A parliamentary watchdog yesterday suggested that Islamic Foundation Bangladesh take up measures against the “evil design” of Jamaat-Shibir forces, which are out to divert children from taking pre-school education under the mosque-based education system.
Since 1992, the Islamic Foundation has been carrying out the Mosque-based Child and Mass Literacy Programme mainly to educate the children from low-income families aged four to five. It has helped Bangladesh counter dropout rates at the primary level.
The project is considered as one of the most successful projects of the government since thousands of students learn about religion as well as Bangla, English and mathematics. The students are also eligible to undertake general education.
The parliamentary standing committee on religious affairs at its meeting observed that the “extremist party” could easily distort the peaceful message of Islam, pushing the children towards violence and militant activities.
Sources from the meeting said committee member and Awami League lawmaker Shamsur Rahman Sharif first raised the issue of “misinterpretation” of religion, observing that the common people had attacked the police and vandalised vehicles just because of Jamaat-Shibir’s “misuse of Islam.”
They had spread a rumour that war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee would give a sermon from the moon, he added.
In the recent attacks on police and during other subversive activities and demonstrations across the country, Jamaat-Shibir and Hefazat-e-Islam leaders and activists had many children with them.
“The learners and children could easily be misguided through misinterpretation of Islam, which is a religion of peace and harmony. The Islamic Foundation must have mechanisms to stop such misinterpretation of Islam,” Sharif told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.
Majibar Rahman, a Jatiya Party MP, presided over the meeting attended by the State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Shahjahan Mia, AKMA Awal and Sadhan Chandra Mazumder.
“We must be careful about the misinterpretation of Islam- this must stop,” Majibar Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.
He said the ministry officials informed the watchdog that the Islamic Foundation trained the imams and religious leaders about the peaceful message of Islam.
The meeting resulted in a decision to hold a detailed discussion on the issue at the next meeting, the date of which is yet to be fixed.
The Islamic Foundation has also been running an anti-militancy project titled “Terrorism, Zangibad and Solving Social Problems in the Light of Islam” since the Awami League came to power in January 2009.
