TUI RAZAKAR

Compiled by: Jarir Fadlullah

Since there have been many questions raised by members of the group over the last couple of weeks, I personally think a poll is a good idea to assess where we stand as a group. While all of us agree to the basic idea of seeing Razakars tried and/or Jamaate Islami banned, there are disagreements as to how people see the whole issue should be treated.

This will allow us to -

i. See what the majority wants to see done, and send out a clear message as a group as to where we stand, and what our goals are. New members joining, thus, will be enlightened about our outlook, before they start a discussion that may not be relevant in the group’s context.
ii. See what percentage of us are somewhat ignorant or care-free about Jamaat and/or Razakars, and how we should deal with that ignorance.
iii. Ensure a democratic environment in the group, since there are few vocal members posting on walls regularly.

The options may be as follows (as gathered from the few main/side-streams that have been speaking out on the wall for some time, read wall posts to get their ideas) -

i. “I think Islam or any other religion is nothing but a religion and should be practiced personally, and any political party based on Islam or any other religion should be banned, so that previous atrocities like Jamaate Islami’s don’t happen in our country any more in the name of a religion. While this will allow us to go on having religious phrases like Bismillah, Insha’Allah etc. in public speeches/meetings, but prohibit us from using it like Jamaat does (like you are confirmed Jannah if you join Jamaat and if you do what the leaders tell you, or like using religious edicts to confront political oppositions)”
- Yes
- No
- No Comments

Pros/Cons: ??

ii. “I think Islam is a complete ideology and dictates personal lives of Muslims. Since Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country, we have the responsibility as Muslims, to have a united Muslim federation, where Muslims/non-Muslims are supposedly to get fair treatment in every field. That also implies Shariah law, and trying/punishing Razakars will be much easier because the Shariah court will not consider any outside influence interfere with the judgement, and Razakars will be tried for killing, torturing & raping fellow Muslims/non-Muslims, and if proven, death sentence will be imposed as per Shariah. The call for banning religion from politics will debilitate this final goal.”
- Yes
- No
- No Comments

Pros/Cons: ??

iii. “I want to see only Razakars tried and punished, if proven, irrespective of any political party, according to Bangladeshi or International judicial system. And if proven, give them a punishment that is exemplary. There is no need to ban religion from politics or to establish Shariah to ensure that. We cannot risk to alienate many general Bangladeshi Muslims who do not like to see religion separated from politics, because they think this is just a ploy to eliminate political opposition, and Islam has played an important part in their political lives and opinions. The fair trial and exemplary punishment is enough to discourage any future political parties from using the same tactics Razakars/JI used/uses, and they’ll be much more cautious about their methods if the trial/punishment succeeds. This is more like trying to contain the disease of the head, instead of cutting it off.”
- Yes
- No
- No Comments

Pros/Cons: ??

iv. “I want to see Jamaate Islami banned because of their past crimes and because of their using Islam as a blanket to propagate their seditious views. Although there are Razakars in other parties, they no longer continue to strike the emotional chord of Bangladeshi people like JI does, and so we should focus on banning JI only. Eliminating them will do justice to our martyrs. There’s no political motivation in it, since JI has become symbolic of Razakars. It is just a question of Justice.”
- Yes
- No
- No Comments

Pros/Cons: ??

v. “I do not care whether JI and/or Razakars are punished or not. It’s been 36 years, and there’s no point in bringing up the issue. Our leaders have forgiven them and given them place, so why shouldn’t we? Let’s forgive and forget, and work for the future of the country. This implies you don’t want to see JI banned, Razakars tried, and simply want to leave them alone, and let them do, like any other political party, whatever they are doing.”
- Yes
- No
- No comments

Pros/Cons: ??

vi. “JI or Razakars did not commit any crimes (war crimes or crimes against humanity or any other) during 1971 Liberation War. What they did in 1971 may have been a political mistake, but they were never involved in this type of crimes, since they’re true upholders of the morality and honesty of Islam. The current JI generation are far more educated than Madrasa-goers and they know what is Islamically right and wrong. They should be allowed to participate in democratic processes and propagate their political views.”
- Yes
- No
- No comments

Pros/Cons: ??

These are all the possible options I could think of.

Please discuss the poll here in this thread. Say whether you want a poll or not, and what changes you want to see made to the above options. Me and a friend are working on trying to make a poll site that’s safe/secure.