'They are not us': Bangladeshis rally against minority sect

FILE PHOTO: Muslim devotees carry a Bangladesh national flag as they take part in a rally to mark Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, in Dhaka on October 9, 2022. - AFP

DHAKA: Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Bangladesh's capital on Saturday (Nov 15) to demand that followers of a tiny Muslim sect be declared infidels, in a show of force for hardliners ahead of elections.

The Ahmadiya community, followers of a branch of Sufism that has its origins in 19th-century India, have long been persecuted in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.