Radical Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam on Thursday said the government still had time to amend the constitution to enact an anti-blasphemy law to hand down death penalty for atheists.
Ameer of the organisation Shah Ahmed Shafi also demanded fulfilling their “pro-Islamic” 13-point demands, including the restoration of “Absolute Trust and Faith in Almighty Allah” in the constitution “to ease the grievances of touhidi janata [religious Muslims].”
He made the remarks after holding a meeting with a Hefazat delegation from Chhagalnaiya of Feni, according to a media statement signed by Shafi’s Press Secretary Maulana Munir Ahmed.
Shafi also claimed that they were not against women, but wanted “to preserve their dignity and rights.”
The Hathazari madrasa-based group, comprising mainly teachers and students of Qawmi madrasas, first appeared in 2010 against the country’s education and women development policies terming those “anti-Islamic.”
With support of other Islamist groups and the opposition, they resurfaced at the end of February this year against the organisers of Shahbagh movement terming them “atheist bloggers.” Their other demands include stopping free mixing of men and women, removing sculptures and ban on Ahmadiyyas.
