Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has expressed regret over the use of "undesirable" and "inappropriate" language by two speakers during their grand rally in Dhaka on Saturday.
Joint Secretary General Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi issued a statement to the media regarding the matter on Tuesday.
Azizul clarified that Hefazat does not endorse any objectionable language.
He said: “At our grand rally, two speakers unintentionally used inappropriate language, which we do not support. We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been hurt by it.
"At the same time, we urge those from secular progressive circles, who have long insulted Islamic scholars by labelling them as ‘militants,’ ‘fundamentalists,’ ‘religious traders,’ and ‘communal,’ to also refrain from using such objectionable language. We have not forgotten who encouraged the Awami fascist forces during the Shapla Chattar massacre.”
Azizul continued: “There is absolutely no question of us harbouring hatred toward women. To interpret ideological disagreements as hatred toward women is sheer ignorance."
"Once again, we emphasize that we are willing to participate in reform initiatives aimed at ensuring women's rightful entitlements, in accordance with their respective religious guidelines. However, from the outset, a group of NGO-aligned feminists was selected to form the Women’s Reform Commission, deliberately excluding Islamic scholars and other religious experts," he added.
"As a result, a biased report has been produced—one that protects the interests and ideologies of the secular progressive women's community while neglecting the religious perspectives and concerns of the broader devout female population. This kind of discrimination is unacceptable.”
The Hefazat leader said: “The false political narrative of labelling us as misogynists by an extremist Islamophobic faction is nothing new. Yet, across the country, the number of female students in our women's Qawmi madrasas continues to rise significantly every year. These madrasas—operating without any government funding—provide free accommodation, meals, security, and religious education to thousands of underprivileged and marginalized girls.
"As a result, we have made a noteworthy contribution to increasing women's literacy rates in this country. However, the social contributions of Islamic scholars are never acknowledged."
Azizul said: "We believe that our social roles and religious positions are seen as obstacles by the imperialist forces seeking to implement a Western agenda that commodifies women. That is why they have unleashed a group of extremist feminists against us.
"But we warn: if there is any excess when it comes to religious matters, we will not tolerate it.”
