User:Owais Al Qarni/IAB

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The Bangladesh Islamic Movement (known as Islami Shashontantra Andolan, ISA, until 2008) was founded by Syed Fazlul Karim, a pir of Chormonai, in March 1987 with the goals of “formulating an Islamic constitution” and trans- forming Bangladesh into a “total Islamic state in light of the experience of Khilafat.” 49 As one of the nationally known pir, Fazlul Karim had a large follow- ing of devotees all around the country for quite some time which gave the party a support base to begin with. However, it is well to bear in mind that the follow- ers of pirs usually belong to various political parties and therefore, the support of muridan (followers of pir) is not guaranteed for pirs when it comes to political issues. But observations suggest that Fazlul Karim has succeeded in presenting himself to his muridan as a political leader as much as a spiritual authority.

The party is led by the Ameer who has enormous authority and power over

decision making processes. There are three councils to steer organizational activities; they are: Majlish-e-Sadrat (Presidium Council), Majlish-e-Shura (Consultative Council), and Majlish-e-Amela (Executive Council). The members of the Presidium Council are appointed by the Ameer. The Consultative Council members are nominated by the local units. In addition to the head of the district unit, each unit can nominate up to three members for the Consultative council. The members of the executive council are appointed by the Ameer in consultation with the members of the Presidium Council. 50

In the election of 2001 the Islami Shashontontro Andolon formed an alliance

with a faction of the Jatiya Party (JP) under the leadership of the former military^[5]

ruler General Ershad and two other small parties. The alliance, named the Islami Jatiya Oikya Front (IJOF, Islamic National United Front) nominated 281 candi- dates and secured 7.25 percent of the votes. These votes, however, do not reflect support for the ISA; rather they represent support for the JP. As an election platform the pir of Charmonai, Syed Fazlul Karim, declared that the IJOF would establish an Islamic government in the country if voted to power. The religious conservatism of the party can be understood from its stance on women. The pir is not only opposed to female leadership, but also ordered that Ershad’s wife, Raushan Ershad, a former member of Parliament and a senior leader of the Jatiya Party, should wear a veil if she attended any of the alliance’s meetings. 51 This alliance collapsed after the election, because all of the 17 seats won by the alliance were JP candidates who preferred their party affiliation in the parliament. The leaders of the ISA seem to be on constant lookout for a possi- ble ally, but not necessarily on the basis of an ideological affinity. 52 The ISA is always at loggerheads with the JI. This has much to do with the JI’s position in regard to shrines and pirs. The latter is opposed to the shrines and the culture of pirs.^[6]

এই পাঁচটি দলকে ইসলামপন্থী রাজনীতিতে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মনে করা হয়। কওমি মাদ্রাসার ছাত্র-শিক্ষকসহ একটি মহলে তাদের সমর্থন রয়েছে। ইসলামী আন্দোলন সাম্প্রতিক সময়ে ইসলামপন্থী রাজনীতিতে একটি অবস্থান করে নিয়েছে। রংপুর ও নারায়ণগঞ্জসহ বিগত স্থানীয় সরকারের কিছু নির্বাচনে ভালো ভোট পেয়েছে। কওমি মাদ্রাসাকেন্দ্রিক যে চারটি দল নির্বাচনে যাচ্ছে না, তার মধ্যে চরমোনাইয়ের পীরের নেতৃত্বাধীন ইসলামী আন্দোলন, প্রয়াত শায়খুল হাদিস আল্লামা আজিজুল হক প্রতিষ্ঠিত বাংলাদেশ খেলাফত মজলিস, শায়খ জিয়াউদ্দীনের নেতৃত্বাধীন জমিয়তে উলামায়ে ইসলাম ও মাওলানা আবদুল বাছিত আজাদের নেতৃত্বাধীন খেলাফত মজলিস নানা বিবেচনায় উল্লেখযোগ্য। ইসলামী আন্দোলনের আমির সৈয়দ রেজাউল করিম ‘সরকারের পাতানো নির্বাচনে’ না যাওয়ার ঘোষণা দিয়েছেন। গতকাল চরমোনাইয়ের বার্ষিক মাহফিলে তিনি বলেন, সুষ্ঠু, গ্রহণযোগ্য ও অংশগ্রহণমূলক নির্বাচনের পরিবেশ তৈরি না হলে নির্বাচনের নামে ফাঁদে পা দেবে না ইসলামী আন্দোলন।^[7]