After the Awami League-led 14-party alliance assumed power in 2009, the government established the International Crimes Tribunal on March 25, 2010, with the aim of prosecuting those accused of committing war crimes during the Bangladesh Liberation War, including members of Jamaat-e-Islami.[2] On February 5, 2013, the tribunal sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah to life imprisonment. The verdict, however, was met with dissatisfaction from the 14-party coalition government, which had hoped for harsher punishment.[3]
In response to the ruling, the Blogger and Online Activist Network organized a sit-in protest at Shahbag, demanding the death penalty instead of life imprisonment.[3] Within days, the movement gained widespread attention, receiving both government endorsement and substantial media coverage.[4]
However, the Shahbag protests sparked controversy, as some demonstrators were accused of showing disrespect toward Islamic symbols, including the hijab and the beard. One incident reportedly involved a staged performance in which an actor, dressed in Islamic attire, was struck with a shoe, and a dummy dog was similarly dressed in religious clothing.[5] Such actions provoked significant public outrage, especially after it was revealed that many of the protest organizers were atheists and held views critical of religion.[5][6]
On February 14, 2013, during the annual gathering at Darul Uloom Hathazari, several speakers voiced their opposition to the behavior exhibited during the Shahbag protests.[5] Shah Ahmad Shafi, in his keynote address, stated, "While we do not oppose the trial of war crimes, the religious community will not remain passive in the face of any conspiracy targeting the ulama, madrasas, Islamic attire, and values."[5]Junaid Babunagari echoed these concerns, noting that since the constitutional amendments introducing secularism, there had been increasing attacks on mosques and Islamic practices. He called for unity among scholars and the general public to counter what he termed "anti-Islamic behavior."[5]Abdul Malek Halim accused the Shahbag protesters of distorting the spirit of the Liberation War to further an agenda aimed at erasing Islam from the country.[5]
Tensions escalated on February 15, 2013, when Rajib Haider, one of the bloggers and key organizers of the Shahbag movement, was killed.[7] Following his death, several national newspapers, i.e., The Daily Sangram, Daily Inqilab, Daily Naya Diganta, and Amar Desh, published his writings, which were widely perceived as Islamophobic.[8][7] This intensified public anger,[7] prompting Shah Ahmad Shafi to issue an open letter. He tasked Muinuddin Ruhi, Munir Ahmad, and Azizul Haque Islamabadi with drafting the letter,[5] which was published on the front page of Amar Desh on February 19, 2013.[9]
Core material
The open letter begins with a brief overview of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, outlining its objectives. It then presents 14 allegations concerning various anti-Islamic activities associated with the Shahbag protests. These charges include:[10]
Children of Muslims participating in candle-lighting ceremonies at Shahbag, which were seen as imitating practices of fire-worshippers and pagans.
Continuous playing of music through loudspeakers, including during prayer times.
Blogs authored by self-identified atheists and founders of Gana Jagaran Mancha, such as Asif Mohiuddin, which contain highly derogatory content and offensive remarks about Islam, Allah, and the Prophet.
Public gatherings involving mixed-gender dancing, along with moral corruption, including illicit behavior, obscenity, and the use of alcohol and drugs.
Protesters wearing attire typically worn by the Imams and Khatibs of Mecca and Medina, known as "koba," while performing mock executions.
Threats of violence and the use of vulgar language directed at prominent figures in the media and public life from the Shahbag protests stage.
The act of tying a rope around the neck of a man wearing a beard and a traditional Muslim cap, which is seen as disrespecting Islamic symbols and mocking the Sunnah of the Prophet.
Indoctrinating young children with aggressive slogans, encouraging divisive behavior.
Promoting elements of Indian culture that are seen as incompatible with the Islamic traditions of Bangladesh, the second-largest Muslim-majority country in the world.
Inciting social discord by calling for a ban on all forms of Islamic political activities, which the letter suggests could lead to inevitable conflict.
Facilitating anti-social behavior by allowing young people to remain at Shahbag late into the night, contributing to public disorder.
Despite open threats against journalists and newspapers, a portion of the media continues to glorify the Shahbag protests.
Blocking access to vital medical facilities such as Birdem and Bangabandhu hospitals in capital, causing significant distress and hardship for patients.
The government's recent closure of several Islamic blogs that had criticized self-identified atheist bloggers and provided evidence of their offensive comments about Islam.
It highlights the involvement of the Ahmadiyya community (referred to as Qadianis) in these protests and points to certain blogs, such as Mukto-Mona and SomeWhereIn, for publishing alleged anti-Islamic content by bloggers like Rajib Haider and Asif Mohiuddin, with specific examples cited alongside screenshots.[11] The letter also names several activists, including Shahriar Kabir, Muntassir Mamoon, Zafar Iqbal, Gholam Rabbani, and Ajoy Roy, as well as atheist and leftist groups, as being behind the protests. It concludes with four demands to the government, calling for action against anti-Islamic activities and individuals, while also urging the protection of Islamist groups' democratic rights.[12] In a final appeal, Shah Ahmad Shafi calls on the public to unite with Hefazat-e-Islam in building a mass movement across the country to counter the influence of atheists, apostates, and anti-Islamic forces.[13]
Reaction
In response to Shafi's open letter, Imran H. Sarkar, convener of the Shahbag protests, stated that the movement focused solely on prosecuting those accused of crimes against humanity, banning Jamaat-Shibir politics, and boycotting their financial institutions, dismissing claims of any religious agenda.[14] Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) condemned anti-Islamic comments made by some bloggers, accusing the government of enabling such rhetoric,[15] while Jamaat-e-Islami expressed full support for Hefazat-e-Islam.[16] Following the letter's publication, law enforcement and intelligence agencies began investigations.[16] On February 19, a protest march took place in Hathazari demanding the execution of bloggers linked to Shahbag, criticizing secular education policies, insults to Islamic values, and efforts to remove Islamic principles from the constitution.[17] A planned meeting of religious parties at the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis office in Purana Paltan was blocked by police,[18] resulting in the arrest of eight members,[19] while another meeting, chaired by Syed Faizul Karim in Dhaka, called for the closure of anti-Islamic blogs and the arrest of those promoting such views.[20] Several organizations, including Haqqani Ulama Mashayekh Parishad, Jatiya Ganotantrik Party, and 2,000 scholars from Khulna and Chittagong, voiced support for Shafi's letter.[20] Additionally, Tehrik-e Khatme-e-Nubuwwat held a protest rally in Narayanganj, led by Anayetullah Abbasi, opposing the Shahbag protests.[21]
On February 20, Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) and Islami Oikya Jote organized a mass rally in Dhaka, demanding the execution of bloggers.[22] During their journey to the rally, 15 to 20 IAB workers were injured, and five were arrested following an attack by individuals associated with Chhatra League and Awami League.[23] On the same day, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu held a press conference warning that strict action would be taken against those publishing derogatory content about religion.[24] Several student organizations, including Chhatra League, Jasad Chhatra League, Students' Union, Socialist Students' Front, Chhatra Maitri, and Revolutionary Student Unity, dismissed the Islamists' claims as propaganda and announced countermeasures.[25] On February 22, various religious and political parties organized nationwide protests after Friday prayers, demanding the punishment of bloggers.[26] Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Islami Oikya Jote, and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis led the protests, while Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, under Shah Ahmad Shafi, and 12 other Islamic groups warned of continued demonstrations if anti-religious activities persisted.[26] Jamaat-e-Islami expressed solidarity, condemning the closure of 12 Islamist blogs and Facebook pages.[26] The protests led to clashes with the police, resulting in four deaths and 172 arrests in Dhaka.[27] The Gana Jagaran Mancha in Chittagong was attacked, and the Jamaat-e-Islami office was set on fire.[28] Protesters regrouped at Shahbag, demanding the arrest of Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman for inciting communal tensions.[29] Law enforcement reportedly vandalized the offices of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, and other Islamist groups.[30] In response, eight Islamist groups called for a nationwide strike on February 24, which was supported by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, while the 14-party alliance and Gana Jagaran Mancha opposed it.[31][32]Jatiya Party President Hussain Muhammad Ershad condemned any actions disrespecting Islam,[33] and cases were filed against 31,500 people in Khulna, Gaibandha, Bogra, and Rajshahi in connection with the unrest.[34] The strike, which led to the postponement of SSC exams, saw five more deaths and 45 injuries in police clashes.[35][36]
Amid these events, allegations surfaced suggesting that Jamaat-e-Islami was coordinating with other Islamic parties, though these parties denied the accusations.[37] The government opened communications with Islamic groups, assuring them that religion-based politics would not be banned, promising action against blasphemy, and pledging to address the issue of excessive use of force by law enforcement.[38] Additionally, a message was sent to approximately 100 million mobile phone subscribers, stating that any insult to the Prophet would not be tolerated.[39] In response to Nur Hossain Kasemi's call to curb anti-Islamic activities, a new coalition of nine religious parties and leading scholars, called the 'Defenders of Faith and Homeland,' was formed. Shah Ahmad Shafi was appointed as an adviser to this alliance. The coalition's 23-member committee included leaders from the Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Islami Oikya Jote, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Bangladesh Nizam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Faraizi movement, and Khilafat-e Islami, as well as scholars from 11 Qawmi madrasas in and around Dhaka. The alliance presented six demands to the government, including the immediate punishment of self-proclaimed atheist bloggers who posted offensive comments about Islam, an end to efforts to curtail Islamic political activities, and justice for the victims of police action during protests.[40] On March 8, the alliance organized a protest march.[41] In an effort to maintain relations with the coalition and prevent further escalation, the government adopted strategies to keep the religious parties from joining the broader anti-government movement. Among these efforts was an initiative to grant official recognition to Qawmi madrasas. Government ministers Hasan Mahmud and Jahangir Kabir Nanak were assigned to negotiate with the coalition parties. Meanwhile, the opposition party BNP encouraged the Islamic parties to persist with their movement and reiterated its support.[42] On March 9, Shah Ahmad Shafi convened an all-party Ulama conference at Darul Uloom Hathazari, during which a Long March towards Dhaka was announced for April 6, along with a series of public outreach programs aimed at garnering support.[43]
Ghulam Azam was a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the Ameer of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
The Islami Oikya Jote is a political party in Bangladesh and allied with the former Four Party Alliance.
Shahriyar Kabir is a Bangladeshi journalist, filmmaker, human rights activist, and author of more than 70 books focusing on human rights, communism, fundamentalism, history, and the Bangladesh war of independence. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1995.
Muḥammadullāh ibn Idrīs ibn Akram ad-Dīn al-Miyānjī, commonly known as Hafezzī Huzūr, was a Bangladeshi politician, Islamic leader and founder of the Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan. He was the first religious figure to stand for the highest state office in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh.
Faḍl al-Ḥaqq ibn Wājid ad-Dīn al-Amīnī, or simply Fazlul Hoque Amini was an Islamic scholar and politician from Bangladesh. He served as an MP in the Parliament of Bangladesh from 2002 to 2007. He was an expert in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), hadith and tasawwuf. He also held a number of positions on the boards of qaumi madrasahs. He was also the principal of Jamia Qurania Arabia Lalbagh in Lalbagh, Dhaka, one of the largest Deobandi Islamic schools of Bangladesh.
Shah Ahmad Shafi was a Bangladeshi Sunni Islamic scholar, the chief of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Rector of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari and also the chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board. He was born in 1930 in Rangunia, Chittagong and was educated at Hathazari Madrasah and Darul Uloom Deoband.
Abdul Quader Mollah was a Bangladeshi Islamist leader, writer, and politician of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh (ICT) set up by the government of Bangladesh and hanged. The United Nations raised objections to the trial's fairness, while the general public in Bangladesh widely supported the execution.
On 5 February 2013, protests ignited in Shahbagh, Bangladesh, fueled by the call for the execution of the convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah. Previously sentenced to life imprisonment, Mollah was convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. Mollah supported the West Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and played a crucial role in the murder of numerous Bengali nationalists and intellectuals. The demonstrations also sought the government's ban on the radical right-wing and conservative-Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami from participating in politics, including elections, and a boycott of institutions supporting or affiliated with the group.
On 28 February 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, the vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami to death for war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the sentence, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir attacked Hindus in different parts of the country. Hindu properties were looted, Hindu houses were burnt into ashes and Hindu temples were desecrated and set on fire. While the government has held the Jamaat-e-Islami responsible for the attacks on minorities, the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership has denied any involvement. Minority leaders have protested the attacks and appealed for justice. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has directed law enforcement to start suo motu investigation into the attacks. The US Ambassador to Bangladesh expressed concern about attacks by Jamaat on the Bengali Hindu community.
2013 Bangladesh violence refers to the political instability, increase in crime and widespread attacks of minorities and opposition activists.
2013 (MMXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2013th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 13th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2010s decade.
On 4 April 2013 all Bengali blogs were blacked out for an indefinite time to protest the arrest of four bloggers in Bangladesh. The blackout was to back a demand for the unconditional release of the arrested bloggers. A fundamentalist group named Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh started a campaign to hang freethinking bloggers, and demanding tough blasphemy laws. In response, the government started monitoring Bengali blog sites and sending letters to their authorities to terminate the alleged "anti-religious" blogs and provide information about the alleged "anti-religious" bloggers. Individual bloggers showed their solidarity with this blackout by changing their profile photos on Facebook and by tweeting with the #MuzzleMeNot hashtag. Different international organizations expressed deep concern about taking free-thinking bloggers into custody. After 92 hours of blackout, blogs returned online by publishing a press release on their central Facebook page.
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh is an Islamist advocacy group consisted mostly of religious teachers (Ulama) and students in Bangladesh. The group is mainly based on qawmi madrasas in Bangladesh. In 2013, they submitted a 13-point charter to the government of Bangladesh, which included the demand for the enactment of a blasphemy law. Under recent years, Hefazat has been formed into more of a moderate and anti-terrorist ideology due to success of Awami League in ensuring jobs and mobilising qawmi madrasa.
The Shapla Square protests, also known as the siege of Dhaka, Operation Shapla, Operation Flash Out by security forces, was the protests and subsequent shootings of 5 and 6 May 2013 at Shapla Square, located in the Motijheel district, the main financial area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The protests were organized by the Islamist advocacy group, Hefazat-e Islam, who were demanding the enactment of a blasphemy law. The government responded to the protests by cracking down on the protesters using a combined force drawn from the police, Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh to drive the protesters out of Shapla Square.
Asif Mohiuddin is a Bangladeshi atheist and secular activist, religious critic and feminist. In 2012, he won The Bobs-Best of Online Activism award from Deutsche Welle, who stated that "Asif's blog was one of the most read web pages in Bangladesh and is known for its strong criticism of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh's "anti-people politics", his blog was later blocked and banned in Bangladesh by its government. On 15 January 2013, he survived an assassination attempt by Islamic extremists. A few months later, he was imprisoned twice by the Bangladesh Government for posting "offensive comments about Islam and Mohammad". Due to sustained international pressure, Mohiuddin was released, after which he fled from his country to Germany in 2014. In 2015, he received the Anna Politkovskaya Prize for Journalism, awarded by Italian magazine Internazionale.
Attacks by Islamist extremists in Bangladesh took place during a period of turbulence in Bangladesh between 2013 and 2016 when a number of secularist and atheist writers, bloggers, and publishers in Bangladesh; foreigners; homosexuals; and religious minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Ahmadis who were seen as having offended Islam and Muhammad were attacked in retaliation, with many killed by Muslim extremists. By 2 July 2016, a total of 48 people, including 20 foreign nationals, had been killed in such attacks. These attacks were largely blamed on extremist groups such as Ansarullah Bangla Team and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The Bangladeshi government was criticized for its response to the attacks, which included charging and jailing some of the secularist bloggers for allegedly defaming some religious groups; or hurting the religious sentiments of different religious groups; or urging the bloggers to flee overseas. This strategy was seen by some as pandering to hard line elements within Bangladesh's Muslim majority population. About 89% of the population in Bangladesh is Sunni Muslim. The government's eventual crackdown in June 2016 was also criticized for its heavy-handedness, as more than 11,000 people were arrested in a little more than a week.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh is a Bangladeshi Islamic Party registered with Bangladesh Election Commission. It is the Successor to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh was a member of the Islamist 20-Party alliance. It was a member of Islami Oikya Jote and which it left in 2008.
Nur Hossain Kasemi was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, politician, educator, religious speaker and spiritual figure. He was the secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh, vice-president of Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh, senior vice-president of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh and Shaykhul Hadith and rector of Jamia Madania Baridhara, Dhaka and Jamia Sobhania Mahmud Nagar. He had played a leading role in the Hefazat movement, Khatam an-Nabiyyin movement etc. He was well-known among the Muslim masses as an Islamic leader. He was also involved in running nearly 45 Islamic seminaries.
Shah Mohammad Muhibbullah Babunagari is a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, politician and academic. He is the current and 3rd amir of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, rector of Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar. He also held leading positions in Islami Oikya Jote, Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh and Al-Haiatul Ulya Lil-Jamiatil Qawmia Bangladesh. He is considered one of the pioneers of Deoband movement in Bangladesh.
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