The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (A-IMMM) have condemned the arrest of Prof. Ghulam Azam and other thinkers by the Bangladeshi government and urged the government to speed up the release of all political prisoners, and to respect civil liberties. The IUMS has also appealed to the Muslim world, and international organisations to exert pressure on the Bangladeshi government to cease these malpractices.
“The International Union of Muslim Scholars is following, closely and with deep concern, the happenings and the latest developments in the Republic of Bangladesh [and what occurs] under the current government of violations of human rights, assault on those things which are sacred to the people, and the use of threat, punishment, and imprisonment in order to suppress freedoms. Many people were imprisoned because of their opinions and disagreement with the current government. Even the great Sheikh Professor Ghulam Azam, the former leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami [Bangladesh], and one of the most prominent Islamic personalities that are respected by millions of members of the Muslim Ummah all over the world, did not escape these arrests,” said an IUMS statement signed by Dr.Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Dr. Ali al-Qaradaghi on Jan 18.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (A-IMMM), the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, also express deep concern at ‘the reckless arrests of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh leaders and workers of late and reopening the wounds of 1971’.
In a letter to Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Begum Hasina Wajid, the A-IMMM president Dr. Zararul-Islam Khan, on Jan 28, said: “While we find it very difficult to believe the allegations made against Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh senior leaders like the octogenarian Prof. Ghulam Azam (who was not physically present in East Pakistan at the time of 1971 events). This all seems to us a case of political vendetta which will keep the wounds of festering for ever. What Bangladesh needs most today is a grand national reconciliation so that all could devote their best efforts to build a great and powerful Bangladesh.
“As, we believe that the best course in the best interests of Bangladesh and the Subcontinent will be to stop the current wave of vendetta, release all political prisoners and start a genuine reconciliation will all political and social forces in your country in order to progress in peace and genuine brotherhood.
“We hope that you will listen to this sincere advice from your brothers in the Indian Muslim community who share a very long history and cultural relations with you brothers and sisters in Bangladesh.”