Nizami misused the name of Allah and Islam in 1971: ICT

Motiur Rahman Nizami, whose atrocities shook Bengalis fighting for freedom four decades ago, was speechless and wore a blank look after Bangladesh’s first war crimes tribunal sentenced him to death.

The special court, led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, said in the unanimous verdict that eight of the 16 charges levelled against Nizami, the incumbent Jamaat-e-Islami chief who led Pakistan occupation army’s vigilante Al-Badr, had been proven.

The charges include leading the execution of intellectuals, mass killing, rape and loot during the nine months of bloodshed 43 years ago.

He has been awarded death sentence in four of the charges.

The verdict said Nizami played a key role in Razakar and Peace Committee, which were formed to assist Pakistan Army in oppressing the freedom-loving Bengalees.

The judgment quoted the Quran and Hadith to highlight Islam’s views on the crimes Nizami committed.

It also quoted the Medina Charter to focus on Islamic views on communal harmony.

It said: “We are constrained to hold that Motiur Rahman Nizami being educated in Islamic education had consciously and also deliberately misused the name of the Almighty Allah and the holy religion Islam in 1971 during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in order to ruin and root out the Bengali Nation.”

“The accused Motiur Rahman Nizami being a renowned Islamic Scholar (as claimed by the defence) also violated the Quranic injunctions and prophetic traditions in forming Al-Badr Bahini, the death squad…

“And commanding, supporting, and encouraging the said Bahini in order to exterminate and kill the Bengali intellectuals and pro-liberation people and also, providing moral support and endorsing the barbaric activities of Pakistani Army,” the verdict added.

It said Islami Chhatra Sangha chief Nizami branded freedom fighters as ‘miscreants’ and made speeches in public to the members of ICS encouraging, instigating, and persuading them to counter them.

“As a result members of Rajakar and Al-Badr Bahini firmly believed that freedom fighters and pro-liberation people were not Muslims enough.”

The judgment said wrong perception such as ‘Pakistan is the house of Allah’, ‘Hindus are always enemies of Muslims’, and ‘Islam and Pakistan are one and indivisible’ were infused into young members of the Razakar and Al-Badr.

Being inspired by the propaganda in the name of Islamic ideology, they committed more atrocities vigorously in collaboration with Pakistan occupation forces, the judgement said.

The court called quotations of Nizami as classic instances of misuse of Islam in politics.

“It is found from the facts of common knowledge that Islam teaches us to be non-communal and pure in thoughts, words and deeds but during the War of Liberation, the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami taught its followers to be communal in thought, words and deeds and also treating non-Jamaat-e-Islamis as bad Muslims and the freedom-fighters as miscreants,” it said.

The verdict quoted several verses of the Quran and a Hadith about murder of innocent people.

“Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran (Surah-5, Al-Ma'idah, verse-32) ‘whoever kills a person (unjustly), except as a punishment for murder or (as a prescribed punishment for spreading) disorder in the land, it is as if he killed all of humanity.”

The judges said it was completely forbidden to kill anyone unjustly, or plunder his wealth, or humiliate him or malign his honour.

“Following this principle, killing Muslim and non-Muslim citizens wherever they reside, is strictly prohibited on the basis of equality.”

The verdict continued: “...there is no room to say that the acts of killing unarmed civilians, plundering their properties, infringing their fundamental rights, reigning coercive climate by causing physical and psychological harms in furtherance of common design and plan are compatible to the spirit of Islam and humanity.”

They said the offences committed by Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Sangha, Al-Badr and Razakar during were “absolutely against the sanction of Quran and Hadith”.