Hefazat puts nine-point charter before Tarique, seeks ban on Hezbut Tawheed

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has placed a revised nine-point charter before Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, retaining several longstanding demands while dropping some issues from its previous charters and adding a call to ban Hezbut Tawheed.

The demands were presented during a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Hefazat Ameer Allama Shah Muhibullah Babunagari at Al-Jamiatul Islamia Azizul Ulum Babunagar Madrasah in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, on Sunday.

Hefazat Joint Secretary General Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi confirmed the development to The Business Standard yesterday. "We hope the government will consider the demands seriously and take necessary measures," he said.

Infographic: TBS

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, State Minister for Land and Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal, local MP Sarwar Alamgir and Hefazat Secretary General Sajidur Rahman also attended the meeting.

What Hefazat is demanding

The first demand calls for parliament to enact a law providing the severest punishment for insulting Allah, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Quran and Islam. The second seeks an assurance that no law conflicting with the Quran and Sunnah will be enacted.

The third calls for exemplary punishment for those responsible for the "massacre" at Shapla Chattar on 5 May 2013, those responsible for suppressing the 2021 anti-Modi protests and those involved in the killings during the July-August 2024 uprising, including those who allegedly ordered or carried out the violence.

The fourth seeks full implementation of recognition of Dawrae Hadith certificates from Qawmi madrasahs as equivalent to a master's degree, expanding employment and higher-education opportunities for Qawmi students at home and abroad. Hefazat specifically wants government recruitment notices for religious teachers to list Dawrae Hadith alongside degrees from government madrasahs as an equivalent qualification.

The fifth calls for Islamic religious education to be compulsory for Muslim students from primary through higher-secondary level.

The sixth seeks to declare the Ahmadiyya community "non-Muslim" and ban Hezbut Tawheed. Hefazat alleges that the group's statements and activities conflict with the Quran and Sunnah, distort Islam and spread "fitna", posing a threat to the country.

The seventh calls for an end to what Hefazat describes as "conspiracies and activities" by local and foreign missionaries in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The eighth seeks withdrawal of what it calls false cases filed against Islamic scholars during the Awami League government and greater participation of ulema in rebuilding the state.

The ninth calls for Tabligh Jamaat activities and the Biswa Ijtema at Tongi to continue under ulema supervision. It also seeks to maintain the ban on Indian preacher Maulana Saad Kandhalvi's entry into Bangladesh and prevent his followers from holding an Ijtema at the Tongi ground.

Hezbut Tawheed ban is new

Hefazat Central Naib-e-Ameer Maulana Mohiuddin Rabbani told TBS that Hezbut Tawheed should be banned because of statements and activities he said conflict with Islam.

"We have declared them non-Muslim because of many statements that are against the Quran and Sunnah. We have demanded that the government stop their activities. Many of their statements directly conflict with Islam. They are distorting Islam and spreading various forms of fitna. Their activities pose a threat to the country," he said.

Rabbani said Hefazat viewed statements by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed after the meeting positively.

He also said there was no fundamental difference between Hefazat's 13-point, 12-point and nine-point charters, claiming all issues in the 13-point charter were covered in the latest list either directly or indirectly.

How the charter has changed

Hefazat emerged as a major political force after its 5 May 2013 rally at Dhaka's Shapla Chattar over a 13-point charter. The rally was followed by clashes, violence and a law-enforcement operation that drew widespread attention.

After the Awami League's fall in 2024, Hefazat submitted a 12-point charter to the interim government on 3 May 2025, including demands to cancel the Women's Reform Commission, ban the Awami League and withdraw a proposed Rohingya humanitarian corridor.

The latest nine-point charter retains several longstanding demands but drops the constitutional call to restore "absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah" and a separate demand to expand the International Crimes Tribunal's capacity. Islamabadi said the constitutional demand was dropped because the BNP had pledged it in its election manifesto, though no amendment bill has yet been placed in parliament.

Hefazat says some earlier demands have been addressed, including recognition of Dawrae Hadith as equivalent to a master's degree. The latest charter seeks full implementation of that recognition in government recruitment and higher education.