Hefazat condemns burning of Nural Pagla's body, blames administration for failure to protect religious sentiments

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has condemned yesterday's incident of the burning of the body of Nurul Haque Mollah, popularly known as 'Nural Pagla', in Rajbari's Goalanda as "deplorable and unacceptable", accusing the local administration of failing to safeguard the religious sentiments of devout Muslims.

In a joint statement sent to the media today (6 September), Hefazat Ameer Muhibullah Babunagari and Secretary General Sajedur Rahman urged the government to adopt stricter measures to maintain law and order.

"This is a matter of human dignity, a dignity granted by Islam which no one has the right to take away. Therefore, burning the body of Nural Pagla was a deplorable and unacceptable act," the statement added.

The statement said that local Muslims had long been angered by activities which they described as "anti-Shariah", including the construction of a 12-foot "shrine resembling the Kaaba", claims by Nural Pagla of being "Imam Mahdi," and the introduction of his own version of kalima.

"These steps reflected the patience of the local Muslims, but due to administrative inaction, the situation eventually escalated, with enraged locals demolishing the shrine, exhuming the body, and setting it on fire," it added.