Following controversy, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has removed its new logo from the wall of the party office in the Basundhara residential area of Dhaka.
On Monday, Bhutan’s Ambassador to Bangladesh Dasho Karma Hamu Dorjee visited Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, and photos from the meeting shared with the media showed no trace of the new logo.
However, the new logo was visible on Sunday during two separate meetings between Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman and the Spanish Ambassador as well as representatives of the European Union’s election observation mission.
The logo featured a green flag with a book and a rising sun, topped by a pen. The pen replaces the party’s previous emblem, the traditional scale.
Jamaat has changed its logo before; the earlier version included a dome-like structure with the word “Allah” inside, and the party’s scale symbol beneath it, accompanied by the inscription “Aqimud Deen” (“Establish the religion”).
The removal of the word “Allah” from the new logo sparked widespread discussion and criticism on social media. Some accused Jamaat of altering the logo to gain favour with Western countries.
Others saw the use of the national flag’s red and green colours as a sign that Jamaat intends to move toward change.
No party leader has given an official statement about the new logo. It was only mentioned that the logo was not yet finalised and the image had leaked to the media by mistake.
Several party leaders have indicated that Jamaat is expected to officially announce the new logo soon.
During the meeting, Bhutanese ambassador was accompanied by embassy counselor Jigdrel Y Tshering. Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer, assistant secretary general of Jamaat and head of the central media and publication department, along with Jamaat’s foreign affairs adviser, Professor Dr Mahmudul Hasan, were also present at the meeting.
