
Secular regime and it's selective law & order
I feel like a great criminal today. Shah Amanat Sabir is a young man from Khulna. I don't remember exactly when I met him. However, he used to visit various Islamic programs at the madrasa (Islamic school) I established in Jashore. He is an excellent martial arts expert. But he was troubled by various anti-Islamic elements in traditional martial arts (such as free-mixing of men and women, bowing of the head, forbidden music, etc.). Because of this, he started a new style of martial arts on his own, which he named Fatah Combat System. He had been conducting all his activities publicly in compliance with the rules of the state. To the best of my knowledge, he did not violate any law of the land. Despite this, when he became a victim of propaganda by Indian media due to his Islamic attire and appearance, he cleared up everything through a press conference. (Link in the comments).
According to the statement of their press conference, this new style of martial arts has a total of five branches in Khulna, Jashore, and Chandpur. He requested my cooperation over a phone call regarding opening a new branch in Dhaka. Being busy with multifaceted work, I expressed my inability to assist him directly. Later, I learned through a Facebook post that he had already launched a branch in Dhaka. However, due to police obstruction at Ramna Park, they could not conduct training there and instead started martial arts training in the Mini Cox's Bazar area.
This morning, he called me and informed me that two of his new students had been arrested and taken to Jatrabari Police Station. He gave me the phone number of the investigating officer at Jatrabari Police Station, and I called him. The investigating officer stated, "They were brought in for questioning because some confusion arose regarding them. But since they are new students, they don't know much about the institution. Once the confusion is cleared, the administration will release them."
After receiving such assurance from the administration, I told Sabir, "Your new students might not know about your institution well. Therefore, you should personally go to the police station and clear their confusion." Following my advice, Sabir went to the police station along with three others to clear the administration's confusion and get his students released. But unfortunately, the administration showed all 6 of them arrested under Section 54 and took them on a three-day remand.
My question is, if the administration wanted, they could have arrested Sabir right from Ramna. Instead of doing that, why did they use me in the middle to arrest him? Furthermore, since he was conducting all his activities publicly, if he had done anything illegal, they could have filed a case under a specific section of the law. But when he went to free his students, arresting them under Section 54—which is a British black law—is highly suspicious. Moreover, this will set a terrible precedent. Perhaps in the future, if someone falls into danger, no one will want to visit a police station to check on the endangered person out of fear of becoming a victim themselves.
In conclusion, my point is that arresting them under Section 54 means the administration found no specific crime committed by them. They have been taken on remand for interrogation just to clear the administration's confusion about them. Therefore, we expect from the administration that just as we advised them to go to the police station to cooperate with the law enforcement, the administration will also show a sense of responsibility as per their promise and release them immediately without any harassment. And if it is proven through interrogation that they have violated any such law of the state for which they need to be brought to justice, then let that be clearly disclosed to the nation. I hope the administration will not create an opportunity for instability in the country by staging a new 'militant drama' while keeping the nation in the dark.
What more can I say about the media! The way they made headlines along with the pictures of these boys, even if they are proven innocent and released, won't they have to carry the trauma of this media persecution for the rest of their lives?
Postscript (P.S.): Since four more people got detained by going to the police station to free two others based on my advice, I feel like a criminal myself. May Allah forgive me (Allahummagh firli).
-Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri Hafizahullah (حَفِظَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ)