Jamiyatul Ulama slams call for common khutba

A group of clerics in Dhaka yesterday criticised Islamic Foundation's request to read out a common khutba (sermon) during Juma prayers as an attempt to control the content of khutbas.

Such a decision is unacceptable, said Yahya Mahmud, vice-president of Bangladesh Jamiyatul Ulama's Dhaka city unit, while addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

“You can monitor minbars (from where sermons are delivered). If you find an instigating speech is given from any minbar, identify it. We'll help you detain the khatib of the minbar,” he said.

“But imposing something on minbars is not acceptable... You cannot make the khatib act like a cuckoo.”

The platform of Islamic scholars arranged the conference to protest the recent terror attacks around the world including those at Gulshan and Sholakia. Its president, Delwar Hossain Saifi, presided over the programme.

Following the two terrorist attacks in Bangladesh, the Islamic Foundation on July 14 requested the mosques across the country to follow the sermon to be delivered at the Baitul Mukarram national mosque during Juma prayers, as an effort to create awareness against terrorism and militancy.

Following criticism over the common khutba, the Khutba Formulation Committee on July 19 said the national mosque's khutba was not imposed on anyone or made specific for anybody.

Yahya yesterday said, “The initiative taken by Shamim Mohammad Afjal, director general of the Islamic Foundation, to control khutbas and to form a Khatib Council will fail utterly to create an appeal among alems [Islamic clerics]... The country's alems have no faith in the DG.”

“Nothing should be imposed suddenly. Bangladesh Jamiyatul Ulama thinks the decision should be taken on the basis of opinions from the country's renowned ulamas (Islamic scholars).” He said the Jamiyatul Ulama had taken several programmes including launching an awareness campaign in educational institutions and mosques and convening an anti-militancy national conference. Yahya said they would observe July 29 as "Militancy Resistance Day" and would give a memorandum and copies of an anti-militancy fatwa, signed by over one lakh Islamic scholars, to district authorities. On July 18, led by its chairman, Farid Uddin Masuod, the organisation issued a set of fatwas, saying those killing people in the name of religion were headed for hell.