In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
IUMS condemns repression of protesters, urges release of political leaders, protection of human rights
All praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His messenger, Muhammad, and his family, companions and followers;
The International Union of Muslim Scholars - represented in its presidency, its general secretariat, its board of trustees and its broad base of Muslim scholars all over the world– has followed closely and with deep concern the upsurge of events in Bangladesh under the current government and their accusation for Jamaat-e-Islami leaders of committing war crimes around the war of secession 41 years ago. The mentioned government has hence organized special tribunals for them and passed death sentences against some of the group leaders leading to strong objections among group supporters from the different sectors of society and demands to release those leaders through peaceful protests that observed the system. The government, however, decided to confront these calls and subjected protesters to types of oppression causing the death of some and the imprisonment of around 50 of them including women, in addition to a government decree to refer them to court.
Within view of the above, the IUMS views and affirms the following:
1- The union demands the Bangladeshi Prime Minister to release political leaders, to immediately end the exceptional courts that do not meet the requirements of neither law nor religious legislation that qualify them to issue such harsh decrees in a case traced back to four decades ago and since all evidence indicates that these are mock trials held for obvious political motives.
2- The union severely condemns the repression of peaceful protests demanding the release of scholarly leaders and innocent preachers, demands that come within the freedoms guaranteed for all nations. The union also demands the government to provide security and safety for everyone in order to thwart sedition, unify the lines, and avert the hazards enfolding the country.
3- The union stresses that using force and violence to stand in the face of nations is to no avail and that nations inevitably prevail with God’s will. The Arab poet has said it that:
If the people ever wanted life
So the people must prevail
And the night must make room for light
And destiny must rejoin the call
4- The union urges the Bangladeshi government to direct all efforts and capacities toward building and comprehensive national progress, to face the economic problems threatening a collapse of the country due to poverty, unemployment and harsh living conditions after the widespread corruption of the government at the expense of the helpless people. It is time for this government to provide care for its people and fulfill their duty toward them of bringing justice and shura (consultative opinion), providing freedoms, securing dignity, and protecting souls and possessions. Only in this way would the logic of security and faith, safety and Islam be consistent and would common good and blessing surround the people in life as well as the hereafter: { If the people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed have opened out to them (All kinds of) blessings from heaven and earth;} [Quran 7:96]
5- The union values the efforts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Malaysian government and other leaders in Arab and Muslim countries who sought to pressure the current Bangladeshi government. The union also reminds all Muslims of their historical duty before God first, then before the Muslim nation, toward their brothers the leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and their colleagues who currently remain incarcerated in the prisons of the Bangladeshi government and face the ghost of death plotted out for them.
6- The union values the efforts of international lawyers and human rights organizations for objecting to the law of the court, and calls for pursuing more efforts to prevent the government from executing these rulings issued in relation to these innocent leaders.
In the conclusion, we plead Allah to protect our Muslim brothers and sisters in Bangladesh from seditions, apparent and hidden, and to restore security and stability to that country.{And Allah has full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not.} [Quran 12: 21].
And from Allah is all assistance!
Doha on: 21 Rabea Al-Awwal 1434 H
Dated: 3 March 2013
Dr. Ali Al-Qaradaghi Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
IUMS Secretary General IUMS President