On Thursday, 8th August, Prof Muhammad Yunus assumed the office of Bangladesh forming the interim government after the country’s PM Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post amid the ‘student protests’. PM Modi extended good wishes to the newly formed interim government and asked it to ensure the safety of the Hindu community and minorities in Bangladesh which are under attack after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.
Notably, the newly formed interim government consists of 17 members including Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed; Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, the former election commissioner of Bangladesh; Dr. Md Nazrul Islam, a law professor; Adilur Rahman Khan, a human rights activist; AF Hassan Ariff, a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh; Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association among others.
However, one of the shocking names that have been included in the list of interim ministers is that of Islamist Abul Fayez Muhammad Khalid Hossain, popularly known as Dr AFM Khalid Hossain. Hossain has been the vice president of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh and is currently associated with the Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic organization. The Hefazat-e-Islami is a hardline Islamist organization, whose members have been accused of persecuting Hindus in the past.
As per the local reports, Dr AFM Khalid Hossain is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar and an international Islamic speaker. He along with several other leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam has a history of influencing the Muslims against the Sheikh Hasina-led government and its ties with India.
He is a former vice-president of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, an editor of the periodical At-Tawheed, and assistant editor of Balagh al-Sharq. He served as the professor and chairman of the Department of Islamic History and Culture at Omargani MES College, as well as the central president of the Islami Chhatra Samaj, the Nizam-e-Islam Party’s student branch.
#NewsAlert
— Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (@salah_shoaib) August 8, 2024
For years I have been alering about resurgence of radical Islam in Bangladesh. Now, A K M Khalid Hossen, former Nayeb-e-Amir of Pro-Caliphate Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) has been included in the interim government as one of the advisors. HeI is known for its extreme… pic.twitter.com/LkV3cgrT0V
Hefazat-e-Islam and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh
Hefazat-e-Islam was founded in Chittagong in January 2010 by Islamist Ahmad Shafi aiming to ‘safeguard’ Islam from claimed anti-Islamic initiatives. The Islamist group also aimed at abolishing secularism and propagating hard-core Islamic beliefs. The group’s formation was prompted by the 2009 Women Development Policy draft, which suggested equal inheritance rights for women.
The group is composed of up of Sunni Islamists, their madrassa network, and supporters and its leaders have always publicly advocated for political and legal reform. The group publicly attacked the secular court system and called for the establishment of an Islamic state in Bangladesh under Sharia law.
In 2013, Hefazat-e-Islam proposed a 13-point program that included gender segregation and the release of imprisoned Islamic scholars in Bangladesh. They condemned secular action, including calls for the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami officials.
The group has aimed to make Bangladesh an Islamic nation and voiced its opinions against the Sheikh Hasina-led government. The group forced the government to take action against secular activists who were allegedly engaged in anti-Islamic activities. They also forced the authorities to remove 17 stories and poetry written by secular or non-Muslim writers from Bengali textbooks. This probably has been just to propagate Islam and oppose non-Muslims in the country.
Despite this, former Hafazat-e-Islam president Shah Ahmad Shafi had an excellent working relationship with government officials. However, following Shafi’s death in 2020, a more conservative faction led by Junaid Babunagari rose to control. The faction terminated all unofficial communications with the Awami government. Despite the worsening of ties, the Awami League government attempted to engage the group rather than crack down on it. But the picture entirely changed after March 2021 when Indian PM Modi visited the country to celebrate Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence.
In March 2021, massive protests were organized and managed by Hefazat-e-Islam, leading to violence and chaos across the country. Chittagong and Brahmanbaria, in the country’s east, suffered damage to government offices and property. The violence continued even after Modi’s departure when a train and several Hindu temples were attacked in Brahmanbaria. Hefazat-e-Islamist members chanted ‘action, action, direct action’ in an ominous development. It is pertinent to mention that Jinnah’s call for ‘Direct Action’ led to the genocide of Bengali Hindus in 1946.
The violent protests, which claimed the lives of many Hindus, were viewed as a danger not just to the government’s legitimacy, but also to bilateral relations with India. The incident resulted in the arrest of hundreds of members and supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam.
The Islamist organization wants to turn Bangladesh into a Taliban state
After the massive violence reported in 2021, several Hefazat-e-Islam leaders were arrested who confessed to wanting to turn Bangladesh into a Taliban state like Afghanistan if they came to power. Mamunul Haque, an influential leader of the same Islamist group confessed that he and many other Islamists associated with ideological allies had planned to dethrone the government in power and establish a Taliban state.
Funded by Islamic forces, radical Islamist outfits like Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami propagate militancy in the name of preaching Islam. They have forced organizers from Pakistan to invite their militant leaders as speakers in the past.
Along with Hefazat-e-Islam leaders, several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Bangladesh National Party (BNP) were also arrested back in 2021 on the charges of instigating violence, attempt to murder, assault, and vandalism. Conspiracies were hatched in 2013 and in March 2021 by these radical Islamist organizations to oust the government led by Sheikh Hasina. The same was confirmed by Mahbub Alam.
Hate against Hindus being spread by Hefazat-e-Islam amid ongoing chaos
It is important to note that several leaders associated with Hafazat-e-Islam are at present also spreading hatred against the Hindus amid the ongoing Bangladesh political crisis. Islamist hate preacher of Hefazat-e-Islam, Rafiqul Islam Madani, who was arrested in the year 2021 for inciting violence and making objectionable remarks against the government uploaded a video on Facebook and attempted to spread lies and incite hate by claiming that Senior Jail Superintendent Subrata Kumar Bala of the Kashimpur High-Security Central Jail in Gazipur had open-fired at the prisoners. He, however, failed to provide any evidence to support his claims.
He said that Bala had opened fire at the prisoners resulting in many casualties. He also said that one of the prisoners had been ‘martyred’ during the fire. Madani who has a history of spreading violence further referred to Bala as an ISKCON member and ‘Sheikh Hasina’s Dalal’ and indicated that he, a Hindu was deliberately targeting the prisoners at Kashimpur High-Security Central Jail in Gazipur of Bangladesh.
After Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, several Hindu temples have been attacked at the hands of Muslims. Also, more than 50 attacks have happened against Hindus. According to X handle Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus, these attacks happened within five hours of Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. Notably, the actual number of attacks could be much higher than reported in the list below. The document has listed 54 attacks.
These incidents happened within 5 hours. The genocide is still going on.
— Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@VoiceofHindu71) August 5, 2024
It could be more than that.#AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/voPqyV4i2a
Madani is followed by lacs of Islamists across the country who might get provoked by such hate spread against Hindus posing danger to the minority community. Madani allegedly in an attempt to justify attacks on minorities, claimed that Bala, a Hindu religious preacher had opened fire at prisoners at Gazipur.
Notably, no proof of such claims was provided by Madani.
In April 2021, Madani was arrested from his residence in Netrokona in the Mymensingh Division of Bangladesh for inciting violence and making objectionable remarks against the government. A case was lodged against the preacher at the Gaccha police station in Gazipur. On preliminary investigation, the RAB found adult content on his mobile phone and said that it proved that Madani was a ‘fraud’ preacher.
The 29-year-old Hefazat-e-Islam preacher rose to national prominence in Bangladesh through his fiery speeches against the Awami League government on YouTube. He hails from Ledirkanda village in Purbadhala Upazila. A midget by height, Rafiqul Islam Madani is known as shishu bokta (child preacher). Born into a poor family, he studied at the Jamia Hussainia Malni Madrasa and completed his master’s degree in Islamic studies (Dawra-e-Hadith) from Jamia Madani Madrasa in Dhaka in 2019.
Rafiqul Islam Madani decided to become an orator and soon reached thousands of followers through social media. He operated two madrassas in Gazipur and Netrokona. He received legal notice for using the title ‘Madani’ despite not being a graduate of the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. He was earlier detained in March 2021 in the Motijheel area over inciting people to lead violent protests against PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka.
In many of his videos uploaded on social media, Madani is seen provoking Muslims to die for Islam. “We have to free this country and Isla, from the hands of the Mafia government and infidels…There must be one religious Head for all Islamic institutions. Under his directions, we will paralyze the government system and free this country from the hands of the mafias. If necessary, we will cede power to the army,” he could be heard saying in one of his videos.
Furthermore, he once instigated his followers by alleging that the student wing of the Awami League would kill him and other such preachers. Since then, several such rebellious clerics have been under the surveillance of the Intelligence agencies of Bangladesh.
Rafiqul Islam Madani also condemned Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in 2021, warning that his actions would prove his power or Modi’s stooges. Madani provoked Muslims to stop Modi from entering the soil of Bangladesh and to die if necessary, leading to widespread violence and destruction of Hindu temples. He also threatened to capture Delhi stating that no power or fence could stop his plans. Madani urged Muslims to keep their faith strong and face martyrdom if needed.
He incited the Muslims by saying that Sheikh Hasina was working on the terms of Hindutva and that whatever Modi wanted, happened in Bangladesh. “Today, all temples are being upgraded and the mosques here are dying. This means whoever will speak against Modi will be tortured and jailed… In the name of lockdown, they will shut down mosques and madrassas. We will not follow anything… We want this country to be a true Islamic Republic,” Rafiqul Islam Madani said.
Conclusion
Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh has been involved in violent rallies and clashes with law authorities, raising questions about their inclination to use force to achieve their objectives to make the country an Islamic nation. This potential for violence is a direct threat to public safety and order especially when it comes to Bangladeshi Hindus and other minorities. Their conservative Islamic agenda could lead to increased marginalization and possible persecution of these groups.
The emergence of part of Hefazat-e-Islam in the current interim government might lead to the increased radicalization of Bangladesh’s youth. Their hardline ideology and control over religious schools (madrasas) may foster extremist Islamic views, destabilizing the country’s social fabric involving minorities.
The growth of Hefazat-e-Islam marks a fundamental shift in Bangladesh’s sociopolitical landscape, calling into question the country’s secular, inclusive, and democratic foundation. Their expanding Islamic influence raises concerns about Bangladesh’s future course, notably regarding human rights, minority protection, and the preservation of secular norms.
