Fazlul Haque Amini

Fazlul Hoque Amini
Mufti; Fazlul Hoque Amini
Member of Parliament; for Brahmanbaria-2
	In office; 10 October 2001 – 29 October 2006
Preceded by	Ukil Abdul Sattar Bhuiyan
Succeeded by	Ziaul Haque Mridha
Personal details
Born	c. 1945[lower-alpha 1]; Aminpur, Brahmanbaria, Bengal Presidency, British Raj
Died	12 December 2012 (aged 66–67)[1]; Dhaka, Bangladesh
Resting place	Jamia Qurania Arabia Lalbagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality	British Raj (1945-1947); Pakistani (1947-1971); Bangladeshi (1971-2012)
Political party	Islami Oikya Jote
Children	2 sons (Abul Hasnat Amini) and 4 daughters
Mother	Fulbani Nesa
Father	Alhaj Wayezuddin
Relatives	Hafezzi Huzur (father-in-law)
Alma mater	Jamia Binoria, Karachi University, Punjab University

Fazlul Hoque Amini (c.1945 – 12 December 2012)[lower-alpha 1] was an Islamic scholar and politician from Bangladesh. He served as an MP in the Parliament of Bangladesh[7] from 2002 to 2007. He was an expert in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), hadith and tasawwuf. He also held a number of positions on the boards of qaumi madrasahs. He was also the principal of Jamia Qurania Arabia Lalbagh in Lalbagh, Dhaka, one of the largest Deobandi Islamic schools of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Fazlul Haque was born on 15 November 1945 in the village of Aminpur in Brahmanbaria, Bengal Presidency. His father was Alhaj Wayez Uddin. He started his education in Jamia Islamia Yunusia at nine/ten years old before spending three years at Mustafaganj Madrasa in Munshiganj under Hafiz Muhsinuddin. His father then took him to Ashraful Uloom Bara Katara where he studied under Principal Pirji Huzur. Then in 1961, he enrolled at the Jamia Qurania Arabia Lalbagh for Hadith studies. In 1969, following the request of Shamsul Haque Faridpuri, Amini advanced his knowledge of ahadith and fiqh by going to Jamia Binoria in Karachi, West Pakistan for one year where he studied under Muhammad Yousuf Banuri.[8]

Career

Amini was the chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ),[1] and also a leader of Tehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat. He was a former component of the BNP-led four-party alliance. In 1970, he became the Imam and Khatib of Alubazar Jame Masjid in Old Dhaka where he also founded a madrasa. In the same year, he became a teacher at Hafezzi Huzur's founded Madrasa Nuriya in Kamrangirchar, Dhaka and married Hafezzi's daughter. In 1972, he completed his hifz (memorisation of the entire Qur'an) in nine months. Under the leadership of Hafezzi Huzur, he was a member of the Antarjatik Shanti Mission (International Peace Mission) relating to the Iran–Iraq War. He became a teacher and assistant mufti at Jamia Qurania Arabia Lalbagh in 1975.

In 1984, he became the Chief Mufti of Lalbagh and later became its principal and Shaykhul Hadith in 1987 following Hafezzi Huzur's death. He also taught at Ashraful Uloom Bara Katara. In 1992, Amini organised a long march protest against the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India.[8] Amini was appointed as the guardian (Muhtamim and Mutawalli) of Ashraful Uloom Bara Katara in 2003.[9]

In his home district of Brahmanbaria, he tackled certain non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In 1996, he stood up as a potential candidate for the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency, as a part of the Sammilita Sangram Parishad party, however he was unsuccessful. He managed to become MP during the 2001 Bangladeshi general election as a part of the Islami Oikya Jote party, receiving over 55% of total votes. He was able to create a strong mass movement when the Bangladesh High Court ruled in early 2001 to ban the fatwa.[8] During the 2008 Bangladeshi general election, he stood up for the same constituency with IOJ party but was beaten by Md. Ziaul Haque Mridha of the Jatiya Party.

Views

He spoke out against the Women Development Policy of 2011[10] and the Education Policy of 2012[11] formulated by the Awami League government after coming to power in January 2009, saying the proposed legal reforms were anti-Islamic.[12][13] According to Rashidul Hasan, writing in The Daily Star in April 2011:

Amini, in his booklet, termed anti-Islamic the policy's section-23.5 that talks about women's equal opportunity and participation in employment, wealth, market and business. So is section 25.2, which seeks to give women full control over the wealth they accumulate through earning, inheritance, loans and market management, according to Amini.[12]

Islamic scholars and academics interviewed by The Daily Star disagreed with Amini, saying there was nothing anti-Islamic about the policies. They said Amini was misinterpreting the Quran out of ignorance, or was deliberately twisting its words for political gain.[12]

At a gathering on 14 July 2011, Amini, speaking about the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which among other things restored the principle of secularism and freedom of religion, said, "People will throw the constitution, from where the name of Allah has been dropped, into dustbin [sic]".[14][15] He was sued for sedition for this remark, although he argued that it was a figure of speech.[15][16] On 26 September 2011, the High Court ordered him to surrender to authorities immediately.[17] He spent the remainder of his life under what he termed "house arrest", his movements confined by police to his home and the IOJ party office in Lalbagh Thana, Dhaka.[6][18][19]

Amini's madrasa is now used as the Dhaka coordination office of Hefazat a Islam Bangladesh [20]

WikiLeaks cable

A WikiLeaks cable[21] describing a conversation of Amini with Chammas, the US ambassador in Dhaka of 14 December 2004, reveals many unknown thoughts of the IOJ leader.

Chammas wrote to Washington in the summary: "At a chance encounter with polcouns, IOJ chairman Fazlul Haq Amini denounced Jamaat Islami as power hungry, criticized the BDG on several fronts, opposed the proposed USD 2 billion Tata investment in Bangladesh, indicated the Awami League has offered him money to quit the ruling alliance, and described in general terms his vision for Bangladesh as a truly Islamic state. How, he asked, could IOJ could improve its image in the U.S. and why is the US Government anti-madrassah?"

Death

He died in Dhaka on 12 December 2012 at 12:20 (GMT+6).[1]

Following his death, his son, Abul Hasnat Amini, became actively involved with Hefazat-e-Islam.[22]

Hefazat-e-Islam, led by Amini's teacher Ahmad Shafi, called for a 13-point movement against the government's policies and the demand of a blasphemy law.[23]

Notes

Sources differ regarding Amini's date of birth. Prothom Alo and The Bangladesh Chronicle say he died at age 70.[2][3] According to risingbd.com he was born in 1943 and died at age 69.[4] Amar Desh and The Daily Sangram say he died at age 67. The latter specifies his birth date as 15 November 1945.[5][6]

References

"Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini Died". Taza Khobor. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
মুফতি ফজলুল হক আমিনীর ইন্তেকাল. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 12 December 2012. তাঁর বয়স হয়েছিল ৭০ বছর [He was 70 years old]
"Amini laid to rest". The Bangladesh Chronicle. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Amini died ... at the age of 70.
"Mufti Amini passes away". risingbd.com. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015. He was 69 ... He was born in 1943.
মুফতি ফজলুল হক আমিনী আর নেই : আমরা শোকাহত. Amar Desh (in Bengali). 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. ফজলুল হক আমিনী (৬৭) বুধবার দিবাগত রাত সোয়া ১২টায় ইন্তেকাল [Huq Amini (67), died Wednesday night around 1 pm]
আজ ১১ ডিসেম্বর মুফতী আমিনী (রহ:) এর প্রথম মৃত্যুবার্ষিকী. The Daily Sangram (in Bengali). 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015. ১৯৪৫ সনের ১৫ নভেম্বর বি-বাড়ীয়া জেলার আমিনপুর গ্রামের এক সম্ভ্রান্ত মুসলিম পরিবারে তাঁর জন্ম [On 15 November 1945 in Brahmanbaria district, he was born into a respectable Muslim family in the village of Aminapura]
"Amini may quit from JS body today". The Daily Star. 20 August 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
"স্ম র ণ : মুফতি ফজলুল হক আমিনী". Naya Diganta (in Bengali). 11 December 2018.
"জামেয়া কুরআনিয়া লালবাগ ঢাকা" (in Bengali). 17 May 2018.
"National Women Development Policy 2011" (PDF). Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013.
"Education Policy". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
Rashidul Hasan (11 April 2011). "Amini versions skewed". The Daily Star. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
"Dozens injured as Bangladeshi Islamists protest women's equality laws". The Daily Telegraph. London. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
Ahamed, Emajuddin (2012). "Constitutional Amendments". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
"Amini defends 'dustbin' remarks". bdnews24.com. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
"Amini sued for sedition". The Daily Star. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
"Sedition Case: Amini's bail petition scrapped". bdnews24.com. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
"Amini calls 3 'murtad'". The Daily Star. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
"IOJ chief Amini is dead". bdnews24.com. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
Manik Miazee; Muktasree Chakma Sathi (9 July 2013). "Shafi's video creating storm in social media". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
"US embassy cable - 04DHAKA4266". Cables.mrkva.eu. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
Manik Miazee (28 April 2013). "Hefazat-e-Islam threatens to take over Bangabhaban". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
Manik Miazee (4 May 2013). "Shafi terms Hefazat's 13-point charter 'commitment to faith'". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 17 April 2015.