DHAKA: Bangladesh`s high court rejected on Monday a petition by secular activists to scrap Islam as the state religion in the wake of nationwide protests by hardline groups.

A special bench of three judges threw out the petition within moments of opening the case, without allowing any testimony, an AFP correspondentatthe courtsaid.

The petition, which was ñrst launched 28 years ago, has triggered countrywide protests by religious groups.

`We are saddened (at the ruling). It`s a sad day for the minorities of Bangladesh, said Subrata Chowdhury, who represented the secular activists in the case.

The court did not allow the petitioners to state their case or present any arguments, he said. `The judges simply said the rule is discharged.

Bangladesh was declared officially secular in 1971 after separation from Pakistan.

In 1988 the then military ruler, Gen Hussain Muhammad Ershad, declared Islam the state religion in an attempt to consolidate power.

Secularists have argued for decades that having the state religion conflicts with Bangladesh`s secular charter and discriminates against non-Muslims.

More than 90 per cent of the country`s population is Muslim, with Hindus and Buddhists the main minorities.

The country`s Jamaat-iIslami responded to the court`s decision by withdrawing a call for a nationwide strike. It described the outcome as a `victory of 160 million people`.

The court`s decision threatens to heighten tensions between secularists and hardliners in the nation.-AFP