Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Nayeb-e-Ameer and former lawmaker Professor Mujibur Rahman expressed heartfelt gratitude to the families of the martyrs, injured July fighters, national leaders, editors and journalists from various media outlets, intellectuals, lawyers, and religious scholars present. He also called for everyone's continued cooperation and support.
He stated, “After achieving our first independence in 1971, we have attained a second liberation in July–August of 2024. To end the enslavement of man by man and establish the servitude of Allah, we must now prepare for a third battle for true liberation. Allah’s law must be passed in the National Parliament. No man-made ideology can bring salvation to humanity. Therefore, the implementation of Allah’s law in this country is essential.”
He was delivering his speech at a national seminar organized by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on the morning of August 1 at 10:00 AM at the National Press Club auditorium in Dhaka. The seminar was held in conjunction with a discussion titled “The Mass Uprising of July ’24: Expectations, Achievements, and the Way Forward,” and the unveiling of the English and Arabic editions of the book “Martyrs and the Wounded of the Second Liberation,” and the official launch of a website containing detailed information about the martyrs.
At the seminar, the keynote paper on “The Mass Uprising of July ’24: Expectations, Achievements, and the Way Forward” was presented by the Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and former MP, Professor Mia Golam Porwar.
The seminar featured speeches from several notable figures, including Presidium Member of Islami Andolon Bangladesh Ashraf Ali Akon; Chief Organizer of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) Nasir Uddin Patwari; Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan and Dr. Hamidur Rahman Azad,; Mr. Ameer of Dhaka South City Jamaat Nurul Islam Bulbul; Ameer of Dhaka North City Jamaat Mohammad Selim Uddin, President of Bangladesh Lawyers Council Advocate Jasim Uddin Sarkar; Spokesperson of Gono Odhikar Parishad Faruk Hasan, Editor of Daily Sangram Azam Mir Shahidul Ahsan, Lt. Colonel (Retd.) Hasinur Rahman; Central President of Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir Zahidul Islam; and S. M. Farhad, President of Dhaka University Chhatrashibir unit.
Other attendees included Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary Generals Maulana Abdul Halim and Advocate Moazzem Hossain Helal, Secretary of Jamaat’s Central Publicity and Media Division Advocate Matiur Rahman Akanda; Central Executive Committee Members Saiful Alam Khan Milon, Md. Abdur Rob, and Mobarak Hossain.
Also present were Maulana Ahmad Ali Qasemi, Nayeb-e-Ameer of Khelafat Majlish; Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman, Senior Joint Secretary General of Islami Andolon Bangladesh; Mostafizur Rahman Iran, Chairman of Bangladesh Labour Party; Engineer Rashed Pradhan, Vice President and Spokesperson of JAGPA; Iqbal Hossain, General Secretary of JAGPA; Mufti Fakhrul Islam, Secretary General of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon; M. A. Aziz Hawladar, Executive President of Bangladesh Muslim League; Jafar Iqbal, Vice President of the Muslim League; and Khan Asad, Organizing Secretary of the Muslim League. Families of martyrs, injured fighters from the July uprising, and their relatives were also in attendance. The event was jointly moderated by Head of Jamaat’s Publicity and Media Division; Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, Secretary of Dhaka South City Jamaat Dr. Shafiqul Islam Masud; and Secretary of Dhaka North City Jamaat Dr. Rezaul Karim.
Professor Mujibur Rahman further said that those who sacrifice their lives fighting against injustice are martyrs. Allah Almighty will bestow immense rewards upon the martyrs. All those who fought against tyranny and lost their lives in July-August last year are martyrs. He prayed to Allah to grant the highest rewards to the martyrs and the injured.
He emphasized that in our personal, family, social, state, and international affairs, we must abide by Allah’s laws. Only then will we attain peace, freedom, and welfare in this world and the Hereafter. He called upon everyone to unite and struggle together to establish Allah’s laws.
Ashraf Ali Akon, Presidium Member of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, said that after 1971, while the Awami League spoke of the spirit of independence, it instead subjected the nation to oppression, tyranny, and plunder. They created millions of fake freedom fighters and looted the country’s wealth. Later, after the 1990 popular uprising, another party came to power and engaged in looting and extortion. However, the people’s expectations remain unfulfilled. Therefore, he urged everyone to unite and begin a movement against plunder and extortion. He stressed that corruption, plunder, and extortion will not end unless Islam is established. To build a corruption-free and genuine democracy in the country, elections must be held through the proportional representation (PR) system. Otherwise, vote-rigging, fraud, bribery, and corruption will continue unabated.
Nasir Uddin Patwari, Chief Organizer of the National Citizens’ Party, expressed gratitude to the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami for compiling the list of martyrs. He emphasized that to build a society free from bribery, corruption, extortion, and discrimination, everyone must unite and fight together. During the Awami League’s rule, Muslims were labeled as terrorists and subjected to oppression. Jamaat-Shibir members and mosque imams were branded as militants and killed. Recently, a party’s general secretary claimed that right-wing extremism has emerged in the country. Patwari questioned why this emergence should be a problem and warned that this fear is being used as a pretext for renewed oppression and persecution. He called upon everyone to stand united against these conspiracies.
Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan stated that the Awami League had banned the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatrashibir. However, today, the politics of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League have become banned in Bangladesh. He further said that the martyrs of July do not belong to any one party; they are the pride of the entire nation. Therefore, it is the government’s responsibility to provide jobs to the families of martyrs and rehabilitate the injured.
