Hefazat announces new committee without Mamunul

Hefazat-e-Islam has formed a new committee consisting of 53 members in the advisory body and 211 members in the central committee.

The organisation’s ameer (chief) Allama Shah Muhibullah Babunagari has approved the committee today, Thursday at Babunagar Madrasa in Chattogarm’s Fatikchhari.

Hefazat’s joint secretary general Maulana Mamunul Haque, who has been in jail, was not included in the new committee. However, the leaders of the organisation said Mamunul remains as a member.  Moreover, Hefazat men known as close to Anas Madani, the son of the organisation’s founder Shah Ahmad Shafi, did not get any post in the committee.

Hefazat leaders said most of the leaders retained the posts they held in the defunct committee. A change has been brought in the organizing secretary post. Mawlana Azizul Haque Islamabadi was the organizing secretary in the previous committee. Later the committee was dissolved and Maulana Mir Idris was named new organising secretary. Both Azizul and Idris have been made joint secretaries general in the new committee while Mufti Bashir Ullah of Madaninagar madrasa in Narayanganj was named organising secretary.

Mir Idris told Prothom Alo this evening that a draft committee was prepared during the meeting of the organisation's central committee on 5 August. Shah Muhibullah Babunagari today approved that committee.

Asked why Mamunul Haque has not been included in the committee while most of the leaders were retained, Idrish said Mamunul has been made a member of the committee. Four persons including Mamunul are incarcerated. The seniors can take decisions about keeping them in posts once they are freed.

It has been learnt that the Hefazat reintegrated members of its dissolved committee in the central committee under pressure from the grassroots.
Many leaders-activists of Hefazat came under arrest centering violent protests against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh on 26 March in 2021.

On 25 April, then ameer of Hefazat Junaid Babunagari announced through a video message that the organisation’s central committee was dissolved.

Within just three hours of dissolving the committee, a five-member convening committee was formed making Junaid Babunagari the convener. Pressure was mounted on Hefazat not to keep anyone with political affiliation in the committee.

On 7 June, a 33-member committee was declared keeping Babunagari at the helm. Junaid Babunagari died on 19 August 2021 and later Muhibullah Babunagari was made the new ameer. Later, a total of 29 persons were included in the committee. The organisation’s central committee now consists of 62 members.