In Bangladesh and so many other places, extremists want to destroy multi-cultural and multi-religious societies. Most of us do not want to live under those terms; our response, therefore, requires a cool head.
For many extremist groups, a preferred strategy is to sow panic, seeking to strangulate tolerant instincts and set different groups against each other. The violence seen across the border in Bangladesh is purposeful in its barbarity.
When foreign investors get nervous, when development projects fail, when the middle class flees abroad and when tourists stay away, the extremists have secured their short-term victory. Their long game is to completely pollute the relationship between religious communities, in this case Muslims and non-Muslims, hoping that eventually there will be no alternative to all-out religious war. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)
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