Dhaka: Hundreds of Muslims in Bangladesh have burned at least four Buddhist temples and 15 homes after complaining that a Buddhist man had insulted their religion.
They carried out the attacks in protest at a photograph posted on Facebook which they said insulted Islam and had been put on the website by a Buddhist.
At least one Buddha statue was beheaded during the attacks, which happened in Buddhist villages in the Cox's Bazar area in the south-east of the country.
It follows days of tension after Muslims across the world were angered by an anti-Islamic film made in the US.
Police said they had deployed extra security forces and banned gatherings in Buddhist-dominated areas.
'We brought the situation under control before dawn and imposed restrictions on public gatherings,' said Salim Mohammad Jahangir, district police superintendent for Cox's Bazar.
Police had escorted the man accused of posting the insulting photograph and his mother to safety, he added.
Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir described the attacks on temples as a 'premeditated and deliberate attempt' to disrupt harmony.
Alamgir also promised to rebuild the Buddhist monasteries and temples, and compensate those whose houses were torched.
Muslims in Bangladesh and beyond have also been outraged by violence over the border in
Myanmar where members of the majority Buddhist community clashed with minority Muslims this year.
Sohel Sarwar Kajal, the Muslim head of the council in the area, said he was trying to restore peace.
'We are doing everything possible to quell tension and restore peace between the communities,' he said.
More than 100 Buddhists staged a silent protest in the capital Dhaka on Sunday afternoon against the attacks on their temples, witnesses said.
