Renowned Muslim leader and president All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, in a letter to the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in New Delhi, on August 6, termed the Bangladesh government’s bid to remove books written by Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi as “contrary to democratic principles” and urged the government of Bangladesh to withdraw the order to this effect.
The letter says: “It has been reported that the government of Bangladesh has asked all mosques, academic institutions and libraries to remove books written by Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Maulana Maudoodi is universally regarded as one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the 20th century. Therefore to purge his books from libraries and educational institutions will be deployed by intellectuals, scholars and Ulema of the entire Muslim world including those who do not support the political line taken by the Jamaat-e-Islami later in Pakistan and in Bangladesh.
“The AIMMM therefore respectfully requests you to convey our feelings to your government and request them on our behalf that this order which is contrary to democratic principles may be withdrawn.”