Jamaat-e-Islami

An attempt at translating this wonderful article "আন্তর্জাতিক অভিজ্ঞতার আলোকে জামাত নিষিদ্ধকরণ রূপরেখা" by হাসিব

The following is an account of various clashes between Jamaat and Shibir activists and law and security forces (Police, BGB) over the last few days, after the sentencing of Delwar Hossein Sayeedee by the International Crimes Tribunal. Several reports are available in English, but most of them are very concise, and a lot of the incidents have not been reported.

Jamaat-e-Islami and their war criminal leaders of 1971 have tried to hide behind "Holy Quran" to cover their misdeeds. But no matter how much you try to hide your bad deeds behind Holy Quran, you will get exposed; the curse of Holy Quran will not only engulf you, you yourself will make you life a cursed life. Holy Quran is not just a religious book it is a guard against all "Unjust". So, the "User" of Holy Quran as a shield, be careful.

It is a matter of great regret and anguish that, with the up-rise of Shahbag generation, some news papers in Bangladesh are openly utilizing the power of press in creating unrest and anarchy in the country. The distortion of news to create sensation is not uncommon in Bangladesh. Many under-radar news papers and magazines exaggerate and twist facts to attract readers and to increase their circulation. This type of yellow journalism, although considered unprofessional and unethical, was overlooked from the freedom of press notion. But some recent media involvement in the prosecution of war criminals of 1971 war of independence, the attempt to manipulate prosecutorial process, the spreading of historical lies in favor of the charged war criminals, leaking insider information of the ongoing prosecution and finally defamation of the brutally killed blogger Rajib Haider through unsubstantiated, inciteful and dubious posts crossed all boundaries of decency, ethics or even legal limits.

In the midst of the unforeseen uprising among people of Bangladesh in Shahbag, demanding capital punishment to the convicted war criminals, Baroness Warsi visited Bangladesh as part of the England prime minister and his team's tour of south asia. The visiting British Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi has said she does not believe that banning a political party is the best way to win the battle of ideas but the public can decide what kind of future they want for Bangladesh. I am sure this is a diplomatic statement, but how much does she really know about the ideas of Jamaat-e-Islami and their mandate. And before we delve into the violent history of this Islam abusing political party, has she taken into account the public out-pour in Shahbag who gathered there to let the world know "what kind of future they want for Bangladesh", to quote the baroness.

1. Formally established on 26 August 1941, Jamaat -e - Islami's (JI) intellectual inspiration came from the thoughts of Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi, a journalist, theologian and political thinker. The vision of its formations was (i) pan-Islamist in nature (Islamic state without boundary) (ii) to transcend the national boundaries to encompass all peoples and countries (iii) become the moral guardians of Pakistan: a holy community that did not dirty its hands in the mud of political wrangling” [1, 2]. 

2. Maududi vehemently rejected the creation of an independent state for Muslims and suggested that the new country Pakistani should be named as Napak-istan [19]. In Maududi's own words “The establishment and birth of Pakistan is equivalent to the birth of a beast.” “Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s place is not on the throne of leadership. He deserves to face trial as a traitor” [12, 13].
After years of strong opposition towards the creation of Pakistan, denouncing Jinnah as a religious lightweight and decrying democracy as satan’s handiwork, Maududi made an astonishing 180 degree flip and embraced Pakistan, Jinnah and democracy in 1948. This is when he moved from India to Pakistan [11].