Target tolerance

Calling for peace, harmony and tolerance, more than 1,00,000 Islamic scholars from across the country are set to deliver a set of fatwas against militancy today, first of its kind in the country in the context of targeted killings by suspected militants.

It comes in the wake of continued attacks on religious minorities, intellectuals and secular writers. Such killings, mostly by hacking with machetes, have risen over the past few months.  

An 11-memebr panel of Islamic scholars led by Farid Uddin Masoud, chairman of Bangladesh Jamiyatul Ulamma, prepared the anti-terror edicts in light of the Quran and Hadith.

The move was first initiated at a meeting between Islamic clerics and top police officials late last year. The draft of the fatwas was completed in January at a meeting of some 300 Islamic scholars.      

The Daily Star has a copy of the fatwas, expected to be announced at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital today. 

“A total of 1,01,524 Islamic scholars and imams signed our fatwa against militancy and violent extremism,” said Masoud, grand imam of the country's largest Eid congregation at Sholakia in Kishoreganj.

The 32-page document will be distributed among imams and other religious leaders to spread the peaceful message of Islam across the country against militancy and violence in the name of religion, he told this paper by phone yesterday.

In the beginning, it quotes verse 32 of Surah Al-Ma'idah of the holy Quran: “Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption, it is as if he has slain the entire mankind. And whoever saves one, it is as if he has saved the entire mankind.”

The fatwas will be delivered as sermons in mosques and religious gatherings and be spread through social media. 

 “Islam prohibits taking anyone's life because of his faith, whatever that may be. Islam has not allowed any individual to judge others," said Masoud.

“The fatwa unequivocally said these killings of non-Muslims, minorities and secular activists are forbidden in Islam.

“We hope that the people who have been misguided in the name of Islam will learn true things from this fatwa and will return to normal life,” he added.

The scholar noted that counterterrorism efforts are unlikely to be successful without changing such twisted thought process of radicals who are “brainwashed” into thinking that they will go to heaven by carrying out a suicide attack, for example.

“It's a matter of great regret that some miscreants are spreading terror activities and panic in the name of Islam to serve their vested interest. They are portraying Islam as a cruel religion … These fanatics are not only the enemy of Islam and Muslims but also of humanity.” 

According to him, it is not possible to eradicate the menace by law enforcement agencies only as the criminals are ready to kill themselves in the name of religion. The first thing needed is to remove the obscurity of Islam from their mindset.  

Masoud said they plan to distribute 1 crore copies of the edicts as booklets across the country in phases.

Over the last three years, suspected militants have attacked and killed university professors, writers, publishers, secular bloggers, gay rights activists, foreigners, policemen and members of religious minorities, including Shia and Sufi Muslims, Christians and Hindus. About 50 people have become victims of     such targeted killings since February 2013.

Last week, the government launched a crackdown against militants and criminals. So far, some 194 suspected militants have been nabbed among over 11,000 arrested.

The fatwa comes against such a backdrop. But it was not easy for the panel to move ahead with the initiative and collect signatures.

“Jamaat-Shibir men hindered our efforts in some places,” said Sodruddin Maknun, general secretary of Dhaka city unit of Bangladesh Jamiyatul Ulamma.

He said copies of the fatwa would be given to the United Nations, the chief imam of Makkah Shareef, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Security experts have hailed the initiative as “good and positive” in the fight against terrorism in the name of Islam.

Former police chief Nur Mohammad said it would play a positive role in combating militancy.

This will create awareness among the people, he told this newspaper, adding that all Islamic institutions should come forward to this end as militancy could not be curbed through legal means only.

Prof Zia Rahman, chairman of criminology department at Dhaka University, said this good initiative must continue with specific focus, commitments and seriousness.

A social movement against militancy can be built if the spirit is instilled in people's mind alongside the scholars, he added.

Monirul Islam, chief of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said it would help the police force's anti-militancy publicity campaign and create awareness among the masses against the evil acts of terrorism and the distorted narratives of the holy Quran and Hadith.

Police will provide help in publicising the fatwas across the country, he added.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said these fatwas would definitely work in preventing militancy. “Alems [scholars] have finally understood and joined together to work against terrorism. This is praiseworthy as this can counter the militants' misinterpretation of the peaceful religion that Islam is,” he told The Daily Star.