The Ministry of Home Affairs lifted the restrictions on the activities of the Tablighi Jamaat factions, which were made up of followers of senior cleric Maulana Zubair Ahmed and Indian preacher Maulana Md Saad Kandhalvi, two days after they had been put in place.
In this regard, the ministry published a notice on Sunday that addressed the Tabligh’s overnight activities at Kakrail Mosque as well as upholding law and order.
“In order to maintain peace and order, the two conflicting parties are requested to continue their activities in the mosques where Maulana Zubair Ahmed and Maulana Saad have been conducting their respective Tablighi Jamaat activities in the district and the Upazila in the past.”
The home ministry asked Zubair’s supporters on December 24 to refrain from congregating in large groups near Kakrail Mosque on Friday, December 27.
Until further notice, Saad followers were instructed by the ministry to abstain from all Tabligh activities, including spending the night at the Kakrail Mosque.
Following the announcement of a two-week sit-in program at the Kakrail Mosque, Saad loyalists have been congregating at Tabligh’s Markaz in Dhaka since November 15.
To put pressure on authorities to ban Saad loyalists and advance their three-point charter of demands, Zubair’s supporters announced an indefinite sit-in protest in Kakrail starting Thursday.
Additionally, they declared that pro-Saad organizations would not be permitted to host any events at the Tabligh’s main hub, the Kakrail Mosque, or the Bishwa Ijtema grounds in Tongi.
Since the conflict between the two factions of the Tabligh Jamaat over the occupation of the Ijtema ground on the banks of the Turag River on the evening of December 17, which claimed three lives, tensions have persisted.
Zubair’s supporters call for the state to outlaw all pro-Saad activities, the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the Tongi attack, and the “Shuraye Nizam” to be in charge of all Tabligh activities, including the Kakrail Markaz and the Tongi Ijtema ground.
At a press conference on December 24, Kefayetullah Azhari, the principal of Uttara’s Jamiatul Manhal Al Qawmia Madrasah, made the three demands. To advance the demands, he declared an indefinite sit-in protest in the Kakrail region starting Thursday morning.
The dispute between the two Tabligh Jamaat factions began in 2017 when Saad made a contentious speech in which he criticized the custom of charging people to recite prayers and the Quran. The comments caused a rift among supporters that has widened over time.
To accommodate the opposing factions, the group’s annual Bishwa Ijtema, one of the biggest Muslim congregations worldwide, has been held in two stages since the split.
Each side blamed the other for the violence, and the clash on December 17 was a watershed in the conflict. Since then, calls for government intervention have increased among Zubair’s supporters, who identify as Shuraye Nizam members.
