Jul 4, 2010

Jamaat and BNP Under Pressure

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Nayebe Ameer (vice-president) Delwar Hossain Saydee were arrested on 29 June after a Dhaka court order on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and were later remanded for 16 days custody.  Syed Rejaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed the case on March 21 with a metropolitan magistrate's court in Dhaka against the Jamaat leaders indicating that Dhaka City Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Rafiqul Islam Khan at a discussion in Dhaka on March 17 compared Nizami to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), thereby hurting sentiments of Muslims. There was visible tension across the country as Jamaat e Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists protested arrests.

            Though the arrests are at the behest of the court, the opposition is likely to commence a protracted campaign of agitation in the country increasing the state of political instability. The BNP has already planned a series of protests starting 7 July . With the arrest of the top leadership of the Jamaat in Bangladesh there are concerns about political tensions given that the Party has a large base of grass roots level cadres and also support of the BNP the main opposition party. The follow up arrests to quell the scope of violent demonstrations may not take the steam of the agitation therefore some disquiet in Bangladesh in the days ahead can be anticipated and precautionary measures are warranted. The follow up arrests to quell violent demonstrations may take the steam out of the agitation therefore some disquiet in Bangladesh can be anticipated in the days ahead and precautionary measures are warranted.

JULY 2010