Social media outrage over Shamim Kaiser’s new ministry role

There is an immense amount of anger in Bangladesh over the nomination of MP Muhammad Shamim Kaiser Lincoln as State Minister for Religious Affairs. Social media sites and Islamic experts (Ulama) have vehemently condemned the decision, claiming that the appointment of a person associated with Ahle Hadith or Salafi philosophy ignores the customs of the country’s majority, who adhere to the Hanafi school of thought (madhhab). Protesters claim that long-standing religious unity in the country is directly threatened by disregarding significant Hanafi-oriented organisations.

Prominent individuals and conventional groups have denounced the ruling and warned of a broad response if customs are changed. Mufti Rezaul Karim Abrar issued a harsh caution: ‘Making him the state minister isn’t the problem, but if any attempt is made to alter the books of our Islamic Foundation or the prayers and acts of worship that have been practiced in our country for thousands of years… a national theological debate (bahas) will take place first at the National Mosque’. Similarly, Maulana Junaid Al Habib stated that cabinet members who do not adhere to traditional beliefs will not be accepted by pious individuals.

Political experts have blamed this state of affairs on Islamic political strategy’s long-standing shortcomings. Mufti Habib Jamil, a Qawmi scholar, stated, ‘Lincoln becoming the State Minister for Religious Affairs is the direct result of the politics played by IAB and Jamiat’, contending that the community as a whole is suffering from poor tactics and insufficient connections with powerful social groups. This critique appears online, where users claim that such contentious nominations seriously alienate mainstream Christians and undermine public confidence in the administration.

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Sammilita Ulama Mashayekh, Sarsina Darbar Sharif, Bangladesh Islamic Front, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, and the Khatme Nabuwat Preservation Committee are among the many religious organisations that have called on the government to cancel the appointment. Prominent figures, such as Pir Saheb of Sarsina and Allama Abdul Hamid Pir Saheb of Madhupur, stressed that to preserve religious harmony and trust across the country, a person from the Qawmi arena must be chosen.