DHAKA: For Years the authorities in Bangladesh have been trying to stop men urinating in the public. But the efforts seemed a failure.
But the Bangladesh religious affairs ministry’s recent decision to erect new signs in Arabic brought a marked effect, despite most Bangladeshis being unable to read the language.
For most in the mainly-Muslim country, Arabic is sacred owing to its religious importance. “This campaign has received a great positive response so far as the Bangladeshi people respect Arabic and we’ve just utilized that.” Anwar Hussain, a ministry spokesperson said.
“I don’t understand why people urinate by the roadsides. Especially when every mosque provides public toilet facilities,” Matior Rahman, the country’s religious affairs minister, says in the video which has gone viral on internet.
The campaign however has sparked a strong rebuke from influential cleric Farid-ud-din Masud, who said that such an act tarnished the prestige of the Arabic language.
“Nobody has the right to use the language of the Quran for such a campaign,” the cleric said, according to an online news portal.
“The people of the country respect Arabic but that does not mean that we’ll tolerate the use of Arabic to stop people from urinating at street corners.” the cleric said.
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