Urging Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami not to fool or mislead people by linking votes with Jannat, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said Islam does not support the use of religion for political gain.
Speaking at a discussion, he also alleged that Jamaat had no visible role in the fight against the fascist Sheikh Hasina regime over the last 10 years.
“It’s not right to fool people or take them down the wrong path… Those who claim that getting a Jamaat ticket guarantees a ticket to heaven should show me where that is written. Using religion for political gain is something Islam never approves of,” the BNP leader said.
Fakhrul said he raised the issue because such misleading statements are creating problems, and this confusion needs to be clarified before the public more openly and clearly.
A platform of caretakers of mosque-based mass education under the Islamic Foundation organised the programme at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh.
In an oblique reference to Jamaat, he said the party had long struggled to establish itself in the political arena.
“It was our party founder Ziaur Rahman who first gave them the opportunity to enter politics… later they worked with us, and we also worked with them. But unfortunately, over the last ten years, we have not seen any visible effort from them to defeat the fascist regime,” the BNP leader said.
He also said he heard that Jamaat’s student wing Chhatra Shibir intruded into Chhatra League at Dhaka University pretending to be Chhatra League activists. “We cannot engage in such activities. We have always fought openly, directly and on the front line.”
Fakhrul also described how BNP leaders and activists sacrificed their lives and were subjected to repression, killing, enforced disappearance and imprisonment.
He said one political party kept shouting nonstop, demanding that “PR must be given and without PR there will be no election.” “They made all kinds of loud threats, didn’t they? But now their tone has softened.”
The BNP leader said their party, at different times during the fascist Hasina rule, presented proposals for reforms, as they were sincere about overhauling the state and strengthening democratic institutions.
He said their party signed the July charter formulated by the National Consensus Commission based on discussions with political parties.
Fakhrul regretted that the commission later submitted recommendations that included points beyond the agreed and signed document. “In other words, the commission did not do the right job. It would have been best if they had simply included the points on which all political parties had agreed.”
He said the July–August mass uprising—which cost the lives of nearly 1,500 people—has created an opportunity to rebuild the country.
“Let us all come together and at least unite on this point that we must hold a fair and proper election, with participation from everyone, so that we can form a truly democratic government and a democratic parliament. Through that parliament, we will be able to raise all our national issues, discuss them, and resolve them. The decisions taken there will be the decisions of the people,” Fakhrul said.
He bemoaned that despite having countless Muslims, madrasas, mosques and religious scholars in the country, injustice, corruption, theft and money laundering continue to rise.
The BNP leader said newspapers report wrongdoing every day, and argued that if moral education are strengthened, murder, robbery and crime will fall. “Moral values come from madrasas, schools, teachers and families, so these institutions must be strengthened.”
Fakhrul said deeper national discussion is needed on how religion and morality can be applied effectively in society.
Describing BNP as a liberal democratic party, he said without democracy, no class or religious community can have its rights protected.
Fakhrul accused the Sheikh Hasina government of stripping people of both their voting rights and their freedom to practise religion over the past 15–16 years.
He also criticised some religious scholars for giving Sheikh Hasina the title “Mother of Qawmi,” saying such titles raise questions.
Fakhrul said the Awami League has ruined state institutions by appointing party loyalists, and promised that if BNP returns to power, the Islamic Foundation will be restored as a full state institution and efforts will be taken to bring it under the revenue budget.