Briefing on Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami’s Current Situation

Briefing on Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami’s Current Situation: Ultra-Secularist Government’s All-Out Systematic Attack in a Bid to Ban Jamaat & Execute its Top Leaders

Date: July 01, 2010

Dear Brothers (Leaders and Scholars of the Ummah),

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Subject: Briefing on Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami’s Current Situation: Ultra-Secularist Government’s All-Out Systematic Attack in a Bid to Ban Jamaat & Execute its Top Leaders

I hope this letter reaches you in the best of Iman and health. Your good-self may already have been aware of the current overall critical situation of the Islamic da’wah movement of Bangladesh, particularly the current ultra-secularist government’s onslaught of systematic brutal fascist actions against the largest organization of Islamic da’wah movement Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami in an attempt to crush and ban Jamaat and execute its leaders in order to remove all political obstacle in the way of the government of Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) to de-Islamize and secularize the country under the framework of the 1972 secularist Constitution that it is committed to restore since the same was subsequently amended in favor of constitutional principles that are suitable to a Muslim nation.

In this context, I would like to draw your kind attention with great concern that as part of its systematic fascist policy of exterminating the Islamic da’wah the government has unlawfully and unjustifiably arrested the Ameer of Jamaat Mr. Mawlana Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Mr. Ali Ahsan Mujahid, Deputy Ameer Mr. Mawlana Delawar Hossain Sayeedi on June 29, 2010 followed by a subsequent random arrest of hundreds of other leaders and activists throughout the country by grossly violating all norms of justice, human rights and democracy. We are deeply concerned that, unless the government’s brutal fascist actions are immediately intervened and abetted, the innocent leaders and workers of Jamaat may be subjected to inhuman tortures and execution on unfounded false and fabricated charges, the country may lose its prestigious Islamic identity and the nation may precipitate into disunity and political unrest leading to a civil war.

It is pertinent to note how politically ill-motivated and baseless the charges are on which the Jamaat leaders, who are highly respected Islamic scholars and personalities, were arrested by the ultra-secularist regime. It sounds completely ‘crocodile tears’ of an ultra-secularist government who does not have slightest sympathy to religious sentiment but to take all advantage thereof for political profiteering to arrest these Islamic leaders and scholars on a frivolous and fabricated allegation of hurting the religious sentiment of the Muslims. It is needless to state further how politically ill-motivated the arrest was and in what a fascist manner the government acted adhering to a principle of “might is right” since the alleged fabricated statement for which these highly respected Islamic leaders were arrested was not made by any of them but by another Jamaat leader who in fact made a comparison in one of his statements that the challenges and suppressions faced by the Prophet’s movement and those that Jamaat is currently facing are no different. Any person with rudimentary common sense can conclude that this should not by any means be construed as hurting religious sentiment yet by prominent Islamic leaders and scholars. Nevertheless the ultra-secularist government, which is utterly hostile to Islamic political activities, created a big issue out of this for its mean political gain.

It is further alarming that following the Jamaat leaders’ arrest, all forces of the ultra-secularist fascist government including the police and the country’s specially trained force Rapid Action Battalion or RAB have started a massive arrest and crackdown on Jamaat in every nook and corner of the country at the clear instruction of the Home Minister (see the national dailies, for example the Independent of July 1, 2010 at http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=180134 and the NFB at: http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-24545). There are also massive random attack on the activists and offices of Jamaat throughout the country by the student and youth wings of the ruling Awami League party. It is a matter of further concern that the government also denies any democratic right of Jamaat activists to protest against the politically motivated unjust arrest of their beloved leaders and demand their release. In order to implement the Government’s undemocratic fascist decision, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) chief has issued a press release against any protest and demonstration by Jamaat activists following the arrest of their leaders which states that such protest, demonstration and gathering would be treated as subversive of law and be strictly contained (see the daily Prothom Alo report of June 30, 2010 at http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2010-06-30/news/74952).

You will be thundered to know that since the government apprehended that the court might grant bail to the Jamaat leaders in such a frivolous case, they immediately declared the leaders under custody as "shown arrested" under other serious unfounded false cases such as murder of a Rajshahi University student (who was in fact killed due to the pro-government student organization Bangladesh Chhatra League or BCL’s in-fight), sedition and war crimes committed during 1971 etc so that they could not escape remand and physical torture for which is regime is notoriously knwon. As such, while the court has granted them bail for the frivolous case for which they were initially arrested, they are by now shown arrested for 8 cases whereas many more false cases are underway to be concocted against whereby the government has demanded 40 days remand for each of the leaders. The court has initially granted 16 days remand for each of the leaders on June 30, 2010 (see the daily Star of July 01, 2010 at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=24526) which will be extended on further demand after conclusion of the initial course of torture as customarily practiced between the Bangladesh government and its judiciary.

As you know, the Bangladesh Awami League, the present ruling party of Bangladesh, embraced secularism as its ideology from the beginning of its formation. The development of secularism in Bangladesh, however, started through an abnormal psyche, which is an extreme opposition to, and a deep-rooted desire of annihilating Islam and its symbols. After taking absolute control of the country in 1971, Awami League banned all Islamic parties and institutions and de-Islamized the educational system. Thousands of Islamic scholars and Islam loving-people were brutally killed only because they supported the unity of the two parts of then Pakistan that was created in the name of Islam out of the Hinduism dominated Indian sub-continent. However, Allah (SWT) changed the situation within a short period of time. After the fall of then Awami League regime by the 1975 revolution, Islamic da’wah movement gradually re-emerged and within few decades, it has been able to establish its strong base in the grassroots level of the society. After the incident of 9/11, the vitality and dominance of Islamic movement in Bangladesh drew the attention of world superpower and its local agents who are hostile to Islam. As a consequence, in 2007 the democratic process in Bangladesh was halted for two years. During that time, Islamic movement became the prime target of anti-Islamic media propaganda. The leaders of Islamic movement were falsely portrayed as ‘war criminals’ in national and international media. Subsequently, the two-year interim unconstitutional government before the current government, backed by military junta and anti-Islamic international community, handed over the power to the Bangladesh Awami League through a forged election employing a digital rigging, whereby the ultra-secularist party secured more than two third seats of the parliament under an engineered election.

After getting the power again, Awami League publicly vowed to exterminate Islamic movement from Bangladesh. As a part of that agenda, they are trying to stage ‘war crime’ tribunal drama. It is obvious that they do not have any evidence to try any leader of Islamic movement. Therefore, they could not try them through ordinary judicial system. They had to revive an Act, namely the Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973, which denies basic human rights of the accused. Under this Act anyone can be prosecuted and convicted without proper evidence or on the basis of false and fabricated evidence. That is why the International Bar Association has already declared this Act as outdated, fraught with injustices and against fundamental human rights. Nevertheless, the Bangladeshi government is adamant in prosecuting the so called ‘war criminals’ through this Act, and accordingly started a massive media campaign against the leaders of Jamaat.

Before even forming the tribunal and appointing the investigators and prosecutors, the ultra-secularist ruling party leaders and their loyal media already included all top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in the list of ‘war criminals’ and started seriously defaming and defiling the renowned Islamic personalities of the country. Their list even includes some current Islamic movement leaders who were only 4 years old at the time of the war. On 19^th March 2010, the State Minister of Law said that the top leaders of Jamaat including its Ameer Mr. Mawlana Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Mr. Ali Ahsan Mujaheed, Deputy Ameer Mr. Mawlana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and others will be prosecuted first as ‘war criminals.’ On 20^th March 2010, a top policy-maker of the Awami League government and the Agriculture Minister Mrs. Motia Chawdhury said that the Jamaat leaders will be hanged to death as ‘war criminals.’ The Law Minister of Bangladesh, who was a known communist comrade since his student life, as part of his government’s campaign to get international support, visited some countries including the United States and realized that the ‘war crime’ drama to execute Jamaat leaders, while ignoring the trial of the real identified 195 war criminals and prisoners of war from the then Pakistani army who were exonerated under a tri-partite treaty between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, may not be accepted internationally. Therefore, since the trial of war criminals requires monitoring and involvement of international community, and hence in order to avoid external intervention, he came up with a tricky alternative new idea of so called ‘trial of crimes against humanity.’ They are now propagating that they will not try the ‘war criminals’ but those who committed the ‘crimes against humanity’ during the time of liberation war in 1971.

On 26^th March 2010, the government appointed judges, prosecutors and investigators for the trial under the notorious Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973. All of them are involved with and loyal to the Awami League regime. The government has expressed its wish to finish the ‘war crime’ tribunal by the end of this year. We understand that the international and regional anti-Islamic forces and their local agents like the ruling Awami League and and its communist allies consider Jamaat as the main obstacle in fulfilling their dream of an ‘Islam free Bangladesh.’ If they can successfully convict, may Allah forbid, the entire leadership of Jamaat, the next step will be banning Islam based political parties and associations. They have already taken steps to de-Islamize the education system which will be easily done if there is no opposition from Jamaat and other socio-political and Islamic organizations.

Alhamdulillah, Jamaat is now deeply rooted in Bangladesh. By the mercy of Allah (SWT) and with the help of Islam-loving people, Jamaat will face the challenge both politically and legally. We earnestly seek dua from the world Muslim leaders like your esteemed-self and from all Islam-loving brothers and sisters across the globe, so that Allah (SWT) saves our beloved country and its Islamic movement from all the conspiracies of the anti-Islamic forces.

We also believe that a strong voice from the international community, especially from the Muslim states and organizations against such conspiracies and injustices of the current Bangladeshi ultra-secular government will inshaAllah ease the situation in favor of Islamic dawah movement. Saudi Arabia has a huge influence on Bangladesh, as more than two and a half million Bangladeshis are working there contributing to around 60% of Bangladesh’s remittance. If Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the arrest of Jamaat leaders and expresses its dissatisfaction about the ill motivated ‘war crime’ trial—which is nothing but a sheer political vendetta and repression against Islam—the government of Bangladesh will not proceed with their malicious agenda inshaAllah and hence the Islamic movement of Bangladesh will be able to surmount the challenges.

I request all of our well wishers and sympathizers to come forward and to do your part to save the Islamic da’wah movement of Bangladesh. Our combined effort will have an impact if Allah (SWT) wishes.

May Allah help all of us and accept our struggle for His cause.

Sincerely Yours Brother in Islam,

Barrister Abdur Razzaq

Asst. Secretary General

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami