Followers of the Saad faction of the Tabligh Jamaat have complained that they received no response from the authorities despite reaching out over the past three and a half months.
They believe that the killing on December 18, 2019, at the Ijtima grounds happened because the authorities did not respond to their repeated requests.
During a press conference held on Thursday at a restaurant in Mirpur-1, the Imam of Kakrail Mosque, Mufti Azimuddin, raised these concerns.
He said: "We have appealed in writing for peace, harmony, and understanding, but they repeatedly ignored us. We have gone to various levels of the administration, sometimes ten times, sometimes more, but received no response."
At the press conference, the Saad followers presented six demands:
- Ensure the participation of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi in the Bishwa Ijtema.
- Allow the Saad faction to carry out their activities at Kakrail Mosque without hindrance.
- Hand over the Ijtema grounds in Tongi to the Saad group, with the government maintaining control of the site.
- Ensure government support and assistance in organizing the Bishwa Ijtema smoothly.
- End attacks and persecutions against the Saad followers across the country.
- Take effective steps to prevent obstacles at mosques and stop political interference in internal Tabligh matters.
Mufti Azimuddin expressed his sadness over the three deaths during the conflict, saying: “We are deeply sorry for the loss of three lives on Wednesday. We had tried for three and a half months to avoid such clashes.”
He called for the country’s scholars to remain neutral, saying: “Just as Darul Uloom Deoband took a neutral stance regarding Tabligh Jamaat, you should do the same. We consulted with top scholars, including Arshad Madani, but the Zubair faction ignored all advice and sought to turn the Turag River into a sea of blood."
He accused the Zubair faction of provoking violence by arriving on the western side.
"Since the field is government property, it should be under government control. Had it been under administrative control, the killing would not have happened," he said.
Mufti Azimuddin concluded by saying: "We still have trust in the administration. We believe they are sincere. We do not think the government is so weak as to give in to any extremist demands. We will go through the administration. The field will remain under their control."
The Saad faction also called for a judicial investigation into the division within Tabligh Jamaat, the brutal attack by Mamunul Haq and the Zubair faction, and the conspiracy to control Tabligh affairs.
Present at the press conference were Maulana Zia bin Qasim, Mufti Muaz bin Noor, Mufti Shafiullah, Mufti Azimuddin, and Maulana Anas.
