Bangladesh government, through gazette notification, has banned ultra-Islamist and Pakistan-linked Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) as terrorist organizations under section 18/1 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009.
This information was confirmed in a notification issued by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs on August 1, 2024.
The ban of Jamaat, Chhatra Shibir and other associated organizations came through an executive order under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Prior to the ban, the law ministry gave its legal opinion and forwarded the file to the home ministry.
Afterwards, Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters that these groups would no longer be able to engage in politics under their current names.
Government ministers had been accusing Jamaat and Chhatra Shibir of involvement in the violence surrounding the quota reform movement.
Then on July 29, top leaders of the 14-party alliance, led by the Awami League, agreed to ban Jamaat and Shibir during a meeting chaired by Awami League chief Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Previously, in 2013, the Election Commission cancelled Jamaat’s registration following a court ruling.
Jamaat appealed the High Court’s decision, but the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division dismissed the appeal on November 19, 2023, upholding the cancellation of the party’s registration.
It may be mentioned here that, from Bangladesh’s war of independence, the first government headed by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman banned Jamaat-e-Islami for its role against the country’s independence and collaborating with Pakistani occupation forces. Later, following assassination of Bangabandhu, military dictator General Ziaur Rahman lifted the ban thus enabling Jamaat-e-Islami to resume its activities in the country.
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded by Muslim Brotherhood prodigy Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi with the notorious agenda of Islamic conquest and “bringing the world under the flag of Islam”. A few years ago, the International Crimes Tribunals in Bangladesh described JeI’s role during the war of independence in 1971 as an active cohort of Pakistani occupation forces. JeI played a vital role in forming the Pakistani army’s auxiliary forces, such as the Razakar, Al-Badr, Al-Shams, and the Peace Committee, which actively participated in atrocities against Bengali freedom fighters, especially Hindus. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu men, women, and children were massacred by JeI and its forces, while a large number of Hindu girls and women were raped.
The United States has been a strong defender of Jamaat-e-Islami, repeatedly calling upon Bangladesh authorities to lift the ban on JeI and allow it to participate in the electoral process of the country. Washington also vehemently opposed Bangladesh’s war of independence while then Soviet Union and India directly supported the Bengali freedom fighters and extended all-out support in the country’s war of independence.
From July 17, Jamaa-e-Islami, along with Al Qaeda-connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) perpetrated countrywide mayhem by hijacking student’s protests demanding reform in quota system in government jobs. Since then, Jamaat-BNP nexus along with other militancy and terrorist groups have damaged public property worth hundreds of millions of dollars, while such acts resulted in Internet outage for more than a week that cost over US$7 billion economic loss to Bangladesh.
Following the ban, Jamaat-e-Islami activists are reportedly trying to bring-out processions in different parts of the country, while members of law enforcement agencies are expected to seal offices of this banned entity alongside its publication house.
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