Unheard Voices

As the US expands its war on terror, its venomous civilisational crusade of establishing democracies in the Middle East, one notices how Bangladesh has gradually been re-fashioned as a ‘moderately’ Muslim country, in an area considered to be ‘vital to US interests’. Jamaat-e-Islami, in the words of Richard Boucher, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, is a ‘democratic party’. James F Moriarty, US ambassador to Bangladesh, in his congressional testimony (February 6, 2008), said US interest in Bangladesh revolved around the latter denying space to ‘terrorism’ (mind you, Islamic, not US, not state-sponsored). Moriarty’s ideas echo Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami’s. In an interview given last year, Nizami said, Jamaat was important to keep Bangladesh free of militancy and terrorism (Probe, June 27-July 3, 2007). (more…)

As of Tuesday afternoon, access to Sachalayatan.com has been blocked from Bangladesh. Right before this unofficial ban, Sachal (as the users of this site fondly call it) bloggers vehemently protested the attack on a war veteran by Jamaat e Islami activists at a “Liberation War” meeting. In one such article Faruk Wasif on Sachalatayan analyzes the incident: “These obstinate freedom fighters from the subaltern dare do what our seasonal “Sector Commanders” or the frogs of our Syphilis Society cannot.” The full article, that may have sealed the fate of Sachal in Bangladesh, has been translated below.

In the meantime New Age produced another stinging rebuke to the military controlled government for its kiddy glove approach towards Jamaat. Here is the blistering piece.

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Tentative Programme: Conference on Genocide, Truth and Justice
1-2 March, 2008 (Venue : Brac Centre Inn, 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212) (more…)

A month ago, Islamists made a fiery national issue over “Mohammad Biral” cartoon and were handed head of ex-Communist leader Motiur Rahman. Can Secularists learn from tactics of opponents? Can they take Jamaat’s statement “there are no 1971 War Criminals” and 1971 was a “civil war” and turn it into a mega-issue?

DENIAL
*Shah Hannan says “there was no genocide, only civil war.”
*Ali Ahsan Mujaheed: “There were no war criminals”

RESPONSE
*Constitution Allows Banning of Islamist Politics
*Try War Criminals Through Special Commission
*Gen. Ibrahim on War Criminals
*War Heroes Blast Jamaat
*Public Outrage over Jamaat Statement
*War Crimes expert says Mujaheed “blatant lie”
*War Heroes Demand War Crimes Trials
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Jamaat-e Islami met with Election Commission this week. While BNP/AL are falling apart and failing to even agree on the team to meet EC, JI are highest ranking political party to meet w/ EC. Prothom Alo reports JI will oppose the following conditions in EC’s draft constitution:
1. No political party can contest election if they discriminate on basis of religion, race, ethnicity, language or gender
2. Each political parties’ committee must have 33% women membership

[Image: Jamaat amir Matiur Rahman Nizami]
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Sent by RK

Given the furore raised by the Mullahs about the Muhammad Biral (Cat) joke and the subsequent arrest of the cartoonist by the bangladesh Govt and abject grovelling by the Prothom Alo (leading Bengali newspaper) Management by apologizing in writing and sacking the Magazine sub-editor responsible for publishing the joke!

It is interesting to see that the Mullahs and their student arm themselves published a similar joke a few years ago in one of their publications. the Prothom Alo joke is at the bottom

A joke published in Islami Chatra Shibir*’s Magazine

November 1998 Edition Page 87

Under Children’s Voices

Courtesy of Somewhere in Blog
See details:
http://www.somewhereinblog.net/blog/sujonmcblog/28732243

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New piece published in DS that actually documents a lot of the recent developments:

Jamaat is one of the shrewdest operators in our political space. They are true survivors. They joined hands with the Pakistan army in 1971, and they have given support to other autocratic, anti-people forces since then. But every time, when that force has fallen from power, Jamaat has come out unscathed and smelling like rose water. Even though they were the primary minority partner in the last regime, Jamaat once again stands untouched.

More here

Nicholas Schmidle in Boston Review

“The Islamist Challenge to Secular Bangladesh”
http://bostonreview.net/BR32.3/schmidle.html

The usual refried text, but is there any substance to any of these scenarios? The challenge for us is to see past the overheated rhetoric and uncover the reality. (more…)

From Akku Chowdhury

On the 30th night on ETV program Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mujahid and a Pakistani collaborator as a high command of the dreaded Al-Badr in 1971, tried to convince the audiences he was a bystander during the genocide committed by the Pakistan Army. He even claimed that his party Jamaat would eventually make an evaluation of 1971 and make it public. He also claimed they are in no hurry to come to power and is willing to be partner with whoever to reach that ultimate goal.

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Picture: the survivers

Over the last few days we heard a lot about reforms and we saw informal break ups of LDP, Awami League, BNP and JP. Amazingly, Jamat is completely missing from the picture. Neither they are talking about any of reform, nor their leaders are banned from travelling abroad in spite of having criminal cases on them (unlike some others we know). When Barrister Mainul Hossain was asked about this apparent favourtism, he expressed his ignorance and said he did not know Mr. Mujahid. Now Deshivoice blog exposes an old video of a conference of Islami Chatro Shibir where Barrister Mainul Hossain was present as a special guest sitting not too far from Mr. Mujahid and Delwar Hossain Sayeedi. If these two cases of favourtism and lying on camera was not enough, here is the most troubling news of institutionalizing presence of Jamat-i-Islami in the voter list creation by the election commission.

Election Commission has recently selected Bangladesh Masjid Mission to “be given the responsibility to encourage the people through mosque-based publicity to be enlisted in the voter enrolment with photographs.” Now first of all it may seem innocuous thinking that it is trying to encourage the picture taking of conservative Muslims through this mission. But let’s not make any mistake that this is indeed giving formal power to an organization that lists as its aim:

Making the mosques a living center to Islam to address all sorts of human problems & suffering in light of Masjid-e-Nababi. Even this would not have been so problematic had Bangladesh Masjid Mission wasn’t so close to Jamate Islami. Their website is adorned with pictures of Jamat Amir and former chief of Albadar Al Shams and a collaborator in our liberation war and alleged war criminal Matiur Rahman Nizami.

Here is a picture:

Also, here is another news story of Nijami and Babar using BMM’s platform to say Bangla bhai was a creation of India. If this doesn’t convince you of the link. Consider this — Bangladesh Masjid Mission was founded by one Maulana Alauddin Al Azhari who is brother in law of none other than our very own Golam Azam. The reference is from the Golam Azam’s own website.

Now that’s the kind of news that makes you go hmmmmm…