India’s neighboring country Bangladesh is in the headlines these days for many reasons. Meanwhile, the social media post of the American Embassy has created a new storm. That post revealed that Bangladesh was importing maize from America. Now this news spread like wildfire and voices of protest started rising. Not only this, Muslim-majority countries are accusing the interim government of Bangladesh of hurting the religious sentiments of the people.
Now these questions might be arising in your mind that this issue is related to Bangladesh and its people, but why is this issue being made famous on social media? Why are people of many Muslim countries also reacting strongly to this? The answer to all the questions is a fertilizer used for maize cultivation in America, which hurts the religious sentiments of Muslims. Let us understand how
Sensation spread due to this post of American Embassy
The US Embassy has written in its post, American maize is reaching Bangladesh this month. Known for its nutritional qualities, it is an essential ingredient in many foods, including staples like cornbread and breakfast cereals. Maize is also used to feed animals, ensuring a reliable supply of meat, dairy and eggs.
This post created a sensation on social media. Users are continuously commenting on this, while many users have left no stone unturned in making fun of this post. One user sarcastically wrote, “In return for Trump’s flattery, Bangladesh is getting maize grown from pig dung.” And, said another, “Now Islamists will enjoy corn grown from pig feces.”
Why the controversy over American corn?
Some comments are also regarding Muslim religious sentiments. While some called it part of business pressure. However, till now the US Embassy has not responded to this controversy. In fact, in America, pig manure is commonly used as fertilizer in maize farming and pigs and their related products are considered haram in Islamic Shariat. More than 90% of the population of Bangladesh is Muslim. For this reason, this issue became viral due to religious sentiments.
However, this is not the first time that a pork-related controversy has arisen in Bangladesh. A few years ago, the government had banned its import and sale after traces of pork were found in meat and bone meal (MBM), used in animal and fish feed.