The country’s leading Islamic clerics (ulemas) have urged the law enforcement agencies to carry out an in-depth investigation into the attacks and activities of militants to find out the roots of those involved in the carnage at the restaurant in Dhaka’s Gulshan area, which left 20 innocent people dead. Talking to The Independent, they claimed that Islam and ulemas have no relationship with this kind of mindless brutality, which only defames the religion and the country. They said Islam neither approves nor supports such terrorist attacks and killings of innocent people. The ulema also sought an investigation into whether there had been an international conspiracy behind the massacre in the Holey Artisan Restaurant, saying that the Gulshan restaurant attacks were carried out by those who were enemies of Islam.
They blamed the negligence on the part of parents of those who went astray and deviated from normal life, choosing the path of militancy because of a lack of appropriate knowledge of Islam. Maulana Farid Uddin Masud, the imam of the country's biggest Eid congregation at Sholakia in Kishoreganj, said Islam is a religion of love, affection, moderation and non-communalism, and there is no room for extremism here. “Islam has prohibited any excess in the name of religion. Those who are carrying out militant attacks in the name of Islam have no relationship with the religion at all. It is tantamount to undermining Islam,” he said.
Maulana Masud said all these are being carried just to give a bad name to Islam, that it is a barbaric, cruel and savage religion. “It is an outcome of their perverted mentality, they cannot be called friends of Islam. They hurt Islam more than the declared enemies of the religion.”
Replying to a question, he said the children of affluent families were being misguided as they were not imparted moral and religion education by their parents. Besides, they are also going off-track as they are fed up with the immoral activities of their parents that they witness, he alleged. He also blamed the degradation in moral values of society and weaknesses of the education system for the youths’ choice of the paths of militancy and terrorism.
Mufti Maulana Muhammad Muhibbullahil Baki, pesh imam of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, said Islam does not support such militant attacks on innocent people. “They are not carrying out the attacks for Islam. The enemies of Islam are doing it as part of the international conspiracy to give a bad name to the religion,” he said.
He added that it is said that the militant attacks are being carried out in the name of Islam, but no one could prove the involvement of ulemas in such activities.
Maulana Baki called the law enforcement agencies to find out the real identities of the perpetrators, their names and addresses, and find out their roots. He wondered why everything remains shrouded in mystery after such attacks.
Maulana Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, principal of Tejgaon Kamil Madrasha, Dhaka, quoted a verse of the holy Quran that says killing one person is tantamount to killing all humanity. “Islam neither approves nor supports the killing of innocents. Killing innocent people by any quarter by force is totally prohibited in Islamic Shariah,” he said.
Condemning the incident, Maulana Razzaque said it was regrettable that the foreigners came here to assist Bangladesh, but have become the victims of heinous attacks. He called upon the law enforcement agencies to resist the perpetrators involved in Gulshan attacks by carrying out an appropriate investigation into the incident.
Referring to some youths who went missing for months, the former Khatib of Sobhanbagh mosque said the question arises as to where they were so long before carrying out the attack.