Bangladeshi sculptor faces death threat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DHAKA, Bangladesh, June 30 — A well-known sculptor in Bangladesh has sought police protection after Islamic extremists denounced her work and threatened to torture her to death, the country’s police chief said Wednesday.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The threat to Shamim Sikdar was made early this month in a letter signed by the Taliban Bahini, an obscure militant Islamic group. It was later followed by repeated phone threats at her office and home, police said.
Sikdar's latest sculpture at Dhaka University, where she teaches art, features Bangladeshi women who fought for the country's independence against Pakistan in 1971.
The militant group accused Sikdar of encouraging people to worship idols, which is not permitted in Islam, authorities at Dhaka University said.
Sikdar was not available for comment.
Sikdar is a close friend of Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin, who fled the country for the second time early this year after Islamic extremists offered $5,000 to anyone who killed her.
The extremists targeted Nasrin in 1994 after a newspaper quoted her as saying the Islamic holy book, the Koran, should be revised to give women more rights. She denied making the comment and fled the country.