Fundamentalist Oppositionist smelling hope in Bangladesh

 The Jamat-E-Islami leaders organized a huge funeral prayer (Janaza), in a district town Brahmanbaria, after the death of one of their ally leaders one month ago. At least one hundred thousand people gathered in that funeral prayer and they did not maintain any physical distance.

Fundermiatalism, vicious weapon against humanity 

by Swadesh Roy-June 08, 2020

One of the main right wings opposition parties, Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is now in a conditional bail from two corruption cases and staying at her home. After getting bail on 25th March, she was maintaining self-quarantine at her residence. But when the Covid-19 is in its peak in Bangladesh and in this situation, she has started one kind of series of meetings with her senior party members and rightist and fundamentalist ally members. Last week, she met with her party’s General Secretary and participated at least in a two-hour closed door meeting. 

One of the close sources of her party admitted that their party’s Acting Chairperson, Tarique Rahman, who is now exiled in London and has been awarded lifetime sentence for the involvement in a grenade attack to kill Sheikh Hasina and other leaders of her party in 2004, also joined via Skype with Begum Zia and her General Secretary in their meeting. After that, Begum Zia also met with all her party’s standing committee and the supreme body of the party members. The meeting took place more than one and half hour. Many sources confirmed Tarique Rahman also joined that meeting over Skype or Zoom too. Besides, Mrs. Zia held another meeting with her ally leader Mahmudur Rahman Manna. It also went for more than one and half-hour duration. Manna said to the press after that meeting, it was only a courtesy meeting about Eid-Ul-Fitr. But the total situation expressed it was not just a courtesy meeting; rather, it was the start for exchanging views with her ally’s leader. And within short, other ally leaders can meet with her. On the other hand, a source said, during this time some of London based Jamat leaders along with two Pakistani guy met TareqRahaman in his residence.

On the other hand, the main ally of BNP, Jamat-E-Islami,and their like-minded Islamic fundamentalist party of Bangladesh are trying many ways in this Covid-19 situation to make a chaos in the country. When government imposed ban to pray in the congregational place in the mosques, they tried to take over the control of the many mosques all over the country and tried to portrait that this government as anti-Islamic. So, they are making obstacles praying in the mosques for Muslims. However, the law enforcement members and the cautious people of the country tackled the situation and they were bound to stop their propagandistic work.

Besides, before the Eid-Ul-Fitr, government forbidden Dhaka and its neighboring city dwellers visiting their village homes because Dhaka and its nearest cities are the hotspots of Covid-19. That’s why, government made a plan that city dwellers should not go to their village in this Eid vacation. Because, contamination will start in the village area if they go to village. By the way, common people and the labor class did not understand about the spreading of Covid-19 in the village area. Rather, they tried many ways to visit their village homes. The Jamat-E-Islami along with BNP workers tried for taking a political opportunity and disturbing government using that people’s village visiting issue. They had started to organize several parts of the cities to make `crying –processions’ like Mahram, against the government condemning that government is troubling or forbidding the celebration of Eid for the common people. However, government tackled the situation at the last moment. Even on Eid day, they also tried committing many sabotage in the many places of Eid prayer. That’s why, it was not possible for the cautious people to maintain the physical distance in this corona pandemic time in many places.

Besides that, the Jamat-E-Islami leaders organized a huge funeral prayer (Janaza), in a district town Brahmanbaria, after the death of one of their ally leaders one month ago. At least one hundred thousand people gathered in that funeral prayer and they did not maintain any physical distance. They arranged this to show their strength and for spreading corona in the community for disturbing the government. After that funeral prayer, a phone conversation was disclosed. In this phone conversation, the Aamir(Chairman)of Jamat-E-Islami gave the order to the local leaders of Brahmanbaria for arranging this gathering. He also said in that conversation “we have to show our strength to the government and no need to maintain the guidelines regarding corona”. Basically, Jamat-E-Islami workers are the frontline soldiers and their leaders are the main architects of the BNP allied political movement.

Moreover, the Islamic fundamentalist ally of Bangladesh is getting more mental strength from their think-tank now. Because, the intellectuals of the BNP and Jamat-E-Islami are thinking that corona pandemic will change the political situation and their expected state of affairs will help their ally. Because, after any mass disaster of the world, rightist politics gets more opportunity. So, they are advising BNP leaders and their ally that in this corona pandemic time to organize and make a movement plan for destabilizing the government. Even they are thinking after this corona math government will fall many type of crisis then ultimate political situation will create an opportunity that will help the right wing and Islamic fundamentalist ally BNP-Jamat tooccupy the frontline of the countries’ politics.

Swadesh Roy, Senior Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a highest state award winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com