Jamaat offers olive branch to minorities in ensuing polls

Staff Reporter :

In a striking outreach effort, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, has called on members of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian communities to prepare for electoral participation under his party symbol, promising inclusion and protection in what he described as a “new Bangladesh.”

Speaking at a goodwill gathering on Wednesday at the Institute of Diploma Engineers in Dhaka, Rahman positioned Jamaat as a party ready to embrace religious diversity. “We seek your love,” he told the audience of minority leaders and community members. “Those who were forced to leave the country due to past persecution-we want to bring them back.”

The event, hosted by Jamaat’s Dhaka South City unit, marked an unprecedented move by the party to publicly court religious minorities.

Rahman vowed that under a Jamaat-led government, safeguarding minorities would be a “sacred responsibility,” and envisioned a society where “no temples, churches, or monasteries will need to be guarded.” He also made a pointed remark against political violence, asserting his disapproval of mob action. “I oppose any mob,” he said. “If someone commits a crime, the law and the courts should handle it.”

Leaders of minority faiths used the platform to voice long-standing grievances. Santosh Sharma, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Committee, thanked Jamaat for the dialogue and urged them to include the community’s eight-point demand in their manifesto. “We have been denied justice for 53 years,” he said. “You must now ensure it.”

Govinda Chandra Pramanik, General Secretary of the Hindu Mahajot, emphasized the community’s historical exclusion. “We’ve been hostages of the Awami League since 1954,” he declared.

“Now we seek freedom-and a voice in parliament through proportional representation.”
The event was presided over by Md. Nurul Islam Bulbul, Jamaat’s Dhaka South chief, and included party leaders such as Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan and Abdul Mannan.