HATIBANDHA, Lalmonirhat — Islami Andolan Bangladesh chief and Charmonai pir Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim sharply criticized the Jamaat-e-Islami leader at an election rally for the Hatpakha (hand fan) symbol in the Lalmonirhat-1 constituency. He took particular issue with the Jamaat chief taking selfies with female workers and addressing them as “friends,” calling it contrary to Islamic principles and “destructive to faith.”
Speaking as chief guest at the rally Thursday afternoon, January 29, in Hatibandha, Lalmonirhat, the Charmonai pir said Islam grants women the highest respect and prescribes the rules of purdah. God has set separate boundaries for women and men, he said.
“But we are seeing the Jamaat chief push aside boys and take selfies with girls,” he said. “As an elder, he is telling the girls who are without purdah, ‘Boys, move aside; girl friends, come.'”
The Charmonai pir said abandoning that principle erodes faith and that establishing the religion of God is impossible through such conduct. In Islami Andolan’s 38-year history, he said, no leader has taken such selfies with women who are not his relatives.
He said his party had sought unity with Islamic parties after Aug. 5, but that Islamic principles would not be implemented under Jamaat’s leadership. He accused Jamaat leader Abdullah Mohammad Taher of going to the U.S. Embassy and depicting his party as militants. Neither the Awami League nor the BNP has called us militants in Bangladesh’s history, he said, but Jamaat is making such false claims to serve India’s objectives. He said Jamaat had even fielded a candidate who himself said Jamaat is not an Islamic party.
Calling for votes for the Hatpakha symbol to deliver development for the area and a response to falsehoods, Rezaul Karim said that during the coronavirus pandemic, when relatives abandoned the bodies of the dead and fled, it was workers of Hatpakha who performed the burial rites. After Aug. 5, the party played the role of guardians in protecting the lives and property of minorities, he said. Those who are filled with lies from head to toe will not be able to establish Islam, he said, urging voters to bring victory to Hatpakha to restore peace in the area.
Senior leaders at the upazila and district levels and a large number of supporters attended the rally.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report