Awami League’s crushing defeat in the four city corporation polls was only a ‘reaction’ of voters, most of whom were ‘Muslims’, said Mizanur Rahman Syed, a Joint Convenor of Hifazat-e Islam.
He said this at a discussion – “Hifazat-e Islam: Quomi education and political reality” – when asked whether his party had indeed been a reason behind the incumbent’s defeat. Ruling Awami League candidates lost the mayoral race in all four cities.
Syed said that the government had not said that it was against the Muslims. “But it is evidently aiding an anti-Muslim cause.”
“If there is an incident that hurts the core of a Muslim, we will offer proposals – and you will initiate measures while we sit and pray. The government has turned against Muslims by not heeding to anything and extending their support to anti-Islamists.”
He also pointed out that most of the votes were ‘in the hands of Muslims, not non-Muslims’.
“Most of the votes are in the hands of Muslims, not Hindus. This was reflected in the polls. This is not the work of Hifazat; the result came automatically.”
“So there was a natural reaction among the voters,” said the Hifazat leader, indicating that this was perhaps what had happened in the city polls.
But as for Hifazat playing a role, Syed denied a hand in them. “There might have been other parties acting under the guise of Hifazat.”
He said this in reply to a question by bdnews24.com Arts Editor and poet Muhammad Nurul Huda, who moderated the discussion.
The Imam of the noted Sholakia Eidgah (which houses the largest congregation), Fariduddin Masuod, Mizanur Rahman Syed, National Professor and a history scholar, Salahuddin Ahmed, Dhaka University history professor Sirajul Islam and Salimullah Khan took part in the discussion held at the bdnews24.com office on Saturday.Sirajul Islam told bdnews24.com, “If this kind of sincere dialogue could have been made between the parties and politicians, the political scenario of the country would have been different.”
Radical outfit Hifazat-e Islam came into prominence soon after the Ganajagaran Mancha launched a movement in February demanding the maximum penalty for war criminals.
They said the bloggers organising the movement were ‘atheist’ and hit the streets with a 13-point demand, including death for the bloggers. They also demanded that The Woman’s Development Act be scrapped and men and women be prohibited from mixing publicly.
The leaders from the ruling party claimed Hifazat-e Islam was part of a plot to overthrow the government, an apprehension that had prompted the eviction of its radical supporters from Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar where they had begun an indefinite sit-in at the business hub on May 5.
The main opposition tuned in with Hifazat-e Islam to allege that people were killed during the eviction drive. But the government dismissed the allegation.
Mufti Mizan, another Hifazat Joint Convenor, said, “We never said the government does not want Islam. It wants Islam, but they are speaking the same language as the force against Islam.”
“Harassment and abuses were used to corner Hifazat. Lies were told through the media.”
Hifazat leaders have termed the government ‘atheistic’ in their various speeches and comments.The Hifazat leader went on to say Islam’s view of politics was to help established regimes govern according to Allah’s laws.
If a government made mistakes, it was an obligation to press for the implementation of Allah’s laws for people’s sake, he added.
He said the core education offered by Quomi Madrasas had little to do with conventional politics. They were individual matters. Those taking the right path in practising politics stand to get “rewards for the additional worship”, he added.
However, the Hifazat leader was unwilling to concede that a state could be kept entirely separate from religion.
“Islam does not agree with this because politics is inseparable from a man’s life. This is an absolute necessity for man and nation. It can never be that people will work to towards this end and Islam will not give directions,” he said.
He added that politics was included in the 10 chapters of Islam. “Anyone can do this, it’s like participating in a namaz-e-janaja.”
Mufti Mizan said these are some of the things taught at Quomi madrasas.
About the rise of Hifazat, he said, “When the talks of atheist bloggers arose, we were waiting to see the reaction from political groups.”
He said when they found that the parties chose to be silent, “we the lovers of the Prophet rose up to save faith and religion”.
