Bangladesh starlet apologises after 'atheist' comments



DHAKA: A Bangladeshi actress has been forced to apologise after remarks construed as admitting atheism in a country where people have been murdered for renouncing religion.

Safa Kabir, an actress and model who has appeared in top Bangladeshi television dramas, told a private radio station this week she did not believe in the afterlife.

"I don't believe in life after death. Actually, I never believe in what I can't see," she said, in comments that some took as a rejection of Muslim beliefs in heaven and hell.

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Atheism is largely taboo in Bangladesh, where nearly a dozen atheist activists have been brutally attacked and killed by suspected Islamist extremists in recent years.