'Hefazat won't contest in any election'

Hefazat-e-Islam will not take part in any election as it is not a political party, said its Secretary General Junaid Babunagari on Friday afternoon. “Hefazat has no connection with any political alliance, hence no member of Hefazat will be nominated to take part in any election,” he said while addressing an Islamic conference at Jamiatul Falah Mosque in Chittagong. He said since the beginning, Hefazat was a non-political platform that is dedicated to “protect the Islamic faith in the country in the face of constant propaganda and falsehood against Islam in this day and age.” “With the progress of information technology, fitna [conflict] is spreading fast among our fellow Muslims, creating jealousy, hatred and divide. Having failed to conspire against the Ulemas, the secular media is now spreading propaganda and falsehood to smear Hefazat's reputation,” he said. He further said there was a global conspiracy against Muslims hatched by Jews and Christians and imperialist quarters. “Anti-Islam forces in both home and abroad are at work to destroy the iman [faith] of Muslims. They are corrupting our society with heresy and prohibited behaviour and practices. Because of the lack of political unity, the entire Muslim ummah [community] is now suffering from conflicts that are killing our Muslim brothers. Arrogance, greed for power and pride is forcing one Muslim to point their gun at another Muslim. We must resist this, or else it will get worse,” he added. The conference was also addressed by Mawlana Tafajjul Haque, Mawlana Junaid al Habib, Mawlana Mufti Ahmadullah, Mawlana Hafez Nurul Islam, Mawlana Obaidur Rahman Nadvi, Mawlana Khaled Saifullah, Mawlana Sheikh Ahmed, Mawlana Rahimullah, Mawlana Forqan Ahmed, Mawlana Ziaul Hossain, Mawlana Salimullah Shah Muhibullah Babunagari, Mawlana Hafez Tajul Islam and Mawlana Lokman Hakim. Hefazat is a Chittagong-based platform of radical Islamists that is mainly comprised of madrasa students and teachers.This article was first published on Bangla Tribune