Hefazat apologises for 'offensive' words used by two speakers

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has apologised for the 'offensive' words used by two speakers at its May 3 mass rally in Dhaka. 

In a statement issued to the media on Tuesday, Hefazat-e-Islam's Joint Secretary General Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi said, “Hefazat does not support any offensive words.”

The statement reads, “Two speakers have unintentionally used offensive words in our mass rally, which we do not support. If anyone has been hurt by the words, we also sincerely apologise to them.”

“At the same time, we also call on those of the secular progressive genre, who have been maliciously criticising scholars and ulama as 'militant', 'fundamentalist', 'religious traders' and 'sectarian', to refrain from such offensive words. And we have not forgotten who encouraged the Awami fascist forces in the Shapla Chattar massacre.''

It further said, “There is no question of our hatred for women. It is simply foolish to see ideological struggle as hatred for women. We reiterate that we are also interested in being involved in reform work to protect the fair rights of women according to their respective religious provisions. But at the beginning, a women's reform commission was formed with a group of NGO feminists, excluding scholars and other religious experts. Consequently, such a monopolistic report has been prepared, where the interests and ideologies of the secular progressive women's community are protected, but the religious thoughts and considerations of the larger religious women's community have been ignored. There is no room for accepting this discrimination.''

The statement said, ''The anti-political slander of us as 'misogynists' by extremist Islamophobic groups is very old. However, the number of students in our women's Qaumi madrasas across the country is increasing significantly every year. In these madrasas, which are free of government allocation, free accommodation, food, security and religious education have been provided to thousands of marginalised and disadvantaged girls in the society. As a result, we have also made a significant contribution to increasing the literacy rate of women in this country. But the social contribution of scholars and ulama is never recognised. And we believe that our social role and religious position are an obstacle to the implementation of the Western agenda of making women in this country a 'product' in the modern system, and that the imperialist group has incited a group of radical feminists against us. But we will not accept excesses on religious issues.''

Relatively, six women, including three leaders of the National Citizens Party (NCP), sent a legal notice to Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh on Monday for insulting women at a public meeting. 

The notice senders are NCP leaders Syeda Neelima Dola, Dutee Aranya Chowdhury and Neela Afroz, and cultural figures Umme Raihana, Umme Farhana and Camelia Sharmin Chura.