Mahfuj Alam, a notable leader in the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, former special assistant to the chief adviser and a current adviser in the interim government, has recently been subjected to a misinformation campaign on social media.
False allegations have surfaced, linking him to religious organizations such as Hezbut Tawheed and banned militant groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, according to a report published by Dismislab, an independent online verification and media research platform, earlier this week.
These claims were at one point used as tools to portray the rise of jihadism in the country and the interim government as supporting Islamic fundamentalism.
However, Mahfuj has personally denied all allegations, and an investigation by Dismislab found no evidence to back these claims.
Dismislab conducted an investigation to understand how these baseless claims had spread and identify the individuals or groups responsible. It analyzed over 60 social media posts and articles from various websites between August and October. Its investigation revealed that the campaign started in early August and gradually gained traction, even spreading to Indian media and international think tank websites.
Was Mahfuj linked to Hezbut Tawheed?
Mahfuj Alam, also known as Mahfuj Abdullah, was appointed special assistant to the chief adviser on August 28.
Around that time, the disinformation campaign intensified, with claims that he was the son of a Hezbut Tawheed leader.
Awami League supporters began spreading nearly identical messages, stating: “Coordinator Mahfuj, son of Bangladesh’s Hezbut Tawheed leader and former Shibir leader Md Selim, is Dr Yunus’s Special Assistant.”
These posts circulated widely in groups aligned with the Awami League, including popular pages and organizations.
Hezbut Tawheed describes itself as a religious organization. Reports suggest that the organization was blacklisted during a past Awami League government, though the organization has consistently denied any involvement with militant activities and continues its operations.
Its leader, Hossain Mohammad Selim, is from Noakhali, whereas Mahfuj’s biographical details indicate he was born in Lakshmipur. Other sources also confirm that his father’s name is Azizur Rahman Bacchu Molla.
When contacted, Rufaydah Panni, the women’s secretary of Hezbut Tawheed and wife of the organization’s leader, told Dismislab that there was no connection between the “Honorable Imam and Mahfuj Alam.”
From Hezbut Tawheed to Hizb ut-Tahrir allegations
Within a day of the first allegation, Mahfuj was portrayed on social media as a leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization banned as a militant group by the previous Awami League government.
Early on August 29, A page named Amra Ruhi Bhai-er Bhakta shared claims linking him to Hizb ut-Tahrir. Upon verification, Dismislab found this page to be run by supporters of Mustaque Ahmed Ruhi, a former lawmaker for Netrokona-1 and an Awami League leader.
This was followed by another page, Kisti Baba, sharing news of Mahfuj Alam’s appointment as special assistant, with the assertion around noon on August 29 that “this militant leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir has become the special assistant to the chief adviser!”
Content verification revealed that this page was also affiliated with Awami League supporters.
The next day, a Facebook user named Fazlul Bari implied that Mahfuj had been behind new terminologies in the student movement, calling him a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader. The post, shared 69 times, criticized Mahfuj’s alleged influence on the movement’s terminology.
Later, a YouTube channel named Shompaddok Bhai released a video titled “Yunus’s Special Assistant Militant Leader Mahfuj Alam,” highlighting statements from Fazlul Bari’s post and further linking him to Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The same day, Kabir Chowdhury Tanmoy, founder of the Online Activist Forum (BOAF), accused Mahfuj of being part of Ansarullah Bangla Team, a banned extremist group, in a Facebook post that gained considerable traction.
Misinformation spreads to mainstream media
On August 29, The Economic Times journalist Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury published an article implying Mahfuj’s association with Hizb ut-Tahrir, without citing any specific sources. Chaudhury has a history of questionable reporting, including claims about Pakistan’s ISI financially supporting the BNP in Bangladesh’s 1991 elections, which were later denied by former ISI chief Asad Durrani.
On September 11, Chaudhury published another article in The Economic Times, again linking Mahfuj to Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Delhi-based South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) cited The Economic Times, reinforcing the allegations.
In response, Mahfuj publicly denied these accusations on September 14, calling them “intentionally framed narratives” to align with Indian perspectives. “I have always been, and remain, opposed to the ideologies of Hizb ut-Tahrir and other undemocratic groups.”
Despite the clarification, the campaign continued, with Indian writer Shantanu Mukherjee repeating the accusations in a column in Millennium Post.
Tweets from public figures fuel rumours
Following an event on September 24, where Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus praised Mahfuj as a “brain” behind the student-led movement, exiled author Taslima Nasreen on September 25 and analyst Brahma Chellaney on September 26 took to social media, alleging that Mahfuj was a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader.
This claim gained further visibility as various Indian media outlets cited these tweets as evidence. Chellaney, who has faced allegations of misinformation in the past, along with other figures like journalist Smita Prakash, added to the narrative.
On October 6, Taslima shared an old 2019 report about a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader named Abdullah Al Mahfuj, misrepresenting it as proof of Mahfuj’s involvement. After receiving backlash, she edited the post, but screenshots continued circulating. In response, the press wing of the chief adviser denounced the claims as false.
Portraying Mahfuj as a symbol of rising fundamentalism
In early October, after a Prothom Alo interview with Mahfuj, allegations of his extremist ties resurged on social media. Indian magazine Swarajya published a report, speculating about a plan to “Islamize” Bangladesh with alleged US and Pakistani support. In a research chapter from the book “Indian Journalism in a New Era”, Swarajya is described as a right-wing, BJP-supporting magazine known for promoting narratives favourable to Narendra Modi.
Additionally, the Gatestone Institute published an article on the “Talibanization of Bangladesh,” linking Mahfuj to Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Gatestone Institute, flagged by Media Bias/Fact Check for misinformation, is chaired by John Bolton, who is described in a The Intercept report as “an actual ‘fake news’ publisher infamous for spreading anti-Muslim hate.”
On September 2, The Northeast News published a piece by Chandan Nandy, claiming US and Pakistani intelligence agencies, alongside Qatari officials, had been allegedly coordinating with students – including Mahfuj – since 2023 to overthrow Hasina’s government.
Nandy claimed that the roots of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement were in a lesson called “Gurubar Adda,” started by an on-campus group of Dhaka University students in 2021. Mahfuj had led this “secretive group” which had members drawn from not only Hizb ut-Tahrir but also Islami Chhatra Shibir, he wrote.
In a recent interview with Prothom Alo, Mahfuj discussed the intellectual gatherings known as “Gurubar Adda,” which he said had been held discreetly to avoid attention from the erstwhile ruling party’s student organization, Chhatra League.