After a Dhaka University professor asked a woman to remove her veil during his class, Muslim extremists called for his death, posting his personal details online along with tips on how to kill. Today, he remains under constant guard by armed police, stays mostly at home and bars his front door.
Azizur Rahman is among a growing number of political moderates and intellectuals seeking protection in Bangladesh, where at least 15 writers, activists, religious minorities and foreign aid workers have been killed in targeted attacks since the start of 2015. Islamic extremists have claimed responsibility for the killings, which have prompted some Bangladeshis to go into hiding, and others to seek asylum in the United States and Europe.
Some of the violence has taken place at Rahman’s university in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. last year, secular writer and blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death and his wife was critically injured in a savage attack on campus.