Asia

Bangladesh: Arrest of another Hizb ut-Tahrir activist shows the government cannot tolerate Islam as an ideology

Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh Mohiuddin Ahmed in a press release issued today strongly protested the arrest of party activist Mohammad Kawser from Uttara region of the capital city. He was arrested while putting up posters publicizing a party seminar on ‘Islam’s Model for Industrialization’. In the court the government argued that ‘it is a criminal offence to criticize the government’s proposed industrial policy’.

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Media Office in Bangladesh

Press Release

PR no: 06/21052009

25 Jumada al-Awwal 1430 AH / 21 May, 2009 CE

Arrest of another Hizb ut-Tahrir activist shows the government cannot tolerate Islam as an ideology

Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh Mohiuddin Ahmed in a press release issued today strongly protested the arrest of party activist Mohammad Kawser from Uttara region of the capital city. He was arrested while putting up posters publicizing a party seminar on ‘Islam’s Model for Industrialization’. In the court the government argued that ‘it is a criminal offence to criticize the government’s proposed industrial policy’.

Mohiuddin Ahmed said the capitalist governments all over the world cannot tolerate any discussion of Islam as an alternative ideology. The upholders of the current system are also afraid of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s rising popularity so much so that they are unwilling to allow any ‘potential criticism’ of their policies by the party and have resorted to extremely repressive measures against the party. Mohiuddin Ahmed strongly condemned the actions of the government and demanded immediate release of all 48 members and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir including Mohammad Kawser.

It needs to be mentioned that Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh has organized a seminar titled ‘Islam’s Model for Industrialization’ to be held on Sunday, 24 May, 2009 in the auditorium of Engineers’ Institution, Bangladesh (IEB), Dhaka. A flyer publicizing the seminar states:

“Bangladesh, like so many other Muslim countries, has the potential to be a modern industrialized state. However, the rich natural resources of our lands and the industrious character of Muslims have been wasted by successive governments. As a result, our industry is crippled by incompetent policies which only serve the interests of the West.

This seminar will address:
• How Bangladesh’s industry has been the victim of failed policies pursued by current the ruling system
• Islam’s vision for making the Muslim Ummah the global leader in industry
• How the Islamic Khilafah system will rapidly industrialize Bangladesh into a modern state.”

Mohiuddin Ahmed
Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh