the eyes of the Muslim world. Our prime minister should check the antecedents of radical politicians before receiving them.
I say this as a well wisher of the prime minister who I admire and respect for her commitment to democracy and her fight against religious extremism and bigotry.
Finally, Peter King neither has the capacity nor the will to extradite the killer of the Father of the Nation. This I can say with certainty.
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