In Chapainawabganj, 24 followers of Hinduism have formally joined Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
On Sunday, 24 Hindus formally joined the non-Muslim (Hindu) wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami after submitting their initial membership forms. One Muslim member also joined alongside them.
The induction took place at the district Jamaat office in a modest ceremony organized through Latifur Rahman, a central committee member of Jamaat-e-Islami and a former lawmaker. The event was shared on social media the same day.
However, several senior Jamaat leaders have stated that they were unaware of the matter.
The newly joined Hindu members include: Suman Kumar Saha, Sukumar Paramanik, Sanjit Karmakar, Chandan Das, Sudarshan Mondal, Bakhnath Thakur, Zainal Chowdhury, Kanai Chowdhury, Bharat Chowdhury, Satish Mondal, Bablu Mondal, Mitu Mondal, Suman Mondal, Dolon Mondal, Montu Lal Chowdhury, Swapan Ghosh, Darshan Mondal, Sujan Bhaskar, Krishna Chowdhury, Tapan Chowdhury, Kalachan Chowdhury, Shankar Chowdhury, Swadhin Das, Jhar Chowdhury, and Muslim follower Rehmat Ali. All of them reside in Ward No. 2 of Chapainawabganj municipality.
Suman Kumar Saha, one of the new members, said, “I have received help and support from this party during times of need. I have observed their activities for a long time, and they always do good work. Jamaat has never obstructed the practice of Hinduism. Overall, we felt that Jamaat is a principle-based party.”
Confirming the induction of the Hindu members, Latifur Rahman said, “Under Suman Kumar Saha’s leadership, the Hindu followers joined the party through me.” He added that outreach activities continue among people of various professions and beliefs. “Islam teaches not to go to extremes in religion or insult others’ faiths. After learning this, they joined the party. We plan to expand these outreach efforts in the future,” he said.
When contacted, Sadar Upazila Jamaat Amir Abdul Alim said, “I was not aware of this. I learned about it through Facebook. I can provide details once I know more.”
District Jamaat Secretary Abu Bakkar echoed this, saying, “Even though I am responsible for the district, I was unaware. Latifur handled it without informing us, and I learned about it from Facebook. Jamaat conducts all activities collectively, but personal outreach is allowed. Since this is an unusual case, it would have been better to inform us.”
Attempts to reach Chapainawabganj District Jamaat Amir Abu Jar Gifar for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not answer his phone.
