Hefazat places nine demands before Prime Minister

Hefazat-e-Islam Amir Allama Muhibbullah Babunagari welcomed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at Babunagar in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, where the prime minister held a meeting with leading Islamic scholars.

During the meeting at Jamia Azizul Uloom Babunagar, Hefazat presented nine demands, including legislation providing the highest punishment for insulting Allah, the Prophet (PBUH), the Quran and Islam, and a pledge not to enact laws conflicting with the Quran and Sunnah. They also demanded exemplary punishment for those involved in the May 5, 2013 violence at Shapla Chattar, the 2021 anti-Modi protests and the July-August 2024 killings. It called for full implementation of the recognition of Dawra-e-Hadith as equivalent to a master’s degree, including recognition in government job qualifications.

Other demands included making Islamic studies compulsory for Muslim students from primary to higher-secondary levels; declaring the Ahmadiyya community non-Muslim and banning Hizb ut-Tahrir; stopping alleged missionary activities in the Chattogram Hill Tracts; withdrawing cases filed against Islamic scholars during the previous Awami League government; and involving scholars in state reconstruction.

Hefazat also called for keeping the ban on Indian preacher Maulana Saad’s entry into Bangladesh and not allowing his followers to hold an Ijtema at Tongi. They highlighted the historical role of Islamic scholars in the country’s political and social movements and expressed hope that its relationship with the government would strengthen further.