Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has expressed intense condemnation and deep anger over the celebration of the 250th Independence Day of the United States held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament.
In a stern statement issued on 6 July, Hefazat Secretary General Allama Shaykh Sajidur Rahman protested the event organized by the US Embassy, which featured musical performances and the “clanging of instruments” in a Western cultural style at a site he described as a symbol of state and national dignity.
“The National Parliament building is not an ordinary entertainment center or a park,” Sajidur stated, emphasising its status as the highest law-making sacred place of an independent, sovereign, Muslim-majority state. He characterized the musical assembly as “extremely shameful” and a “severe blow to the national sovereignty of Bangladesh”.
The Hefazat leader further criticised the decision to allow such an event in light of global geopolitical issues. He accused US imperialism of human rights violations in Palestine and elsewhere, asserting that turning the “heart of Bangladesh” into a “fertile ground for anti-culture” to please foreign powers is unacceptable.
He also lambasted politicians who justified the arrangement as a display of “democratic values” or “cultural bonding,” calling such claims an insult to the religious consciousness and patriotism of the masses.
Issuing a warning to the authorities, Sajidur stated that Bangladesh did not become independent to “serve any superpower” and pledged to resist any conspiracy to impose foreign agendas or Western “anti-culture” under the guise of friendship.
The statement called for accountability for those who failed to protect the sanctity of the Parliament premises. Sajidur urged the government to immediately protect the dignity of sensitive national sites and to refrain from future arrangements that diminish national honor. He warned that if such events continue, the public would be forced to take to the streets to defend national traditions and religious values.
