Hefazat seeks to unite seven Islamist parties, but differences remain over Jamaat

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh is seeking to form a new alliance of seven Qawmi-oriented Islamist political parties. The parties have already submitted separate proposals to Hefazat outlining their ideas for the alliance.

Their proposals include questions about relations and political understandings with other parties or alliances, with the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance emerging as a key point of debate.

Among the seven parties, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh has proposed ensuring that the alliance has no ties with Jamaat. Islami Andolan Bangladesh, without naming Jamaat directly, has proposed that the alliance should not enter into any understanding with other political groups.

Two other parties have proposed making the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat creed a basis for the alliance. Three parties, however, do not want any conditions to be imposed from the outset regarding Jamaat or other alliances.

These details emerged from a review of the proposals submitted by the seven parties and discussions with their leaders.

Framework yet to be finalised

A meeting was held on 15 August at Makhzanul Uloom Madrasah in Khilgaon, Dhaka, to discuss the proposals submitted by the parties for determining the framework of the seven-party alliance.

Hefazat Amir Allama Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari, Secretary General Sajidur Rahman and members of a Hefazat subcommittee attended the meeting. However, the framework has yet to be finalised.

Azizul Haque Islamabadi, joint secretary general of Hefazat, told Prothom Alo on 17 August that the subcommittee had discussed the proposals in detail. Another meeting will be held later to finalise the framework.

Earlier, on 16 July, a discussion meeting was held at Jamia Azizul Uloom Babunagari Madrasah in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, chaired by the Hefazat amir. Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party, Islami Oikya Jote, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan and Islami Andolan Bangladesh took part.

The parties were asked to submit their proposals for the alliance framework by 3 August. A subcommittee was formed to review them, and the review began after the proposals were submitted.

The initiative has also raised questions because Hefazat describes itself as a non-political organisation.

Jamiat and Islami Andolan seek distance from Jamaat

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh submitted eight proposals. Its first proposal calls for ensuring “100 per cent” that the seven-party alliance has no relationship with Jamaat. It also proposed that no member of the proposed alliance should participate in any Jamaat programme, and no Jamaat member should participate in programmes organised by the seven parties.

Jamiat also proposed that its presidents and secretaries general should not be given important positions in Hefazat’s central and Dhaka metropolitan committees, and that no particular individual from the seven parties should receive special prominence at Hefazat meetings and rallies.

Although its written proposal begins with the issue of having no relationship with Jamaat, Jamiat Secretary General Manzurul Islam Afendi told Prothom Alo that Jamaat was not the main issue. He said previous efforts to unite Islamist parties had failed to become strong for various reasons, and Jamiat had submitted its proposals to strengthen the new process.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh did not directly mention Jamaat in its proposal. However, the party favours having no relationship or political understanding with Jamaat.

The party submitted 12 proposals to Hefazat. These include limiting the initial alliance to seven registered political parties that follow the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat creed; prohibiting any alliance or understanding with other political groups; and preventing leaders associated with Hefazat from supporting political forces outside the proposed alliance.

A policymaker of Islami Andolan said that “political forces” in the proposal refers to Jamaat. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said on 17 August that Deobandi scholars do not consider Jamaat to follow the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat creed.

Islami Andolan therefore wants Jamaat excluded from the alliance and does not want any of the seven parties to have an understanding with Jamaat’s alliance.

Islami Andolan Secretary General Gazi Ataur Rahman told Prothom Alo that if any of the seven parties remains affiliated with another political bloc, there would be little need to form a new alliance. He said the alliance would be possible if everyone was sincere, but not if anyone had other motives.

Khelafat Andolan and Islami Oikya Jote seek creed-based alliance

Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan proposed that the ideological foundation of the alliance should be the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat creed. It said no alliance should be formed with groups whose beliefs are considered questionable. It also called for the alliance to operate independently, without influence from the government or other political alliances.

The party’s organising secretary Mufti Sultan Mahiuddin told Prothom Alo that parties joining the alliance should not simultaneously belong to or join another alliance. Any party holding discussions with another party or alliance while remaining in the new alliance should be held accountable, he said. He added that even if other parties join, the seven original parties should retain leadership.

Islami Oikya Jote has also proposed that members of the alliance should adhere to the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamaat creed. Its Secretary General Mufti Sakhawat Hossain Razi told Prothom Alo that they had proposed forming the alliance only with parties that follow the creed.

Khelafat Majlis objects to excluding Jamaat as a precondition

Khelafat Majlis has emphasised the importance of the seven Islamist parties working together, as similar Islamist parties have done in the past. Its leaders say the divisions that emerged among the parties around the national election need to be overcome. However, they argue that since Hefazat is a non-political organisation, it should not take a position against any particular political party.

A senior Khelafat Majlis leader told Prothom Alo that Jamaat had also been part of previous efforts to unite Islamist parties. Therefore, he said, it would not be right to insist that the new alliance must exclude Jamaat from the outset.

Nezame Islam opposes conditions on other alliances

Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party proposed initially uniting Qawmi-oriented parties, with the option of expanding the alliance later based on the views of all parties. It said other political parties that share common ground on principles, the aspirations of the mass uprising and reforms should also be allowed to join.

The party said there should initially be no conditions on whether members can or cannot belong to other alliances.

Nezame Islam Secretary General Musa bin Izhar told Prothom Alo that they do not currently see the proposed alliance as an electoral alliance. If the alliance becomes strong, the parties can later decide whether to turn it into an electoral alliance depending on the circumstances.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis wants freedom in political decisions

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis said in its proposal that since 2013, several Qawmi-oriented and other Islamist parties had operated together under the banner of “Like-minded Islamist Parties” until the 2026 national election. It proposed retaining that structure in the new alliance.

The party also called for members to retain independence in making political decisions even after joining the proposed alliance. It cited the previous experience of parties belonging to different political alliances working together under the “Like-minded Islamist Parties” banner as a possible basis for the new arrangement.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Mamunul Haque told Prothom Alo that no preconditions should be imposed on the alliance process. The parties should work together on issues where they agree and gradually resolve areas of disagreement, he said.

Why is Jamaat at the centre of the debate?

Hefazat leaders and political sources say the organisation has a longstanding ideological disagreement with Jamaat-e-Islami. Deobandi scholars consider some of the interpretations of Islam by Jamaat founder Syed Abul A’la Maududi to be controversial. Hefazat’s current ameer has therefore criticised Jamaat on several occasions and, before the 13^th parliamentary election, urged voters not to vote for the party.

Many senior Hefazat leaders are also leaders of Qawmi-oriented political parties. Before the national election, these parties increased their contacts with major political groups in an effort to attract support from Qawmi madrasah-based voters.

Ultimately, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam contested the election as part of the BNP-led alliance. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlis and Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party contested under the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.

Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan was also part of the 11-party alliance but contested independently after failing to reach an agreement on seat-sharing. Islami Andolan withdrew from the 11-party alliance before the election and contested independently. Islami Oikya Jote also fielded candidates independently in two constituencies.

After the election, Khelafat Andolan and Khelafat Majlis stopped participating in programmes of the 11-party alliance amid dissatisfaction over several issues. Discussions about the need for a separate political alliance among Qawmi-oriented parties began from that point.

As Islamist parties had joined different political alliances during the national election, Qawmi-oriented votes were divided among several camps. Against this backdrop, Hefazat is now seeking to build a new alliance of seven parties.

The key question, however, is whether the proposed alliance will remain completely separate from Jamaat and its 11-party alliance, or whether the participating parties will retain freedom to make their own political decisions. That remains the main point of disagreement.