Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat leader Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi was killed as his religious ideology clashed with those of some Islamist groups, victim’s family members told a press conference yesterday.
Faruqi’s son Reza Faruqi at his Purbo Rajabazar house told reporters that it was a preplanned murder.
In a written statement, he said: “It was not an incident of robbery. My father believed in Sufism and Shariah. He did not believe in superstitions and lies. He was a liberal alem [scholar] of Sunni ideology. For this, he received threats on his life several times on Facebook. They killed my father.”
Reza claimed that though Faruqi had two wives, they did not have any conflict. There was no feud among his children as well. He did not have enemies in business.
The law enforcers too on Tuesday said Faruqi had been killed by radical Islamists for his religious views.
On August 27, unidentified armed assailants slaughtered Faruqi, presenter of religious programmes on private television channels, at his own residence. He was the international affairs secretary of Ahle Sunnat – an organisation known better for opposing the views of Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam. He was also a Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh.
From a rally in Chittagong on Tuesday, Ahle Sunnat leaders alleged that the activists of Jamaat and Hefazat might have killed Faruqi for opposing their views. They also demanded a ban on Peace TV and some religious programmes on private television channels for “instigating militancy.”
Faruqi had six children. His eldest son Masud-Bin-Noor works at the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands, Razu looks after the businesses, daughter Tuba studies social welfare in Dhaka University, Faysal studies in North South University, Labiba is an HSC student at Motijheel Ideal School and College while Fuad studies in a madrasa.
Faruqi’s first wife Ayesha Akhter lives in Malibagh Bazar Road while second wife Lubna Islam in Purbo Rajabazar.
Describing the differences between Ahle Sunnat and Jamaat-Hefazat, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Sena President Md Nurul Haque Chishti
told the Dhaka Tribune: “Maulana Faruqi was a supporter of Sunni Islam while Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami are followers of Wahabi and Moududi.”
He said: “We believe in performing Milad as a sawab but they think that Milad is haram. We believe that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is superior but they believe that the Prophet is a normal person like us. We believe that the Prophet was made with light while they believe that he was made by mud.”
Chhatra Sena is the student wing of Islamic Front.
Executive Secretary General Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat Md Masud Hussain Al Kaderi told the Dhaka Tribune: “Jamaat and Hefazat people do not believe in wali and aulia, but we believe in them.”
Also organising secretary of Islamic Front, Kaderi said the followers of Jamaat and Hefazat believed that Allah can break promises, while the Ahle Sunnat and Islamic Front supporters believe in “Iman” and “Akida.”