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একটি দুঃসংবাদ: বাংলাদেশের জন্য ...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:08:22 +0100

বিসমিল্লাহির রহমানির রহিম

পাকবাহিনীর গণহত্যা নাকি অভ্যুত্থানের মাধ্যমে ক্ষমতা দখলের চেষ্টা – কোনটার জন্য জানিনা, ছোটবেলা থেকে আমি সামরিকবাহিনীর মানুষজনকে বেশী পছন্দ করতামনা। কিন্তু যেই মানুষটাকে দেখার পরে তাদের সম্পর্কে পাইকারী খারাপ মনোভাবটা বদলে যায় তিনি হলেন জিয়া ভাই। চাপদাড়ির সহাস্য এই মানুষটিকে দেখে বোঝার উপায় নেই তিনি আর্মির মেজর (41 BMA L/C)। তার প্রথম স্ত্রীর জানাজার সময়ে তিনি তার চেয়ে কয়েক স্তর উপরের অফিসারদের মুখের উপরে বলে দিয়েছিলেন যে আজকের জানাজার নামায রসুলের সুন্নাত অনুসারে হবে, আমরা সবাই সুরা ফাতিহা সহ সলাত পড়ব, এবং এর পরে কোন বিদ’আতি দু’আ হবেনা। আল্লাহ তাকে ইসলাম বোঝার এবং বোঝানোর এমনই ক্ষমতা দিয়েছিলেন যে তিনি গ্রামের সুর করে গল্প বলার মাহফিলে দাঁড়িয়ে ইসলামের সত্য বাণীর কথা বলে বেড়াতেন। শাস্তিমূলক বদলী হিসেবে তাকে পাহাড়ে পাঠানো হয়েছিল কিন্তু তাও তার সত্য বলা থামেনি। জুম’আর দিনে তিনি মসজিদে খুতবা দিয়ে মানুষকে ইসলামের পথে ডাকার অপরাধে (!) তাকে খুতবা দিতে নিষেধ করা হয়েছে।

আজ তার একটি ই-মেইল পেয়ে আমি স্তম্ভিত হয়ে গেলাম। ২৩শে ডিসেম্বর রাতে তাকে ডিজিএফআই (Directorate General of Forces Intelligence) অপহরণ করেছিল! তাকে প্রথমে মিলিটারি ইন্সটিটিউট অফ সায়েন্স এন্ড টেকনলজি (MIST) থেকে জরুরীভিত্তিতে ঢাকা সেনানিবাসের লগ এরিয়ায় বদলীর আদেশ দেয়া হয়। সেখানে যাওয়ার পথে সাভার বাস স্ট্যান্ড থেকে তাকে তুলে নিয়ে যায় সামরিক গোয়েন্দা বাহিনীর সদস্যরা। এরপরে তাকে টানা জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ করা হয়। সবচেয়ে আতঙ্কজনক ব্যাপার হচ্ছে প্রশ্নকারীদের তালিকায় যতজন বাংলাদেশী ছিল তার চেয়ে বেশী ছিল ভারতীয় অফিসার। এমনকি দোভাষীর মাধ্যমে র’এর কিছু এজেন্ট তার কাছে এমন কিছু তথ্য জানতে চেয়েছে যা একটা স্বাধীন দেশের নিরাপত্তার অত্যন্ত সংবেদনশীল।

দু’দিন-দু’রাত পরে তিনি তথ্যভরা পেন-ড্রাইভে খোঁজার অজুহাতে পালিয়ে আসতে সক্ষম হন, আলহামদুলিল্লাহ। দায়িত্বরত অবস্থায় এভাবে একজন আর্মির মেজরকে গুম করার ঘটনা অনেক পদস্থ অফিসার জেনেও না জানার ভান করতে থাকে। এই ভনিতা এবং বন্দীদশায় ভেসে আসা টুকরো যেসব কথা তিনি শুনেছেন তা এদেশের জন্য চরম অশনি এক সংকেত। কথাগুলো যদি জিয়া ভাই না বলতেন তাহলে আমি নিজে মনে করতাম থ্রিলার মুভির কাল্পনিক কন্সপিরেসি থিওরি। কিন্তু র’এর এজেন্টরা যখন ঢাকা ক্যান্টনমেন্টের পাশে বসে বাংলাদেশ সেনাবাহিনীর একজন মেজরকে জেরা করতে পারে তখন নিশ্চিত বোঝা যায় ডিজিএফআই এখন চালাচ্ছে ভারতীয় সরকার। জিয়া ভাইয়ের ভাষ্যে এরা সামরিক গোয়েন্দা বিভাগের কেন্দ্রীয় এবং ৬৪টি জেলাভিত্তিক ফিল্ড অফিসের মেধাবী অফিসারদের ব্যবহার করে এক-এগারর মত আরেকটি অবস্থা সৃষ্টির জন্য কাজ করে যাচ্ছে। র’এর সাথে হাত মিলিয়েছে কিছু উচ্চাভিলাষী জেনারেল। এরা বর্তমান শাসক দলকে মদদ দেয়ার ভান করছে কিন্তু যখন এদের পরিকল্পনা বাস্তবায়ন হবে তখন খোদ সরকারী দলের অনেক বড় নেতাদের নির্মূল করা হবে। প্রসঙ্গত, ডিজিএফআই এর ডিজি সরাসরি প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কাছে রিপোর্ট করে। প্রধানমন্ত্রী যাদের হাতের পুতুল ভাবছেন তারা সেটা নয় এবং তারা যেটা চাচ্ছে সেটা সত্যি হলে সেটা খোদ প্রধানমন্ত্রীরও জীবনের অবসান ঘটাতে পারে। সাধারণ অফিসারদের ভুলিয়ে রাখার জন্য সম্প্রতি আর্মি অফিসার হাউসিং সোসাইটির (AOHS) এর জমির দলীল বিতরণের লোভ দেখান হয়েছে। কিন্তু ভিতরে ভিতরে অনেক দেশপ্রেমিক অফিসারদের গণহারে গুম ও গ্রেপ্তার করা হচ্ছে। এর মধ্যে লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল জায়েদি, লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল হাসিন, লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল এহসান ইউসুফের মত অফিসারদের প্রকাশ্যেই গ্রেপ্তার দেখান হয়েছে। এই গুমগ্রেপ্তার আরেকটা পিলখানার পূর্বপ্রস্তুতি মাত্র।

জিয়া ভাইয়ের মেইলটার সত্যতা প্রমাণের জন্য তিনি সাংবাদিকদের তিনভাবে সরেজমিনে তদন্ত করার অনুরোধ করেছেন –

১. তার নিজের বাসায় গিয়ে – : D-13/1, পলাশ (১৪ তলা বিল্ডিং) মিরপুর ক্যান্টনমেন্ট, ঢাকা।

২. MIST কর্তৃপক্ষের সাথে সরাসরি কথা বলে।

৩. পুরাতন আর্মি সদরদপ্তর মেসে যেখানে কিছু গ্রেপ্তারকৃত অফিসারদের রাখা হয়েছে।

জিয়া ভাই মেইলের শেষ অংশে তিনি বলেছেন যে তিনি নিরাপদ কোথাও পালিয়ে যাবার চেষ্টা করছেন। তিনি এখন কোথায় আছেন কেমন আছেন – এক আল্লাহই জানেন। তিনি এই তথ্যগুলো দেশের সব মানুষ, সামরিক ও আধাসামরিক বাহিনীর সদস্যদের জানানোর জন্য বিনীত অনুরোধ করেছেন। তার করা মেইলের ফলশ্রুতিতে তার এবং তার পরিবারের উপরে ভয়াবহ বিপদ নেমে আসতে পারে। আল্লাহু আকবার, কতটা সাহসী না হলে তিনি নিজের ও পরিবারের জীবন বিপন্ন করে এতবড় একটা ঝুঁকি নিলেন সেটা ভাবতেই আমার মাথা শ্রদ্ধায় নিঁচু হয়ে যাচ্ছে। আর একটা অন্ধ ক্রোধে কপালের রগগুলো দপদপ করছে, জিয়া ভাই, ভাবী আর ছোট্ট বাচ্চাটার জন্য বুকের ভিতরে কেমন যেন একটা শূণ্যতা তৈরী হচ্ছে। ইন্না লিল্লাহি ওয়া ইন্না ইলাইহি রদ্বিউন - নিশ্চয়ই আমরা আল্লাহর কাছ থেকে এসেছি এবং নিশ্চয় আমরা তার কাছেই ফিরে যাব।

আমি শরীফ আবু হায়াত অপু, আল্লাহর কসম করে বলছি – মেজর জিয়া ভাইকে আমি পাঁচ বছর ধরে চিনি, তাকে আমি ব্যক্তিগত স্বার্থ উদ্ধারে মিথ্যা কথা বলতে দেখিনি কোনদিনও। তিনি জাতীয় স্বার্থ নিয়ে মিথ্যা বলবেন এটা আমি বিশ্বাস করিনা। দেশের এমন একটা পরিস্থিতিতে কিছু করতে না পারার অসহায়ত্বে অস্থির লাগছে, কিন্তু দেশে নিশ্চয় এমন কিছু মানুষ আছেন যারা এ ব্যাপারে কিছু করতে পারেন। যদি কিছু না পারেন তাহলে যত বেশি সম্ভব মানুষকে জানান। যারা আল্লাহকে ভয় করেনা তারা অন্তত জনগণকে ভয় করে। এই দুরভিসন্ধির কথা প্রকাশ করে হয়ত আমরা পরবর্তী ট্রাজেডিটা থামাতে পারি। যেসব মুসলিম ভাই এই লেখাটা পড়লেন তারা যেন আসন্ন দুর্যোগটা ঠেকানোর জন্য মন থেকে আল্লাহর কাছে দু’আ করেন। আল্লাহ যেন জিয়া ভাই এবং তার মত অন্যান্য সত্যিকারের দেশত্যাগী মানুষগুলোকে নিরাপদে রাখেন। আল্লাহ যেন ভারতীয় সেনাবাহিনীর সব ষড়যন্ত্রকে নস্যাত করে দেন। আমিন।

২৬শে ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

২রা সফর, ১৪৩৩ হিজরি

ফোর্ট ওয়েইন, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র।

Free Babar Ahmad

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:04:40 +0100

Bismillah-hir Rahman-nir Raheem (in the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)

[If you like this article, please share it with your friends]

SIGN THE E-PETITION FOR BABAR AHMAD > Sign the e-petition here.

All Muslims in the UK know that there has been growing pressure and scrutiny on Muslims and communities ever since 9/11 and the July 7th bombings in London. However, there are miscarriages of justice and wrongs being committed that vioate human rights. One such case is Babar Ahmad and as Muslims, we should stand up for our brothers and sisters in Islam. The following is taken from the website from his family and friends: www.freebabarahmad.com.

There is an e-petition to the UK Government, which ends on Friday 10th November. Please sign it to prevent his extradition to the US, where the threat of further injustices against him would be even more severe. Under the controversial Extradition Act 2003, the US does not have to provide any evidence before seeking the extradition of a

British citizen. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/885

You can follow the campaign on twitter (@freeBabarAhmad) and facebook (FREE Babar Ahmad). To add a FREE BABAR AHMAD icon to your twitter and other materials, download the icon below.

You can write to Babar Ahmad:

Babar Ahmad A9385AG

Detainee Unit

HMP Long Lartin

South Littleton

Evesham

WR11 8TZ

Who is Babar Ahmad?

Babar Ahmad is a 37 year old British Muslim and the longest detained-without-charge British detainee held as part of the global ‘war on terror’.

Babar Ahmad was born in London in May 1974, and, until his imprisonment in 2004, lived in Tooting, South West London. His parents migrated to the UK from Pakistan in the early 1960’s. His father is a retired civil servant and his mother a retired Science teacher.

He went to a reputable public school where he won academic prizes and obtained outstanding results at both GCSE and A-Level. He then went to university and obtained a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of London. Before his imprisonment in August 2004, he was working in the IT department at Imperial College London. He is well-known locally in Tooting as a ‘caring and helpful’ member of the community through his years of youth work.

What happened?

In December 2003 Babar was arrested at his London home under anti-terror legislation. By the time he reached the police station Babar had sustained at least 73 forensically recorded injuries, including bleeding in his ears and urine. Six days later he was released without charge.

Babar then filed a formal complaint that he had been subjected to horrific physical, sexual and religious abuse by the arresting police officers. In March 2009 the Metropolitan Police finally admitted in the Royal Courts of Justice in London that they did indeed carry out the Islamophobic and brutal assault on Babar Ahmad in December 2003. Moreover, they paid Babar Ahmad £60,000 compensation for damages. However, the Metropolitan Police have still offered no apology for the actions of their officers.

Here is the Guardian newspaper article on this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/18/babar-ahmed-met-police

In August 2004 Babar was re-arrested in London and taken to prison pursuant to an extradition request from the US under the controversial, no-evidence-required, Extradition Act 2003. The US has alleged that in the 1990s Babar was a supporter of “terrorism”. Babar denies any involvement in terrorism. He has now been in prison for over five years even though he has not been charged in the UK.

On 03 June 2011, following a trial lasting five weeks at Southwark Crown Court, all four police officers charged with assaulting Babar Ahmad were acquitted. The jury took only 45 mins to reach their verdict and requested to meet the officers to shake their hands following the conclusion of the trial.

After the acquittal, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC, the Recorder of Westminster and Deputy High Court Judge said, ‘I express the hope that his ordeal as a man in detention in this country for a number of years without trial is brought to an end as soon as possible…It is no concern of this court as to which, but it is a matter of concern and I would have thought should be a matter of concern to the public at large, quite apart from Mr Ahmad, that here is a man who has been in custody for literally years without knowing what his fate is to be.’

On 22 June 2011, in a report released by the House of Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) urged the UK government to change the law so that Babar Ahmad perpetual threat of extradition is ended without further delay.

not chatr...ists

Babar’s family, friends and campaigners have mounted a high profile campaign for his release. He appeared in the news when it was revealed that the police had bugged his prison visits with his MP, Sadiq Khan (Labour-Tooting). His final appeal against extradition is at The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which is due to decide on it in late 2011. If extradited he faces the rest of his natural life in solitary confinement in a maximum security US ‘Supermax’ pris

Secularism in Bangladesh : Concern

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:41:22 +0100

Secularism is not mere a simple word. The repercussion of this concept is far-flung. Historically, it is intertwined with vengeance and violence; persecution and execution. Atheist thinkers of the so-called enlightened period put forward this worldview or ideology based on materialistic philosophy. Therefore, the word secularism is fundamentally implicated with negative connotation when compared with monotheistic religious worldview. Scholars and philosophers of our time have been trying to define or depict this secularism concept in a more presentable way in order to get the acceptance from public or to avoid public backlash. As a consequence, there are several versions of secularism concept have been emerged over the ages, for instance, French secularism, American secularism (allow more freedom from religious point view), English secularism, secularism without democracy (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan etc.), Hindu secularism (India) and Muslim secularism (some Arab countries, Indonesia etc).If we consider the models of Western secularism and secularism without democracy (it should be, since they are more developed), there are some universal core principles of secularism including modernization, progressiveness, human rationalism, freethinking and freedom of expression (in political sense, this is not applicable for china and Russian block). As an outcome of these core values, there are some social norms have established in the secular society. What we know as "sin" in religious perspective that is not sin or is legalized in secular term depending on personal freedom until it does not harm other people directly. Homosexuality, for instance, was defined as mental disease until 1973 in American Psychiatric Association. Currently, most of the Western countries regard this phenomenon as natural and accepted in the society. The same-sex marriage has been legalized in more than 23 European countries (first in Denmark in 1989), US (some states), and some countries of Latin America, South Africa and Nepal (judicially mandated but not yet legislated). Many more countries are on the process of legalization of same-sex marriage in order to keep up pace with modernization and progressiveness. Forget about nudity, sexual promiscuity; these days' people of the secular society are campaigning to legalize incest (see also Wikipedia): sex between father-daughter, brother-sister (my hands are scrambling to write about this phenomenon).

How about Muslim secularism?

Among Arab countries, Islam is "the religion of the state" in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, Mauritania, Algeria, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia and Yemen. Since all those countries' regimes are undemocratic and unpopular due to their inefficiency, corruption and Westernized way of life, they try to claim legitimacy by resorting God's name. On the other hand, Malaysia and Indonesia can be considered as secular state (both Muslim and non-Muslim have separate civil courts). Army is required to rescue secularism in Turkey and Algeria.

Over the decades atheistic form of secularism have been tried in many Muslim countries (such as Iraq under Saddam's regime) but ended with failure, bloodshed, oppression and execution. Secularism was also tried in Afghanistan and Iran but backfired. In Iran 1928, Reza Khan seized power in 1928. It decreed European attire for men (1936) and banned hijab and chador for women in order to generate Europeanizing Muslims. This type of oppression led to the Iranian Revolution in1979, which reversed the decree, where hijab is obligatory. Interestingly, the secular rulers of the Muslim countries have attempted to implant Westernized secularism but in most cases failed due to public outcry. Even though in Tunisia, practicing Muslim is the prerequisite to be the president according to constitution, government has declared hijab as "sectarian dress code" and banned from public sphere. Police have been employed to implement this decree fiercely. There are many allegations to human right organization about harassments; woman wearing Muslim dress was raped in the police station in order to spread the fear among people who wish to wear Muslim dress. Hijab is used to snatch away on the street, university by police. Another Muslim secular country, Morocco is on the verge of banning Muslim dress in the ground of the symbol of fundamentalist/Islamist.

Turkish model of secularism:

Turkey (having 99% Muslim) is considered to be the role model of secularism in Muslim country according to Western observers. Ottoman Empire ruled the world for seven hundred years based on Islamic principles. Caliphs and ummah of the moribound Ottoman Empire were dirfted away from their guiding principles. As a consequence, it became corrupted and infficient. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, a military commander led the Turkish War of Independence to form the Republic of Turkey from the ruins of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The Turks revered Ataturk so much and given the title as 'Atatürk', meaning Father of the Turks. He used to give sermons during Friday prayer under Ottoman rule. He was an astute statesman and strewed strategist. He didn't express to the public how he would develop Turkey until he became president. He carefully devised a secular master plan, known as Kemalism. Ataturk and associates first started to question the religious values publicly and held the view that religion was not compatible with modern science and progress.

In order to implement Ataturk's ideology, government abolished Islamic religious institutions; replace the Shariah law with adapted European legal codes; replaced the Islamic calendar with the Gregorian calendar; replace the Arabic script (used to write the Turkish language) with the Latin script and closed all religious schools . Morevoer, Ataturk took control of the country's 70,000 mosques and restricted the building of new mosques. Muftis and imams (prayer leaders) were appointed and educated by the government. Imams were used to preach his ideology. According to Ataturk modernity was valued and represented as not wearing any religious dress or being non-religious.

Mustafa Kemal, took an infamous famous "hat revolution" in 1925. By this hat law, he outlawed all religious turbans and made it compulsory for civil servants to wear the "headgear of the civilized peoples. It was impossible to wear this rimmed hat during the daily Muslim prayer, in which the believers put their foreheads to the ground as a sign of submission to the Almighty. One religious scholar named İskilipli Atıf, wrote an treatise titled "The Hat and the Imitation of the Franks," He objected to the idea by arguing that it would amount to the abandonment of Muslim culture. Later, he was arrested and charged with treason. In his defense, İskilipli Atıf said that he stood behind his views, and the court cold-bloodedly sentenced him to death. The old man was executed by hanging on Feb. 4, 1925. "Don't cry my child," he said in his last hours to his daughter who was in tears. "Just recite the Koran for my soul." He was only one of the many victims of the hat revolution. According to the Turkish version of Encyclopedia the number of people killed by the regime was as high as 78. Moreover, many others were sentenced to 10 to 15 years of imprisonment.

Druing Ataturk regime, the veil and hijab (headscarves) were discouraged and restricted for women. After some time the Atatürk regime moved towards more extreme measures. Ataturk prohibited religious education. The existing mosques were turned into museums or used for the regimes secular purposes. Those who protested against his ideology were brutally oppressed in order to suppress the rebellions after massive bloodsheds. (for example, Seyh Sait rebellion in southeastern Turkey claimed about 30,000 lives). In 1980s, amidst this environment, a new generation of educated, articulate and religiously motivated leaders emerged to challenge the dominance of the Kemalist political ruling elite. By their own example of piety, prayer, and political activism, they have helped to spark a revival of Islamic observance in Turkey. Works of Fatemullah Gullen and Harun Yahya have contributed in this regards. Secular establishment/elites were frigthened to this revival. Secular military took over the power in order to protect the secularism. As a control measure, the wearing of the hijab in universities was first banned shortly after a 1980 military coup. The headscarf is banned in the public square such as, governmental building, schools, colleges, courts and universities (both private and public).

How about Bangladesh in the context of secularism?

If we consider the positive connotation of secularism, the present laws in our country fulfill the requirement of secularism. In Bangladesh, everybody can freely practice their own religion and at the same time, constitution is not sharia based. In some cases, our system is better than that of US. For instance, every religious group enjoys their important religious festival as national holidays in Bangladesh, which is unthinkable in US and Europe. But astonishingly, when Awami league government comes to power, the ideology of secularism comes to scene. Does this mean, policymakers and intellectuals of AL want to impose atheistic version of secularism in Bangladesh? Government assures people verbally but general people like me are not assured due to some legitimate concerns. It is quite well known that supporters (journalist, intellectuals, leftist) of staunched secularism always try to mock or ridicule Islam, Islamic values, Islamic symbols in the name of attacking Jamaat and therefore general people may not be aware. It has been well established as norms that intellectuals of secularists' forums who are fiercely promoting for secularism in Bangladesh, ridicule religious values, symbols and our prophet. It is quite rational to doubt their motives and version of secularism. In this regards, one of the key Awami league policy makers, Ex-Mayor Hanif, repeatedly and confidently protested about the secular view in AL constitution. According to the report published in the Daily Star (2005) he said; "I am not secular because I believe in Islam and follow its teachings ". Afterwards, Mayor Hanif was politically sidelined. Before election, one of the chief policymakers clearly stated his plan which was published internationally regarding the establishment of secular system in Bangladesh:

"Can the Awami League stop the growing tide of Islamism in a country that has seen the sale of burkas rise nearly 500 percent in the last five years? The answer is yes if it implements the following secular renewal plan. First, it must modernize the curriculum of the madrasses. Second, it must build proper, secular elementary schools and hospitals. Third, it should increase the recruitment of secular-minded students into the military from secular cadet academies. Fourth, it must attempt to rehabilitate known extremist clerics. Lastly, and perhaps the most abstract solution, it must push to vanquish Bangladeshi poverty and illiteracy that consistently ranks among the worst in the world. This plan would make the country less hospitable to a growing Islamist movement and help return Bangladesh to its secular roots".

Why does this key policy maker label religious dress as sectarian dress? If we carefully look at the proposed plan, you will find that the proposal is in paralleled with Turkish model, which is atheistic version of secularism. In the meantime, education policy has been made in that direction in order to implement this master plan in the long run. The education policy has been made based on thoughts and experiences of several individuals whose ideological view are well known from their seminar, symposium, books, and columns. It is noticeable that their ideological thoughts have been reflected in the policy. As a general citizen of Bangladesh, it is my right to see the explanation whether motives are really honest, since my kids and the next generation would be affected by this policy. In historical perspective, it would be imprudent to divert the general public attention just by labeling this important issue as the propaganda of Jamaat or Islamists.