“Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Bangladesh” is one of the few political entities to have passed the Election Commission’s registration application screening, sparking discussion over its identity, lineage, and links to existing registered parties.
A bed, an easy chair, two square tables surrounded by plastic chairs, and party banners pasted on the walls—this is the scene inside the central office of the party, which has recently passed the scrutiny of the Election Commission. The party, located in a single room on the rooftop of the 10th floor of RM Plaza in Bangla Bazar, has been selected from among 143 party applications.
Notably, there are already two separate parties under the names Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Bangladesh.
While the party office has the atmosphere of a homely space, questions have also been raised about the party’s name. Even though a political party is already registered as Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, the new application was submitted by adding the name Nezame Islam Party to it, forming Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party.
At the same time, another party under the name Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party has also been cleared in the verification process by the Election Commission.
Beyond this, leaders of the Nezame Islam Party run their organizations in several other factions.
During the Pakistan Movement in British India, leaders of that era formed the Nizam-e-Islam Party after breaking away from Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
Mufti Mohammad Kayum, identifying himself as the secretary general of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party that passed the Election Commission’s verification, claims that he is continuing the party from the legacy of the Nizam-e-Islam Party.
In the Election Commission’s selection list, his name is mentioned as the secretary general. He contested the 12th general election under the banner of Islami Oikya Jote from the Demra constituency in Dhaka.
During the tenure of the late Maulana Abdul Latif Nezami as party chairman, Mufti Kayum served as the secretary general of the Nezame Islam Party. The office of this faction at Purana Paltan is currently managed by Nezami’s son.
Rooftop office, king-sized bed
On Tuesday, the central office of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party was found at 50/3 Northbrook Hall Road in Bangla Bazar.
It is located inside a narrow alley in a 10-storey building. The ground floor houses motor parts shops. The first floor has several more shops, most of them closed except one.
On-site observation showed that up to the third floor, the building contains various motor parts warehouses, while the fourth to ninth floors are residential. Initially, no political office was found on the ninth floor. Later, in a room on the rooftop above the ninth floor, the office of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party was discovered.
Inside, party banners were displayed. There were two meeting tables placed side by side, 15 chairs, a king-sized bed, a dressing table, a sofa, a rocking chair, and a steel filing shelf.
The assistant secretary general of the party and part owner of the building, Robiul Alam Majumder, said: “This is the central office of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party. Since the Covid-19 period, around 2020, we have been using it as our office. We hold our party meetings here. The rent is Tk8,000; with utilities, it comes to Tk10,000.”
He added that up to the third floor, the building is rented out for commercial use, while the upper floors are residential.
Robiul said: “We are not the sole owners of this building. There are other owners as well. I am involved with the party as assistant secretary general, and my father is the central president. At one time, the current religious affairs adviser, AFM Khalid Hossain, was vice-president of this party.”
When shopkeepers on the ground floor were asked whether a political party office existed in the building, one replied: “As far as I know, there is nothing like that. I have been running this shop for one and a half years and have not seen such a thing. However, the owners are involved with the motor parts association, so maybe they are in politics.”
Party name listed only as ‘Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party’
On Wednesday, the party’s president, Maulana Abdur Rashid Majumder, spoke to this reporter in his motor parts shop on Northbrook Hall Road.
He showed a list of former party members, where only the name “Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party” appeared.
Asked whether the party’s name has now changed, he replied: “No. The party name is Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party. We just call it the Nezame Islam Party for short.”
When informed that there is another party under the name Nezame Islam Party, he said: “That is just a group of young people. They opened it on the streets and then abandoned it. They are youngsters.”
It is worth noting that several factions are active under the name Nezame Islam Party. One faction led by AKM Ashraful Haque and others is already in talks with the BNP, while another faction wants to align with the Jamaat-e-Islami. There is also a faction under Abdur Rakib.
When asked by Bangla Tribune whether he has applied under the names Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party separately, Mufti Mohammad Abdul Kayum replied: “No, this is not two parties; it is one party.”
When asked whether that means Jamiat Ulama or Nezame Islam Party, he said: “The full name is Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party. It has been called the Nezame Islam Party since the Pakistan period.”
On being told that there is a separate registration for Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, he said: “The Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam you are referring to has been around for a long time. They only use that portion of the name. Our full name is Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam and Nezame Islam Party. Everyone knows us as the Nezame Islam Party.”
When asked whether it was not effectively two separate parties now merged, he replied: “Some people think so. But this name has been in use for a long time. The registered Jamiat has links with Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, while our lineage is from the 1945 organization that supported the creation of Pakistan.”
Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam’s secretary general, Maulana Munjurul Islam Afendi, told this correspondent: “It is necessary to consider whether there is any conspiracy behind this. At one time, I saw a banner in the name of Jamiat and Nezame Islam Party on the building of Jamiat’s central office at 51/51 Purana Paltan.”
According to Jamiat leaders, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind was founded in British India in 1919, advocating for the independence of undivided India.
In 1945, the group split and Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam emerged, supporting the Pakistan movement.
In the first elections of Pakistan after independence, Jamiat in East Pakistan, under the name Nezame Islam Party, formed its election cell and won 36 seats.
When asked whether the party currently has any former MPs in its ranks, Maulana Kayum said: “No MPs, but Maulana Abdul Malek Halim has contested under this party’s name. He is still alive.”
He added: “There were three categories for registration. One was if the party had MPs. Another was, if the party had political offices and activities in 20 districts and 100 upazilas. The third was if someone contested under the party’s name and received more than 5% of the votes cast. We do not have offices nationwide, and we have no MPs, but our candidate received more than 5% of the votes. We applied under that criterion.”
What the Election Commission says
Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said: “There were 143 applications for new party registrations. The EC committee reviewed all 143 and asked the applicants to fill in the missing information. After fulfilling the requirements, on Monday, we found 22 parties to be correct on paper and in documents.”
Akhtar added: “Now there are two things to verify: documents and field checks, such as whether they have 200 members in each of 100 upazilas. We will now send these 22 parties for field verification.”
Asked whether the number of parties might increase, the senior secretary said: “Not at this stage. Otherwise, we would have said 23 instead of 22, or 18 instead of 22. Therefore, as per the committee’s decision, it remains 22. The rest are excluded.”
When asked how objections will be resolved, he said: “We will inform those who did not qualify in writing, explaining their shortcomings. They will need some time. After being informed, it is their freedom to decide their next step.”
According to a source from a government intelligence agency and several political leaders, several objections have already been raised regarding the registrations. Questionable banner-based parties have been prioritized over parties that are active in politics, they say.
The sources said that among the initially shortlisted 22 parties, some, such as the NCP, Bhasani Janashakti Party, Bangladesh Aam Jonogon Party, and Jonotar Odhikar Dal, have offices and organizational activities, while many others do not.
However, a source at the Election Commission told this reporter that the chief election commissioner is sincere about taking action if objections are raised.