Saad followers demand withdrawal of cases, release of Mufti Muaz

Followers of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi of the Tablighi Jamaat have demanded the withdrawal of all "false cases" filed against their senior members and the unconditional release of Mufti Muaz bin Noor, the spokesperson of the Maulana Saad faction.

"These activities are harming the image of Bangladesh and Islam," said Maulana Shafiq bin Naeem of Kakrail Mosque while reading out a written statement today (23 December) at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital.

He said political clerics were oppressing Saad followers across the country for their own interests. 

He also demanded that the Kakrail mosque and Bishwa Ijtema grounds be handed over at the right time.

Claiming that there is no history of road blockades and vandalism in the history of Tablighi, Shafiq said, "We had a plan to sit on the west side of the river. They started attacking our people who came from different places. They had locally made weapons. If the home affairs adviser had taken action, this attack and deaths would not have happened."

"Our comrades are being attacked in houses, shops, and mosques. We are getting thrashed since 2016. The government is trying to reach a compromise through Maulana Mamunul Haque. But he is not a member of Tablighi. Why is he at the forefront? Instead of putting out the fire, he is pouring kerosene," he claimed.

The press briefing was held a day after a Gazipur court granted police three days to grill Muaz in a case filed over the deaths of three people during a clash over control of the Ijtema grounds in Tongi on 18 December.

Muaz, 40, was identified as the fifth accused in a murder case filed by the followers of Maulana Zubayer Ahmed of Tabligh Jamaat following the fatal clashes.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested him in a pre-dawn raid on 20 December and presented him before the court on the same day, when the date for the remand hearing was set.