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December 22, 2005
Bangladesh: Islamists Again Threaten Muslim Ahmadiyya Sect
We mentioned on Tuesday the persecutions against the Muslim sect the Ahmadiyyah, which were encouraged by a minor member party of Bangladesh's coalition government, the Islami Oikya Jote.
At least since 2003, there has been a campaign by Islamist groups to have the Ahmadiyyah Muslims officially declared "Non-Muslims" by the government. Following a threat by extremists made in late December by militants to evict the 'kaffir Ahmadiyyas' from the Nakhalpara Ahmadiyya mosque by January 9, 2004, the government of Khaleda passed a law on January 8, 2004, banning all publications by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Bangladesh.
A government press release declared that "The ban was imposed in view of objectionable materials in such (Ahmadiyya) publications which hurt or might hurt the sentiments of the majority Muslim population of Bangladesh."
The anti-Ahmadiyyah campaign was being led by Islami Oikya Jote and members of the party also operated as members of Hifazate Khatme Nabuwat Andolon (HKNA), an organisation which spearheads the political campaign against the Ahmadiyyah. it is also called the International Khatme Nubuwat Movement Bangladesh (IKNMB).
Consistently they have demanded that the government declares the sect as non-Muslim, while threatening unrest and attacks against Ahmadiyyah (also called Ahmadi) mosques and congregants. There are 100,000 followers of the sect in Bangladesh.
In September this year, IKNMB declared that its latest target would be an Ahmadiyyah mosque in the Tejgaon area of Dhaka, the capital on September 30.
On Thursday 8th September, there was an internal rift at IKNMB, over whether or not to continue with the anti-Ahmadi program they had heralded, or to quieten their mood in the aftermath of the nationwide August 17 bombings by extremists from the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB.
For the heresy of suggesting the IKNMB "tone down" their stance, Mufti Noor Hossain Noorani was declared "unwanted" across the country by Mahmudul Hasan Mamatazi (also called Mahmudul Hasan Muntajir), another of the group's leaders, who also alleged that Noorani had taken a bribe from the sect for suspending campaigns against them.
By the time of the deadline, September 30, there was a rally of 1,000 people, but police kept a strong presence to avoid violence taking place.
The Ameer of the group, Mahmudul Hasan Mamatazi/Muntajir, said that if the government did declare that Ahmadiyyahs are non-Muslims, then their mosques would not be demolished nor their members attacked.
The group set a deadline for December 23 for the Khaleda government to make its pronouncement on the status of Ahmadiyyahs as non-Muslims.
Well, we are getting close to that deadline, and so far the government has not fallen in with the demands of this petty and spiteful group. So once again, they make their presence known by more threats of intimidation.
The Daily Star states that Khatme Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh (KNMB), a subgroup of IKNMB have now announced that they will be besieging the Ahmadiyyah's headquarters in Bakshibazar, Dhaka tomorrow (Friday 23).
On Friday August 27, 2004 the complex had been given a similar deadline by another extreme Islamist group, the Dhaka-based Aamra Dhakabashi, which led to the arrest of two of its leaders to defuse the situation.
The Star states that Khatme Nabuwat Andolon Bangladesh activists from 22 of the country's 64 districts will be taking part in Friday's siege of the Ahmadiyyah complex. They are planning to assemble outside the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque in Bakshibazar after Juma prayers, and then march on the base to begin the siege.
Mufti Noor Hossain Nurani, who is now president of KNMB, told the Star that his group will "do everything peacefully and will not violate the law."
The Ahmadi sect have appealed to the government for protection, and Dhaka Metropolitan Police have said that they have already sent forces to the Ahmadiyyah base.
While the KNMB will be besieging the Ahmadiyya complex after evening prayers, the IKNMB will be holding a dawn till dusk vigil which will start after morning prayers on Friday, in Muktangan in Dhaka.
The Ahmadiyyahs are widely persecuted in the Muslim world. We reported on the attacks made against them in Indonesia in September and also of the murder of eight members of the sect at a mosque in the village of Mong in Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan on October 7.
Even though the Ahmadiyya sect preaches respect for all human life, with the doctrine "Love for all, hatred for none" it is widely vilified. It is viewed with suspicion by other Muslim groups because it venerates Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (1835-1908) (pictured above), founder of the faith, as the promised Messiah, the Imam Mahdi.
Keywords: Ahmadiyyah, Ahmadiyya
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 22, 2005 8:38 PM
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