Millions of devotees from different parts of the country performed the holy Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at the historic Gor-E-Shaheed Eidgah Maidan in Dinajpur with enthusiasm. An atmosphere of amity is created here around the Eid Jamaat.  The Eid congregation was held on Thursday (April 11th) at 9 am with the participation of millions of devotees. Mawlana Shamsul Alam Kashemi led the congregation. After the prayers, a munajat was offered seeking peace of the country, the nation and the Muslim Ummah. Meanwhile, strong security measures were taken throughout the Eidgah grounds. Police, BGB, RAB, Ansar and volunteers performed the duties in the four-tier security system. Devotees from different parts of the country expressed satisfaction over the smooth and peaceful prayers in flawless security.  

Sacheton Nagarik Samaj held a human chain and protest demonstration on Monday at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Dhaka to show solidarity with the Uyghur Muslims and remember those who lost their lives on this day in 1997. 250-300 Protestors carrying banners,  posters and placards highlighting Chinese atrocities on the Uyghur Muslims attended the demonstration. Protestors educated the people about the grim torture minorities,  particularly Uyghur Muslims, are subjected to in China.   Muktijodha Mancha (MM) held a human chain and protest meeting today (3 to 0430 pm) in front of National Museum, Shahbag, Dhaka, to commemorate 27th anniversary of Ghulja Massacre Day. MM Chairman, Aminul Islam Bulbul, condemned China for continuously torturing its own Uyghur population in Xinjiang province, just for being Muslims.  China did not stop after killing hundreds of innocent protesters in Ghulja city of Xinjiang province this day in 1997, but incarcerated 10 Lakh Muslims, and, also tortured their numerous women and children. MM General Secretary Al Mamun accused China of trying to lure Bangladesh into debt trap, with the help of anti-Liberation War forces.  MM Coordinator Md Nur Alam highlighted that the Chinese companies in Bangladesh are also torturing the Bangladeshi workers. MM Law Advisor and Supreme Court Lawyer, AUZ Prince, asked Bangladeshi Muslims to take note of the Chinese behaviour towards their own Muslim population. Sculptor Rasha urged the international community to stop this gross human rights violation in China.   Sacheton Nagarik Samaj held (Feb 05) human chain and protest demonstration at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Dhaka to show solidarity with the Uyghur Muslims and remember those who lost their lives on this day in 1997. 250-300 Protestors carrying banners,  posters and placards highlighting Chinese atrocities on the Uyghur Muslims attended the demonstration. Protestors educated the people about the grim torture minorities,  particularly Uyghur Muslims, are subjected to in China.   Around 300 persons, including Dhaka University students, Islamic scholars and intellectuals participated in the protest program.  

As the Chinese government is celebrating its 73rd 'National Day', protests erupted in Bangladesh against the persecution of Uyghur Muslims. Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country, also shows its solidarity with the Uyghur Muslims.  This condemnation of the Chinese government at international platforms and in different countries via protests comes in the wake of a UN report highlighting "serious human rights abuses", and potentially crimes against humanity.  The report has bolstered international efforts to put pressure on Beijing to change its policies toward the region's Muslim minority. The BBSS Welfare Association organized a bicycle rally in solidarity with the Muslim Uyghurs.  The rally started from Hatirjheel in Dhaka at 8 am and ended at United Hospital via Gulshan-2 at 10 am. Students of different schools and colleges, journalists, leaders and activists of political parties took part in the demonstration. The protest meeting was presided over by the organization's founding chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Tafsir. Journalists, prominent personalities and students attended the event. While addressing the gathering, Tawfiq Ahmed said that Uyghur Muslims are being killed and tortured. Meanwhile, in Chittagong, Sacheton Nagarik Samaj organized a motorcycle rally. The rally started from the Kotwali area of Chittagong city at 9 am and after passing through Bouddha Mondir and the Andarkilla area, it ended at Kotwali, several media reports said. About 150 protesters wearing T-shirts and placards highlighting atrocities on Uyghur Muslims participated in the event. The organization also organized a human chain and protest demonstrations in Narayanganj. In the protests, protesters were seen carrying banners and posters having slogans "Harassment of Bangladeshi workers in all Chinese projects must be stopped", "All Bangladeshi labourers employed in Chinese projects must get their dues and appropriate salary".  To mark the protest, Bangladesh Muktijuddha Mancha organized a human chain and protest demonstration in front of the National Museum, Shahbagh, Dhaka, according to local media. Protesters highlighted through banners and posters, the help extended by China to Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war, which is still continuing. The Shahbagh area was a busy place, a good crowd assembled and supported/ participated in the demonstration. In another event, Islamic Movement Bangladesh organised a seminar at Dhaka Reporters Unity at 10 am, against the persecution of Uyghur on the occasion of the 73rd National Day of China. The discussion was presided over by Maulana Abu Zafar Kashmi, Chairman of Sammilita Islami Okhyajot.  Later, Muktijoddha Mancha submitted a memorandum to the Chinese President through China's Embassy informing them about the human chain and protest rally.  Source: ANI Rtv

Setting an example of real ‘Kashmiriyat’, the Kashmiri Pandits celebrated the annual Kheer Bhawani festival in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and prayed for peace in the Valley as people from the Muslim community accompanied them in their celebration.   On this occasion, the Pandits offered prayers at the annual Kheer Bhawani mela on the occasion of Zyeshta Ashtami. However, the number of devotees was less due to the recent targeted killings in the Valley which have cast a shadow on the festivities. The festival is celebrated to spread the message about the brotherhood between the pandit community and Muslims of the Valley. That’s why Muslims come forward to extend help and stand with the families of Pandits during the festival and provide them moral support. Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Dr Sandeep, a Kashmiri Pandit said, “We have come here to keep the tradition of our ancestors alive. It’s a moment of pride to come back to our own Valley and meet our Muslim and Sikh brothers. We seek blessings from the Lord. This time the number of devotees this year was far less than in the past due to the prevailing atmosphere of fear. Pakistan does not want that the Hindus and Muslims and all regions live in peace in India.” “Kheer Bhawani’s Mandir is one of the revered places for the Kashmiri Pandits. Even the Muslims came along with me here,” he added. Dr Rizwan, a Muslim man who had come along with his Pandit friend said that the “actual Kashmiriyat” is being visible here. “It is a unique festival. The actual Kashmiriyat is visible here. We have seen terrorism for long. But the Kashmiriyat that the Kashmiri people were known for all across the world. It is unfortunate that there are not many people around because of the recent killings. I just appeal to my Hindu brothers not to make their nefarious designs successful by being afraid,” he said. A devotee Daisy Bhatt who had come to offer prayers at the temple said that they have only prayed for peace to prevail in the Valley. “We are feeling very good after offering prayers here. We just pray for peace here so that all of us can live here happily,” she said. Another Muslim man who had set up a water stall at the venue, said, “it is our tradition, it is our brotherhood. Muslims and Pandits live together, we have grown up together.” “The Kashmiri pandits are incomplete without us. We are always there with them. We are brothers. Kashmir is incomplete without them. We will continue to live like the way we lived earlier,” he said. Source: ANI

A noted Kashmiri political activist on Thursday said Muslims in India enjoy freedom and perform their religious rituals freely, but in Pakistan, minorities are facing persecution. Agha Syed Abbas Rizvi, the chairman of Jammu Kashmir People's Justice Front (JKPJF) was speaking at a seminar titled 'Freedom to Muslims to carry out their religious ceremonies and customs' at Surankote tehsil of Poonch district. "India is a secular country and guarantees equal opportunities to minorities, same as to majority", he said. Agha Syed stressed that the minorities, especially Muslims in India enjoy the same freedom which the majority are enjoying, in performing their religious rituals, ceremonies and customs. "Kashmir has been the best example of religious tolerance, acknowledged by Mahatma Gandhi too; till our neighbour started interfering and disturbing the peace over here", he said. He also pointed out that there has not been a single incident of a suicide blast since independence. "There has not been a single incident of a suicide blast since independence. Unholy as per Quran, unlike happening on daily basis in our neighbouring Islamic country," Agha said. Elaborating on the issue he said that minorities especially, a Zikri (Shia sect) and Hazara community besides Ahmadis are regularly targeted in Pakistan by death squads. "People are murdered under a planned genocide program and there are continuous target killing and suicide blasts," he said. Agha Syed also urged that India, being the home of most Muslims after Indonesia, should be given a place in the OIC group comprising of Muslim countries and shall be given a permanent seat in the said Organization, as India supports the second-largest Muslim population, with dignity. The Seminar was also attended by various religious and social scholars like Moulana Mukhtar Hussain Jafari, Moulana Zaheer Hussaien Jafari, Agha Syed Mubashir, Shabbir Hussain (Retd Principal), Najmul Hasan, Aziz Jafari, Dr Alamdar Hussain and various others. In a declaration, it was said, "In India, Muslims are free to perform their religious rituals and duties. The constitution of India guaranteed them so. The tolerant Indian society gives Muslims and other minorities communities a privilege to perform their religious ceremonies and functions without any hurdle. The festivals like Eid, Muharram and Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti and others are celebrated with peace, unity and brotherhood." It further added, "In Pakistan minorities like Shias and Ahmadis are targeted and killed but in India, even the smallest minorities are protected by the majority." Source: ANI

Many Muslims in the capital took part in Jum’a prayers at mosques on Friday, a month after the restriction on congregations was withdrawn subject to abiding by necessary medical advice.   Offering prayers at mosques had largely been restricted in a bid to tamp down the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19.   Muslims were seen offering prayers at different mosques wearing masks and maintaining distance in the capital. The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a notification on Wednesday allowing people to offer prayers, including Tarabi, at mosques from Thursday’s Zohr prayers subject to following health guidelines.    On April 6 last, the ministry had directed all to avoid mosques and offer prayers at home to prevent the transmission of fast-spreading coronavirus.   It had asked people to offer Zohr prayers at home instead of Jum’a on Friday. Saying prayers five times a day is one of the ‘five pillars’ of Islam and the Friday prayer, which is done in congregations, is the most important one among them.      The religious affairs minister also asked the people of other religions to offer prayers at home instead of congregating at religious institutions.   On April 23, the ministry had decided that only 10 Muslim devotees and two imams would be allowed to offer Tarabi prayers at mosques during the holy month of Ramadan. Source: UNB AH

More than two million Muslims from around the globe started the hajj pilgrimage on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest annual gatherings in a country undergoing unprecedented change. The ultra-conservative kingdom — where religion remains a guiding force amid dramatic social and economic reforms — has mobilized vast resources for the six-day journey, one of the five pillars of Islam. “It’s the dream of every Muslim to come here to Mecca,” Frenchman Soliman Ben Mohri said. “It’s the ultimate journey. What worries me is the return to my normal life. For the moment, I am in a dream,” the 53-year old told AFP. Every Muslim is required to complete the hajj journey to Islam’s holiest sites at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so. Tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed for the pilgrimage, which was struck by its worst ever disaster three years ago when around 2,300 worshippers were crushed to death in a stampede. This year, the Saudis have launched a “smart hajj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care. The interior ministry said on Saturday that the number of pilgrims arriving in Mecca had already surpassed the two million mark, mostly from abroad including large contingents from Egypt, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Wearing the simple white garb of the pilgrim, most of the faithful began moving on Sunday from Mecca to the nearby Mina valley. They will spend the night there in fire-resistant tents in the desert, where temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Thousands of buses and vehicles carrying the pilgrims lined the eight kilometer (five-mile) road from Mecca to Mina. Many pilgrims made the journey walking under the scorching sun. For the Muslim faithful, hajj retraces the last steps of the Prophet Mohammed and also honors the prophets Abraham and Ishmael. It ends with the Eid ul-Azha feast, which is marked by the slaughter of sheep, a tribute to Abraham’s sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son. – Political climate – Earlier in Mecca pilgrims performed a ritual walk seven times around the Kaaba, a black masonry cube wrapped in a silk cloth embroidered in gold with Koranic verses at the centre of the Grand Mosque. The shrine is the point towards which Muslims around the world pray. On Monday, pilgrims will climb Mount Arafat for the climax of the hajj, praying and reading the Koran. The prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon from the rocky hill to Muslims who had accompanied him on his final hajj, according to Islam. After sunset, pilgrims head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, where they stay at least until midnight. They gather pebbles to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil on the eve of the Eid ul-Azha feast. Although the kingdom’s young de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has spearheaded change in the kingdom, religion remains a key force in Saudi Arabia. The oil-flush kingdom ended its ban on women driving in June and has boosted female employment in a male-dominated society. But the reforms have been accompanied by a widening crackdown on dissent, with more than a dozen women’s rights campaigners detained in recent weeks. Some have been released. The hajj also comes more than a year into the worst political crisis to grip the Gulf, pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar. Saudi Arabia — the world’s largest exporter of oil — and its allies accuse Qatar of cozying up to both Sunni Islamist extremists and Shiite Iran, Riyadh’s main rival. They have cut all ties with Qatar — which denies the charges — and banned all flights to and from Doha. Qatar said Sunday that its citizens were unable to take part in the hajj because of the diplomatic dispute. Saudi authorities have said Qatari pilgrims are still allowed into the kingdom for the hajj. Source: AFP AH