Declaring Ahmadis non-muslim: BNP, Jamaat leaders voice support

Staff Reporter :

At a massive Khatme Nabuwat congregation at Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday, senior leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami delivered strong religiously framed political pledges — from reinstating “Absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah” in the Constitution to committing to declare the Ahmadiyya community non-Muslim if elected to state power.

Addressing the rally, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told thousands of clerics, activists and foreign delegates that the BNP would restore the phrase to the Constitution’s preamble and fundamental principles.

“If Allah is willing… if the people of this country lovingly give us the responsibility of running the state; if all of you present here — political leaders, peer-e-kamil, ulama-e-kiram — cooperate and remain united, then all the demands raised today will be discussed in the National Parliament,” he said. “We will take all necessary measures in favour of this proposal.”

The phrase “Absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah,” introduced in 1977 under Ziaur Rahman and formalised by the Fifth Amendment in 1979, was removed following the Supreme Court’s 2010 verdict that paved the way for the 15th Amendment restoring secularism as a state principle.

Salahuddin
said he wanted to return the country to what he described as its “Islamic constitutional spirit,” provided that political and religious groups “remain united” behind the demand.

In response to repeated appeals from the stage to declare the Ahmadiyya community non-Muslim by law, Salahuddin said the matter should be addressed through parliamentary consensus.

“The language you are asking me to speak is not the language of the law,” he said.

“To implement these matters and adopt this proposal, everyone must remain united. Everyone must be united in the National Parliament, and the Muslims of Bangladesh must be united. We will, Insha’Allah, accept your proposal.”

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Rafiqur Islam Khan issued the strongest statement of the day, declaring unequivocally that Jamaat would legislate the non-Muslim status of Ahmadis if it forms the government.

“There is no disagreement in the Muslim world about declaring Qadianis non-Muslim,” he told the gathering.

“Today, not only Bangladesh’s Muslims but representatives from various countries are here, and everyone’s stance is the same and unanimous.”

He said the belief in the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (Sm) is an unshakeable tenet of the ummah.

“In many hadith it is clearly stated that he is the last prophet, and no prophet will come after him. This is the consensus aqeedah of the entire Islamic ummah,” he said.

“If the people of Bangladesh allow us to lead, then the Qadianis will certainly be declared non-Muslim, Insha’Allah.”

Maulana Abdul Hamid Madhu Puri, convenor of the Combined Khatme Nabuwat Parishad and ameer of the Khatme Nabuwat Protection Committee Bangladesh, presided over the event.

He said the Ahmadi doctrine contradicts the core Islamic belief in the finality of prophethood. “Many Islamic states and organisations have already declared them non-Muslim,” he said.

“But Bangladesh has not yet done so, which hurts the religious feelings of Muslims and affects communal harmony.”

He urged political leaders to support a legal declaration. “The belief system that recognises Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet is against the fundamental aqeedah of Islam. We hope Bangladesh will also soon declare them non-Muslim,” he said.

Other prominent clerics, including Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s ameer Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, Hefazat-e-Islam’s ameer Shah Muhibullah Babunagari and Baitul Mukarram’s khatib Mufti Abdul Malek, reiterated calls for the protection of the doctrine of Khatme Nabuwat and urged political parties to adopt stronger religious positions.

International religious figures from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and Egypt also endorsed the demands from the stage, with speakers repeatedly stressing that the “unity of the Muslim world” on the issue should guide Bangladesh’s lawmakers.

The event, billed as the first international Khatme Nabuwat conference in Bangladesh, drew tens of thousands from early morning, with organisers calling it a “historic declaration of global unity” around the movement’s theological agenda.

The culmination of the rally was a unified appeal to all political parties — especially those seeking power ahead of the next national election — to take formal steps to recognise the finality of prophethood and to translate the rally’s demands into national legislation.