Matiur Rahman Nizami
Encyclopedia
Motiur Rahman Nizami (born 31 March 1943) is the current chief (Ameer) of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which is the largest Islamic
political party in Bangladesh
.
in the 1960s, after being a leader of a student organization, Islamic Chhatro Shango (now Islami Chhatro Shibir). During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami actively supported the cause of West Pakistan
and formed the Al-Badr
Force in which he acted as the supreme commander of the Al-Badr Militia. As the leader of Al-Badr, Nizami advocated deadly violence against minority Hindus, and in an article in the Daily Sangram published in 14 November 1971, Nizami claimed, "It is our conviction that the day is not far off when, standing side by side with our armed forces, our youth will raise the victorious flag of Islam the world over by defeating the Hindu Army and finishing off Hindustan".
On Nizamis orders, The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, loot and specially capturing and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army
rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them. Al-Badar militia also helped Pakistany forces to fight against the Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh Liberation War.
allowed democratic political parties to organise themselves, which had been banned since March of the same year. Under the rule of Ziaur Rahman
, top Jamaat leaders such as Ghulam Azam and Nizami whose party were banned by the subsequent government after liberation, returned to Bangladesh in 1978 and revived the Jamaat party. Nizami emerged as a key leader of the Jamaat, organising the Islami Chhatra Shibir (Jammat Students Organisation), which serves as the youth wing of the Jamaat. In 1991, he was elected as a Member of Parliament
, representing Jamaat-e-Islami for the constituency of Pabna-1
, and was Jamaat's Parliamentary Party leader during until 1994.
However, during the 1996 elections
, he lost out to both the candidates for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP) and the Awami League in his constituency, and Professor Abu Sayed of the Awami League replaced him. Nizami took over as the Ameer from Ghulam Azam in 2001. In the same year, representing his party as part of a four-party alliance including BNP, he won in Pabna-1, receiving 57.68% of the votes.
Nizami served as the Industrial Minister from 2003 to 2006, after a two-year term as the Minister of Agriculture.
Nizami was defeated in the general election held on 29 December 2008 as a candidate of 4-party alliance, losing his seat for Pabna-1 to Md. Shamsul Haque by 8.2%. He received 45.6% of the votes, out of which 41.03% votes were from BNP supporters. His opponent representing the Awami League won, having 53.8%.
, he is alleged to have acted as the supreme commander of the Al-Badr
militia, which had allegedly taken part in various war crimes including killing of hundreds of intellectuals around the country. His misdoings were finally brought into attention in the year 2009, when the Awami League reopened the cases pending against him.
Nizami was accused of conspiring with 12 other politicians to award the contract to GATCO despite the fact that GATCO did not meed the conditions of the tender. The case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission of Bangladesh Govt. alleges that, the deal with GATCO caused a total loss of more than 100 million Bangladeshi Taka
to the Government. Nizami denied the charges, which he has said are politically motivated. He was released after two months on bail.
of Islam
propagating truth in the face of persecution with the life of Nizami, who was facing the same. On March 21, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation sued Rafiqul, Nizami and other Jamaat members for hurting Islamic sentiments of the masses by comparing Nizami with the Prophet.
Nizami, along with 3 other senior Jamaat leaders, were arrested on such accusations on March 29, 2010, and are still awaiting trial.
on 1 April 2004, supposedly supplied by Pakistan to the ULFA insurgents in Assam
, India
. Nizami was the Industries Minister during that time.
He is currently in prison, and has been shown arrested for the smuggling, along with other crimes described above. His recent bail petition on 7 September 2011 was denied.
Islamic party
An Islamic party is a party that works for promoting Islam while an Islamic political party is a political party that promotes Islam as a political movement by offering nominees for election in a democracy - of which there are several in the Islamic world. They are important to distinguish from...
political party in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
Jamaat and Al-Badr activist
Nizami rose in the ranks of the Jamaat-e-Islami in East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
in the 1960s, after being a leader of a student organization, Islamic Chhatro Shango (now Islami Chhatro Shibir). During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami actively supported the cause of West Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
and formed the Al-Badr
Al-Badr (East Pakistan)
The Al-Badr was the paramilitary wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh that collaborated with the Pakistan Army against the Bengali nationalist movement in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The present chief of the Jamaat, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami headed the Al-Badr organisation as the...
Force in which he acted as the supreme commander of the Al-Badr Militia. As the leader of Al-Badr, Nizami advocated deadly violence against minority Hindus, and in an article in the Daily Sangram published in 14 November 1971, Nizami claimed, "It is our conviction that the day is not far off when, standing side by side with our armed forces, our youth will raise the victorious flag of Islam the world over by defeating the Hindu Army and finishing off Hindustan".
On Nizamis orders, The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, loot and specially capturing and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them. Al-Badar militia also helped Pakistany forces to fight against the Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh Liberation War.
Political career
After taking over the rule of Bangladesh in 1975, Ziaur RahmanZiaur Rahman
President Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, was a Bangladeshi politician and general, who read the declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971 on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later became the seventh President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981...
allowed democratic political parties to organise themselves, which had been banned since March of the same year. Under the rule of Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman
President Ziaur Rahman, Bir Uttam, was a Bangladeshi politician and general, who read the declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971 on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later became the seventh President of Bangladesh from 1977 until 1981...
, top Jamaat leaders such as Ghulam Azam and Nizami whose party were banned by the subsequent government after liberation, returned to Bangladesh in 1978 and revived the Jamaat party. Nizami emerged as a key leader of the Jamaat, organising the Islami Chhatra Shibir (Jammat Students Organisation), which serves as the youth wing of the Jamaat. In 1991, he was elected as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, representing Jamaat-e-Islami for the constituency of Pabna-1
Pabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...
, and was Jamaat's Parliamentary Party leader during until 1994.
However, during the 1996 elections
Bangladeshi general election, 1996
Two general elections were held in Bangladesh in 1996:*Sixth parliamentary election on 15 February, which was won by BNP after Bangladesh Awami League, the other main party in Bangladesh, boycotted the elections....
, he lost out to both the candidates for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
(BNP) and the Awami League in his constituency, and Professor Abu Sayed of the Awami League replaced him. Nizami took over as the Ameer from Ghulam Azam in 2001. In the same year, representing his party as part of a four-party alliance including BNP, he won in Pabna-1, receiving 57.68% of the votes.
Nizami served as the Industrial Minister from 2003 to 2006, after a two-year term as the Minister of Agriculture.
Nizami was defeated in the general election held on 29 December 2008 as a candidate of 4-party alliance, losing his seat for Pabna-1 to Md. Shamsul Haque by 8.2%. He received 45.6% of the votes, out of which 41.03% votes were from BNP supporters. His opponent representing the Awami League won, having 53.8%.
War crimes
During the Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
, he is alleged to have acted as the supreme commander of the Al-Badr
Al-Badr (East Pakistan)
The Al-Badr was the paramilitary wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh that collaborated with the Pakistan Army against the Bengali nationalist movement in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The present chief of the Jamaat, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami headed the Al-Badr organisation as the...
militia, which had allegedly taken part in various war crimes including killing of hundreds of intellectuals around the country. His misdoings were finally brought into attention in the year 2009, when the Awami League reopened the cases pending against him.
Allegations of corruption
The Anti-corruption Commission of Bangladesh indicted Nizami on the GATCO Corruption case, in which he along with several other politicians are alleged to have granted illegally a container-depot contract to the local firm GATCO. A warrant was issued to arrest Nizami along with 12 others on May 15, 2008.Nizami was accused of conspiring with 12 other politicians to award the contract to GATCO despite the fact that GATCO did not meed the conditions of the tender. The case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission of Bangladesh Govt. alleges that, the deal with GATCO caused a total loss of more than 100 million Bangladeshi Taka
Bangladeshi taka
The Taka is the currency of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country controls the issuance of the currency except one taka and two taka notes, which are the responsibility of Ministry of Finance of the government of Bangladesh...
to the Government. Nizami denied the charges, which he has said are politically motivated. He was released after two months on bail.
Hurting religious sentiments
Dhaka Jamaat chief Rafiqul Islam, in a public speech on March 17, 2010, compared the tortured life of the Prophet MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
propagating truth in the face of persecution with the life of Nizami, who was facing the same. On March 21, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation sued Rafiqul, Nizami and other Jamaat members for hurting Islamic sentiments of the masses by comparing Nizami with the Prophet.
Nizami, along with 3 other senior Jamaat leaders, were arrested on such accusations on March 29, 2010, and are still awaiting trial.
Arms smuggling case
Nizami is accused for aiding the smuggling of ten trucks of arms from the Chittagong port10-Truck Arms and Ammunition Haul in Chittagong
The incident of Hauling 10 truck arms and ammunition was held at the night of 1 April 2004 at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited , Chittagong, Bangladesh. This is the biggest smuggling of the history of Bangladesh. This is inferred that the delivery was going to United Liberation Front of Asom , a...
on 1 April 2004, supposedly supplied by Pakistan to the ULFA insurgents in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Nizami was the Industries Minister during that time.
He is currently in prison, and has been shown arrested for the smuggling, along with other crimes described above. His recent bail petition on 7 September 2011 was denied.
See also
- Jamaat-e-IslamiJamaat-e-IslamiThis article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
- Maulana Maududi
- Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation WarThe Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
- Bangladesh Nationalist PartyBangladesh Nationalist PartyThe Bangladesh Nationalist Party , commonly referred to as the BNP, is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. BNP ruled Bangladesh total 18 years since her independence, the longest than any other party in Bangladesh...
- Islam in BangladeshIslam in BangladeshIslam is the largest religion of Bangladesh, the Muslim population is approximately 148.6 million, which is the third largest Muslim population in the world, constituting 90.4% of the total population as of 2010. Religion has always been a strong part of identity, but this has varied at different...