BFF forces non-Muslim players to recite Quran verses

Sports Desk

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has dealt a severe blow to religious freedom. Before the match against Singapore, non-Muslim footballers were compelled to recite verses from the Holy Quran. The BFF itself released a video of this incident on Facebook today, portraying it in a positive light.

This evening at 7 PM, the BFF’s official Facebook page shared a video captioned, “They always begin with prayer.” The footage shows players reciting Surah Al-Fatiha, including Hindu defender Tapu Barman, who was seen moving his lips. At the end of the recitation, everyone was heard shouting “Ameen.”

The BFF has made Quran recitation a ritual for the national football team before matches. However, the Bangladesh squad includes several non-Muslim players. Goalkeeper Mitul Marma, defender Tapu Barman, and Canada-based midfielder Shamit Shome—all non-Muslims—were part of the starting eleven against Singapore on June 10.

Investigations reveal that while the non-Muslim players did not know the Quranic verses, they could not object and were forced to move their lips in compliance. The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees religious freedom to all citizens, but in this case, that freedom was clearly violated by compelling non-Muslims to participate in Quranic recitations before the match.