theist-feminist writer Taslima Nasrin made a surprise appearance in court yesterday, and was granted bail in a civil suit charging her with insulting religious beliefs of Muslims in her native country of Bangladesh. With her face partially covered by a scarf, Nasrin arrived at the Dhaka justice court flanked by relatives and two unidentified men thought to be security personnel. It was her first public appearance since returning to Bangladesh on September 27 in order to care for her terminally ill mother.

    Nasrin fled the country in August, 1994 following death threats by Islamic fanatics. A civil suit filed against her by a Muslim, Zainal Abedin Babul, accused her of insulting the Islamic religion in the pages of one of her book, Selected Columns. In that and other writings, Nasrin has spoken out on behalf of equal rights for women, and the replacement of Islamic law by an enlightened secular code. Islamists, though, have called for her immediate rest and execution, and used her case to press their campaign for a national law against blasphemy.

    After fleeing Bangladesh, Nasrin was granted asylum in Sweden. She traveled throughout the Continent and to the United States; often compared to writer Salman Rushdie, also the target of Islamic death threats, she has become a symbol of secularism and equal rights for women.

    The hearing lasted 25 minutes, and Nasrin was represented by her attorney, Dr. Kamal Hossain. The bail motion was granted by Judge Kazi Ebadul Huq, although it is significant that the government's Deputy Attorney General, K.M.Faruk, opposed leniency for Nasrin. Judge Huq and fellow Justice Awlad Ali also ordered the government to show why Nasrin should not be granted permanent bail after four weeks, and ordered the state attorney to present all documents pertinent to her case.

    According to press reports from Reuters and the Bangladesh Daily Star newspaper, Nasrin appeared "nervous" during the hearing. After bail was granted, she and her entourage quickly headed along the long corridor on the first floor of the court building; her security team scuffled briefly with a news photographer and reporter, attempting to shield Nasrin from the camera. A waiting car then whisked her away to an undisclosed location.

    In an interview with the BBC later, Nasrin made another appeal for the government to protect her from Islamic militants who have called for her arrest and summary execution. Following yesterday's court action, a spokesman for the leading Muslim extremist group, Islami Oikya Jote, said his organization remained resolute. "It won't ease our stance," declared A.R.M. Abdul Matin, joint general secretary of IOJ. "We still demand her death ... that will warn all murtads (infidels) that they cannot escape the gallows." Martin told a correspondent with Reuters that IOJ and its allies would be meeting shortly to decide their next course of action.

    "It's a matter for the court to give her bail, but it's not the end of everything," said Abdul Martin.

   According to the Star newspaper, IOJ will be huddling today in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka at the Institution of Engineers. "IOJ sources said that the Jote (IOJ) would press for parliament adopting blasphemy laws so that murtads (infidels) would face capital punishment..."

    Before breaking out the champagne, atheists and other human rights activists focused on Ms. Nasrin's plight should pause and remember that this latest bail hearing is little comfort, and still does not resolve the wider questions in her case. Even with bail, the writer still faces a civil trial for "insulting" Islamic believers. There is also the questionable role of the present government in Bangladesh. While the current regime is seen as somewhat more liberal than its predecessor (while was in power when the original charges were filed in 1994), the state's role is far from a positive one. According to the latest BBC reports, correspondent David Chazen says that this government "has shown little interest in pursuing the case against" Nasrin." That claim is inaccurate, however. At yesterday's bail hearing, the government attorney opposed any leniency for Nasrin. And earlier this month, the Dhaka court demanded that Nasrin surrender by January 5. At that time, AANEWS observed, "The court ruling appears to confirm suspicions that the Bangladesh government is either too weak -- or unwilling -- to take a firm stand against the country's Islamic leaders."

    The government's actions, which border on appeasement of the fundamentalists, also appear to be encouraging (rather than abetting) Islamic militancy. Within hours of the government announcement ordering Nasrin to turn herself in, the Islamic Oikkya Jote (also identified as Jamaat-e-Islami) announced a $2,500 reward -- a large amount of money by Bangladesh standards -- for Nasrin's capture). IOJ also turned up the rhetoric, issuing a statement that "Taslima Nasrin is an infidel and it is the duty of Muslims to find her out and turn (her) over to the police..."

   Questions and problems remain. Should Nasrin live to see a trial, or choose to remain in Bangladesh, can she receive anything close to a "fair" hearing? If convicted, she faces a fine and up to three years in jail. What then? Islamic groups are also pressing for a nationwide blasphemy law. Bangladesh remains a poor country, and with the "Asian Meltdown" still a real possibility, Muslim fundamentalism is asserting itself again throughout the region as a political and cultural force -- as in Indonesia.

    Finally, Ms. Nasrin faces the same dilemma as Salman Rushdie; both are targets of Islamic wrath, and the groups stalking them appear unconcerned about any "official" status they may have. Ms. Rushdie lives under the threat of a "fatwa" or religious edict of death pronounced by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, despite declarations by the current Iranian government that it has "forgotten" the death sentence. Ms. Nasrin's case is less clear, although today's BBC News reports that Nasrin "said she would remain in hiding as long as Islamic groups maintain the Fatwa, the religious order calling for her death..."

(Thanks to Warren Allen Smith for information used in this story. Mr. Smith maintains a web site which tracks developments in the Nasrin case; visit http://idt.net/~wasm/nasrin.htm.)

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