Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Sena, the student wing of Islamic Front Bangladesh, has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in greater Chittagong for Sunday, protesting the murder of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat leader Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi.
Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, president of Islami Chhatra Sena in Chittagong, confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune, saying the hartal will be enforced in Chittagong, Khagrachhari, Rangamati, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar districts on Sunday.
They also threatened to enforce a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday if the killers of Faruqi were not arrested within Saturday, said Mohammad Jamal Uddin Rabbani, general secretary of the central committee of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Sena, from a programme in front of the Chittagong Press Club yesterday.
The announcements came as activists of Ahle Sunnat staged demonstrations at different places in the country yesterday protesting the murder of their leader.
In Chittagong, protesters blockaded roads in the port city’s Muradpur, Sholoshahar, Kajir Dewri, Anderkillah and Jamal Khan areas as well as barricading Chittagong-Rangamati and Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highways at the district’s Potiya and Hathazari upazilas respectively for several hours.
Activists of Islami Chhatra Sena formed a human chain in the morning protesting the killing, as well as calling a protest rally and protest procession for today.
The activists and leaders of Ahle Sunnat also demonstrated in front of Chittagong Press Club in the afternoon, protesting the murder.
In a press conference there, Advocate Mosaheb Uddin Bakhtiar, Presidium member of Ahle Sunnat, blamed the followers of Wahhabi and Moududi’s ideals for the murder of Faruqi.
“It was a planned murder as Maulana Faruqi was a supporter of Sunni and he was broadcasting truth through the media,” Bakhtiar said; adding that Faruqi was killed as he was always against of all kinds of militancy.
Setting the government a September 1 deadline for arresting the killers, Ahle Sunnat also announced a rally and protest procession in Chittagong’s Laldighi ground on September 2.
If the law enforcers fail to arrest the culprits within September 2, the next course of action would be announced on September 3. Among other programmes, doa mahfils would be held at all mosques today; protest rallies would be held on August 30 and 31 at all upazilas and divisional headquarters respectively; while kulkhani and dua mahfil will be held on September 1, the organisation announced.
Meanwhile, in Brahmanbaria, Ahle Sunnat activists staged demonstrations in the district town to protest Faruqi’s murder by bringing out a procession and holding a rally in front of Nabinagar police station.
In Narsingdi, activists of the organisation’s district unit brought out a procession in protest of the murder from Basail Railgate area of the town.
On Wednesday night, unidentified armed assailants slaughtered Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, a presenter of religious programmes on Channel i, at his own residence in the capital’s East Rajabazar area.
The deceased was the Presidium member and international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, as well as the Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh – a platform of several Islamist groups.
Apart from anchoring programmes titled “Shantir Pothe” and “Kafela” on Channel i, he owned Faruque Tours and Travels Private Limited, a Hajj agency, and served as the imam of Supreme Court mosque.
Faruqi’s first namaj-e-janaza will be held at Jamiatul Falah Mosque in the port city at 10am today; the second one at Jatiya Eidgah ground in the capital city after Jumma prayers; and the third will be held at his village home in Panchagarh after Asr prayer.
Khaleda condemns Faruqi killing
Expressing deep concern over the murder of Nurul Islam Faruqi, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday said the people of the country were no longer safe as killing has become a common phenomenon.
“Common people have been passing their days in fear because of the ruling party’s vengeful activities of abduction and killing. Faruqi’s killing has proved that the reign of killing has been established in the country,” she said in a press statement.