Amini vows to defy SC over Fatwa

Islami Oikyo Jote chairman Fazlul Huq Amini has threatened to defy the Supreme Court if it rules in favour of a ban on Fatwa.

bdnews24.com
Published : 9 May 2010, 12:17 PM
Updated : 9 May 2010, 12:17 PM
Dhaka, May 9 (bdnews24.com) – Islami Oikyo Jote chairman Fazlul Huq Amini has threatened to defy the Supreme Court if it rules in favour of a ban on Fatwa.
Amini also asked the court to withdraw the ban on Fatwa.
He said, "The Awami League government in its previous term banned Fatwa. Now they, supported by the Election Commission, the High Court and the Supreme Court, are trying to ban Islamist politics.
"The High Court and the Supreme Court will not be obeyed if the ban is not withdrawn - even if such action amounts to contempt of court," Amini added.
The IOJ chief also issued a Fatwa against the chief election commissioner, terming him as a 'Murtad and Qafir' for his recent comments.
Amini was speaking at the national convention of the party at the Institution of Engineers auditorium in the capital on Sunday.
What appeared to have prompted Amini to issue the fatwa were the remarks CEC ATM Shamsul Huda made in an interview with the BBC on Apr 16 regarding the Bhola by-elections. He said, "The armed forces are not divine beings that can fix everything. Forget the army, not even God can do everything."
Huda made the comments regarding the BNP's demand for deployment of army to supervise the by polls.
Claiming that the government was obstructing rallies and other form of peaceful protests, the chief of the fundamentalist party said, "After coming to power, this government is not letting us carry out rallies in open places.
"But we will hold our planned rally at Paltan Maidan on May 15. Everyone has to wear Kafon (cloth for a dead person) on their heads."
Regarding the recent rallies by the opposition BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, Amini said that people are protesting against the anti-Islamic activities of the AL.
He, however, did not clarify what those activities are.
Amini, who is a member of the BNP-led four-party alliance, also warned the BNP, saying, "If you think that you can go to power without us, you are mistaken."
Secretary general of the party Abdul Latif Nezami said that the party would not protest the trial of the war crimes "if those from the other parties are also tried."
"But if it tries people from a certain party, protests will follow," Nezami added, obliquely referring to the Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist parties, widely known to have sided with the Pakistani occupation forces during the Liberation War in 1971.
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