Bangladesh banned the July 28 issue Newsweek

Dhaka’s ban came four days after Pakistan imposed a similar ban on the same weekly issue for carrying material likely to incite Muslim religious sentiments.

"We have ordered the customs authorities to seize all copies of the Newsweek issue as it contains material which can incite religious sentiments," Minister Sheikh Rashid said, adding that the objectionable article on page 40 was about the (Muslim holy book) Koran.

Bangladeshi authorities later allowed copies of the magazines onto news stands with the offending pages ripped out.

It is not the first time that Newsweek has been banned in Bangladesh. Copies of its February 11, 2002 issue were confiscated because they contained an image of the Prophet Mohammed.

In September 2000, an issue which included an article on Islam was also banned.

Bangladesh, which has a population of 130 million, is the world’s third largest Muslim-majority country.