Amir Hamza's remarks on mahfil postponement false and fabricated, organisers protest

The organising committee of the Tafsirul Quran Mahfil at Shyamganj Bazar Boro Mosque Hafizia Madrasa in Mymensingh has condemned and protested remarks by Jamaat-e-Islami MP and Islamic speaker Mufti Amir Hamza.

The protest came over remarks in which Amir Hamza levelled false allegations of shutting down the mahfil, implicating Engineer M Iqbal Hossain, the MP from Mymensingh-3 (Gouripur) and the current government's State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief.

A briefing was held on Sunday afternoon (8 November) at the Shyamganj Bazar Boro Mosque Hafizia Madrasa premises to clarify the postponement of the Tafsirul Quran Mahfil.

At the briefing, Hafez Md Sohel Rana, a member of the organising committee, said in his written statement that the 7th annual subject-based Tafsirul Quran Mahfil, organised on the initiative of former students of the madrasa, was scheduled to be held on 7 November.

He said the programme was temporarily postponed by a decision of the mahfil implementation committee due to unavoidable reasons, and that a written notice issued earlier had stated the next date of the mahfil would be announced after a decision.

The organising committee made it clear that neither the local MP nor any BNP leader has any involvement in the decision to postpone the mahfil. The programme was postponed entirely on the basis of the mahfil implementation committee's own decision.

Sohel Rana said the decision to postpone the programme was taken at a meeting of the mahfil implementation committee on 1 November. It was formally announced through a written notice on 2 November, after which the chief speaker (Mufti Amir Hamza) was informed of the postponement through his PS.

He urged all concerned not to spread any confusion or propaganda over the postponement of the mahfil, adding that the next date of the mahfil would be formally announced in due course.

He further said the remarks by the invited chief speaker of the postponed mahfil, Mufti Amir Hamza, alleging that Engineer M Iqbal Hossain, the Gouripur MP and State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, was behind the closure of the mahfil, are not correct.

Sohel Rana alleged that Amir Hamza made this fabricated allegation after being influenced by someone or some quarter. In reality, the mahfil was postponed on the basis of the mahfil implementation committee's own decision.

Hafez Md Saiful Islam, another member of the organising committee, said Engineer Iqbal was dragged into the mahfil of a religious institution for political reasons, to belittle the BNP. A clique has made him do this, and if needed, they will take recourse to the law.

Earlier, late on the night of 7 November, Mufti Amir Hamza, the Jamaat-e-Islami MP and Islamic speaker, delivered controversial remarks at an Islamic mahfil held at Puraputia Baba Mayer Doa Madrasa and Orphanage in Singheswar Union of Phulpur Upazila in Mymensingh district, alleging that the Tafsirul Quran Mahfil of Shyamganj Bazar Boro Mosque Hafizia Madrasa had been shut down.

In those remarks, he blamed Engineer M Iqbal Hossain, the State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, for the closure of the mahfil. After the video spread on social media, Amir Hamza's remarks drew widespread criticism.

Leaders of the Shyamganj Bazar Boro Mosque committee of the district also protested against Mufti Amir Hamza's remarks.

Bahar Uddin Dudu, vice-president of the mosque committee, said Engineer Iqbal Hossain has become a victim of political vendetta, and that this falsehood was spread in a planned manner at the instigation of a secret group to belittle the BNP.

Anisuzzaman Anis, general secretary of the committee, said Engineer Iqbal Hossain had graciously accepted a verbal invitation to the mahfil, but secret elements are spreading these falsehoods.

Abdur Rahman Babul, acting member secretary of Gouripur Upazila BNP, strongly condemned and protested the incident, saying the remarks Mufti Amir Hamza made implicating Engineer Iqbal Hossain on a sensitive matter are entirely imaginary, false and fabricated allegations.

He said Amir Hamza made such remarks to achieve political objectives and to call the current government into question. In fact, the organising committee postponed the mahfil on 2 November, and on behalf of Upazila BNP, he strongly condemned and protested the incident.

Md Habibur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Gouripur Police Station, said the allegation of political involvement in the closure of the mahfil is not correct. The organising committee itself postponed the mahfil in a written statement on 2 November, and that is the truth.