Leaders of the Ahlehadeeth Andolon Bangladesh have refuted allegations about their militant links, saying they had no such connection in the past and would not have any in future. Urging the government-run Islamic Foundation to be impartial, Ahle Hadees leaders said the foundation was carrying on a baseless propaganda campaign.They also placed an array of demands like the inclusion of Ahle Hadees representatives on the board of management of the Islamic Foundation, at least one  Imam at the Baitul Mukarram national mosque  and one representative each in the syllabus committee of the ministry of education and the managing committee of the Islamic Arabic University.
The Ahle Hadeeth Andolon Bangladesh made the demands public at a press conference held at the Jatiya Press Club in the city yesterday. Prof. Dr Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib, Ameer of the Ahle Hadees Andolon Bangladesh, said in a written statement, “We consider that the real Hanafi and real Salafi or Ahle Hadees can never believe in militancy. Those who are killing people in the name Jihad are not involved in Jihad at all. It is nothing but terrorism.”
“Islam is a religion of peace. There is no room for militancy and terrorism in it. Jihad and militancy are not identical,” he said. He added that those giving training to unleash rebellion against the government cannot be described as promoters of jihad, but of terrorism. “Terrorists are not the friends of Islam. They are the enemies of Islam, the state, and humanity,” he said.
He held the “superpowers” responsible for instigating militancy in various countries. When people were turning to Islam’s peaceful ideals after being continuously tortured by them, the superpowers, he said, were misinterpreting jihad and engineering militant acts to prove Islam to be a religion of terror.
“Such a policy has been adopted in Bangladesh as well. Their purpose is to prove Bangladesh a militant state so that they can easily enter the country as a saviour and wield power over our government,” Ghalib said.
He also made four suggestions as a means to curb militancy, including the spread of the real teachings of Islam, establishment of justice and good governance in the country, stern steps to prevent provocative activities against Islam, and the dispelling of misconstrued notions about militancy.
Replying to a query, Ghalib said, “If a person is involved in militant activities, he cannot be considered a member of Ahle Hadees, because we are against militancy. All responsibility will rest solely with the individual.” In his reply to a question concerning the signing by Alems in a mass signature campaign against militancy, he said, “It’s not important to sign to show one’s stand against militancy. Instead, we have written several books against militancy. We did not sign because they did not come to us. But we are against militancy.” Asked about the shutdown of the broadcasting of Peace TV in Bangladesh, he said, “The government should not have done it before conducting a proper investigation because Zakir Naik is an internationally acclaimed person. Besides, our Constitution has guaranteed our freedom of expression. So it is against the Constitution.” To another query, he said, “Peace School does not really mean ‘peace’; rather it is a business, and, as far as I know, Zakir Naik has no connection with it. The sudden closure of such schools has pushed its students into uncertainty.” He also said they had been the victims of the Four-Party Alliance in 2005, when their supporters had been sent to jail on the basis of false allegations and later released. But the action had caused a great deal of harm to their organisation, he claimed.