Hefazat seeks to spread its network down to village

Hefazat-e Islam will form committees in every village, union, upazila and district to protect Islamic values.

Hefazat is calling the committees "non-madrassa committees" and the process of forming them would begin after Eid.

Senior leaders of Hefazat decided these during a meeting on Friday at Jamia Madania Baridhara madrassa. Hefazat Senior Naib-E-Amir Mufti Khalil Ahmad Qasemi, also chief Mufti of the Darul Uloom Hathazari, chaired the meeting.

At the moment, Hefazat has committees in Qawmi madrasas, and according to the then education minister, there were 19,199 Qawmi madrasas in 2022.

At the meeting, Hefazat leaders discussed the issue of having its arrested leaders and activists released. Meeting participants said that the government assured them of releasing the arrestees time and again but did not keep its word.

The meeting decided to wage a strong movement after Eid demanding the release of all its arrested activists and leaders, including Hefazat Joint General Secretary Mamunul Haque, and the withdrawal of cases against them.

Asked about the meeting decisions, Hefazat Joint General Secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi told The Daily Star, "Our grassroots leaders are frustrated and we have decided this [going for movement] under their pressure," he added.

The Qawmi madrasa-based organisation also decided to support the boycott Indian product movement. It, however, will not take part in any agitation over the matter but will conduct social-media campaigns and distribute leaflets to urge people to boycott Indian products.