Editorial
WHAT A PACT WITH KHELAFAT-E-MAJLISH!
How credible is AL’s denial
The Daily Star, December 25, 2006
We are dumbfounded by the once-anointed secular
party the Awami League’s U-turn into an
inexplicable marriage of expediency signed up
with Khelafat-e-Majlish, the ultra orthodox
Islamist group led by Shaikul Hadith Allama
Azizul Haq.
Though AL has denied making such a deal, we find
the denial somewhat convenient. We feel some sort
of undertaking has been given by the AL which is
far removed from its founding principles.
In terms of what has been reported as parts of a
written contract between AL’s general secretary
Abdul Jalil on behalf of his party and
Khelafat-e-Majlish secretary general Abdur Rab
Yusufi, the AL, on assumption of power, stood
committed to grant the right of fatwa (Islamic
decree) to ’certified clerics’, which a High
Court verdict in our country had forbidden
earlier on. The AL also has virtually acquiesced
in enacting an anti-blasphemy law.
The other three features of the accord are:
firstly, no law that in any way contradicts the
Quran and Sunnah will be enacted in parliament;
secondly, recognition will be accorded to
Quam-I-Madrasah; and thirdly, those who do not
believe in the assertion that the Prophet of
Islam is the last messenger of Allah would
forfeit their right to be known as Muslim, an
oblique reference to the Ahmadiyya community.
On the question of fatwa, a system of law
parallel to the existing legal system is being
pandered to. This means that certain Ulemas will
be placed above the law of the land.
By one fell stroke, the AL has sacrificed at the
altar of opportunism and a numbers game in the
power struggle against the right of centre
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whatever
principle the party stood for as a historically
secular and liberal organisation.
By this action the AL has disappointed a large
part of its traditional voters who may well, in
disgust, desist from voting for the party.
Therefore, we believe the AL should withdraw from
the position it has reportedly taken, both out of
a principled stand as well as to preserve its
traditional vote bank.
To build a forward looking and modern Bangladesh
aligning with fringe obscurantist elements cannot
be of any help; this realisation must dawn on the
AL before the party can come out clean on the
issue.
AL-BIGOTS ELECTORAL DEAL STUNS ALL
Party faces protest from within; allies threaten to split unless pact scrapped
The Daily Star, December 25, 2006
Staff Correspondent
Awami League (AL) faces severe criticism from its
13 allies who yesterday said the party must scrap
its Saturday’s controversial deal with Bangladesh
Khelafat Majlish (BKM) that shattered the promise
of secularism or face a split.
AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil Saturday signed
a five-point memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with BKM. AL promised that certified Alems
(Islamic clerics) will have the right to issue
fatwas (Islamic religious edicts) if the grand
electoral alliance comes to power through the
upcoming election.
The other points of the MoU include promises to
impose a bar on enacting any law that goes
against Quranic values, initiation of steps for
proper implementation of the initiative for
government recognition of the degrees awarded by
Qaumi Madrasas, and a ban on criticisms of
Prophet Muhammad.
The signing took place in the Azimpur residence
of BKM Chairman Allama Azizul Haque on Saturday
in a sequel to an AL attempt to bring BKM into
the fold of the grand alliance.
Even a large majority of AL central and
grassroots members, just as a cross-section of
socio-political organisations and people of all
spectrum, were deeply shocked by the party’s
sudden and inexplicable decision. Many of them
feel it will prove a hara-kiri for the party in
the election.
The disgruntled 13 parties of the so-called grand
alliance last night forced a delegation led by AL
General Secretary Abdul Jalil to meet Sheikh
Hasina with a demand to scrap the deal. They
clearly hinted a split as they feel it will be
difficult for them to go along with the AL with
such controversial and anti-secular stances.
"We won’t accept this five-point MoU under any
circumstances," JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu
told The Daily Star at 12.30am today, who was
waiting at Jalil’s house to know the outcome of
the delegation’s meeting with Hasina.
The 13 partner parties feel all the more
ridiculed as Hasina in less than 24 hours of the
MoU signing sought ’blessings’ of all to build
Bangladesh as a ’secular democratic’ country.
But as the public outrage poured in, the AL first
tried to deny signing of any such agreement,
suggesting that it was all a hoax fanned by some
’vested quarter’ with an ulterior motive using
the media. But as copies of the signed agreement
circulated around, Jalil finally said he signed
’only a MoU and not any agreement’.
All the components of AL-led 14-party coalition
— 11-party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and
National Awami Party (NAP) — in separate news
releases yesterday condemned the deal and
demanded that AL cancels the deal immediately to
maintain its conformity to the 23-point common
national minimum programme of the coalition,
which includes a promise to ban religion based
politics.
But, AL, which was supposed to give a formal
clarification regarding the matter, did not
provide any till 9:00pm last night.
Abdul Jalil yesterday said, "It is not a
contract. It is a memorandum of understanding,“adding,”It is an understanding based on an
election strategy."
Talking to a private television channel, Jalil
said, "Ordinary people, especially villagers, are
weak on the issue of fatwa. If educated
alem-ulemas, who are knowledgeable on matters of
religion, issue fatwas or directions, those will
be better than the ones issued by uneducated
persons.“Defining a fatwa, Jalil said,”A decision on any
issue is a fatwa,“adding,”There is a very wrong
interpretation of it in this country. If we can
escape that interpretation, then we can have
control over fatwas so that no one can issue a
fatwa on a whim.“”AL is against those rural fatwas that order
whipping of people or public humiliation of
women," Jalil said.
Talking to The Daily Star a number of AL
presidium members, leaders of its central working
committee (ALCWC), and its city, district and
upazila level leaders expressed their utter shock
over the agreement.
AL Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed rather angrily
said he was not aware of the MoU.
Another Presidium Member Suranjit Sengupta said,
"It’s a hoax! What I have seen in newspapers is
baseless."
AL President Sheikh Hasina’s Political Secretary
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, "We have not and
will not compromise our secular ideal and stance."
Many former lawmakers of AL also told The Daily
Star yesterday that they feel ashamed because of
the agreement. They also said they might quit the
party if the MoU is not cancelled immediately.
"If our party allows Islamic fundamentalist
practices like fatwas after 35 years of
liberation then what is wrong with forging an
alliance with anti-liberation Jamaat," one of the
frustrated leaders of ALCWC told The Daily Star.
"The understanding was signed between Awami
League and us as it is in the press statement,"
BKM Organising Secretary Humayan Kabir told The
Daily Star last night. The MoU was read out at
the meeting between AL and BKM, he said adding
that the AL general secretary and their secretary
general both signed on the MoU after listening to
the points of the understanding that had been
read out.
Sources in AL said the MoU was signed keeping
most of the top leaders of the party in the dark.
Party insiders said AL presidium members Sheikh
Fazlul Karim Selim and Kazi Zafarullah, Adviser
to Sheikh Hasina Salman F Rahman, and AL leaders
Sheikh Helal and Abul Hasnat Abdullah however
knew about the move for the agreement.
Zafarullah told The Daily Star that their MoU
with BKM was misinterpreted by newspapers. "We
have reached an agreement with them that no one
will be able to issue a fatwa except authorised
persons or institutions," said the AL leader.
Sources however said the agreement was signed
following a faction of top AL leaders’ initiative
to bring different Islamic political parties,
which largely depend on donations from a few
Islamic countries, into the fold of the grand
alliance.
The faction also succeeded in bringing several
Islamic political parties into the grand
alliance, some of which secured several
nominations also.
AL UNDER FIRE OVER KHELAFAT DEAL
New Age, 25 December 2006
Staff Correspondent
Socio-political organisations, especially
left-leaning political parties and
pro-independence groups, on Sunday condemned the
agreement between the Awami League and the
Islamist political party Khelafat Majlish signed
on Saturday.
The Awami League signed a three-point
agreement with the Islamist group saying they
would contest in the polls together and the
alliance, if voted to power, would not get any
law enacted which would be inconsistent with the
dictates of the Qur’an, Sunnah and Shariah.
The agreement with the Khelafat Majlish also
stipulates that the alliance, if in power, would
’reserve the right’ of certain category of
Islamic clerics ’to issue fatwa [religious
decrees]’, and that criti cism of the prophets
and their associates will be considered a
criminal offence and that an official recognition
of the qoumi madrassah degrees will be given.
The 11-Party Alliance leaders at a meeting in
the central Workers Party office on Sunday
decided to inform their main partner, Awami
League, of their grievances.
The central steering committee of the 11-Party
Alliance will inform the alliance coordinator,
Abdul Jalil, also the Awami League’s general
secretary, of their grievances, the meeting
sources said.
The meeting resolution said the sprit of the
agreement was contrary to the 23-point charter of
demands where establishment of a secular
democratic party was desired and banning of
communal politics, and free thinking and trial of
the war criminals were contained.
Abdul Jalil, however, defended on Sunday his
party’s move by saying, ’I know what I have
done.’ Some other leaders of the Awami League,
however, claimed it seemed to be media hype.
The 11-Party Alliance hoped the Awami League
would scrap the agreement and appreciate
non-communal politics.
Chaired by the 11-Party Alliance coordinator,
Bimal Biswas, the meeting was attended by Rashed
Khan Menon, Pankaj Bhattacharya, Abdus Samad,
Dilip Barua and Mohammad Nurul Islam.
The Sammilita Sankskritik Jote president,
Nasiruddin Yousuff Bacchu, and general secretary
Golam Quddus in a statement on Sunday expressed
their grave concern about the Awami League’s
signing the agreement with the Islamist
fundamentalist group.
A Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction president
Hasanul Haq Inu said they were aware of the
agreement and would not support it. The agreement
signed by the Awami League was not acceptable,
Inu said.
The agreement was not part of the AL-led
alliance and ’We have no responsibility for its
implementation,’ he said. The Communist Party of
Bangladesh, in a statement, said the agreement
signified that the Awami League would turn the
present misrule into liberal misrule.
The Communist Party general secretary,
Mujahidul Islam Selim, told New Age the agreement
would remain as an instance of surrender of the
Awami League to communal political forces.
The instance would increase the chance of the
entrance of communal forces within the two major
political parties, the Awami League and the BNP,
Selim said.
The instance once again proved that without
establishing left democratic alternatives, the
establishment of non-communal political force was
impossible.
Selim called on the people not to be
frustrated and to strengthen the left democratic
alternatives.
Some socio-political and pro-independence
organisations, including the South Asian People’s
Union against Fundamentalism and Communalism, Ain
O Salish Kendra, Gana Sangskritik Front and
Nagarik Udyog also condemned the agreement and
said the agreement was against human rights.
A statement of the South Asian People’s Union
against Fundamentalism and Communalism faxed by
eminent journalist Shahriyar Kabir said there
would be no difference between the Awami League
and the BNP if the former compromises with the
patron of ultra-Islamist forces and godfathers to
go to power.
The statement was signed by eminent people,
including Kabir Chowdhury, Vinod Bihari
Chowdhury, Justice KM Sobhan, Kalim Sharafi,
retired major general CR Dutta, Borhanuddin Khan
Jahangir, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Kamal Lohani,
Hasan Azizul Haq, Qayyum Chowdhury, Syed Shamsul
Huq, retired lieutenant colonel Abu Osman
Chowdhury, Professor Ajoy Roy, Abul Hossain,
Professor Anupan Sen, Anwara Syed Haq, Waliur
Rahman, Professor Razia Matin Chowdhury, Hashem
Khan, Rafiqunnabi, Rabiul Hossain, Muntassir
Mamum, Shaymali Nasreen Chowdhury, Professor
Mahfuza Khanum, Ferdausi Priyabhashini, Rana Das
Gupta, Professor Gazi Salauddin, Safiqul Alam,
Pradip Dewanji, Abul Barak Alvi, Kajal Debnath,
Tarique Ali, Dalia Nausheen, Salma Haq, Aroma
Dutta, Zafar Iqbal, Shamim Akhtar, Shirin Banu
Mithil, Kazi Mukul, Zahid Newaz, Daulat Ara
Mannan, Professor Md Kamruzzaman, Abu Sayeed,
Zulfiqar Ali Manik, Fazlur Rahman, Amal Das, Md
Arafat, Kazi Lutfar Rahman and Shawkat Banagali.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat said the understanding
reached between the Awami League and religious
bigots signals disaster for the country.
Such understanding will not bring any positive
result for Bangladesh, rather will ruin the long
existing communal harmony, said the organisation.
’We are simply astonished to see the Awami
League, which has a reputation for its
progressive and secular ideals, signing such a
memorandum,’ said Abdul Awwal Khan Chowdhury, a
spokesman for Ahmadiyyas, told New Age.
’Nobody, except Allah and his prophet, has the
virtue to define Muslim. The definition has been
finalised and no government or parliament or any
mullah group has the right to redefine the
Muslim,’ he said.
Awwal Khan observed that the conditions
incorporated in the memorandum, if implemented,
would turn Bangladesh into another Pakistan.
The community will hold a news briefing at its
central office on Monday afternoon.