Bangladeshi Minister Sacked for Hajj Rants
“I filed the writ against Abdul Latif Siddique under the Information Technology Act which said if anybody hurts religious sentiment, he must be punished life term or 14 years jail,” advocate Yunus Ali Akand, lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court, told OnIslam.net.
“So I demanded that Abdul Latif Siddique must be punished under this act,” he added.
The sacked Telecommunication and Information Technology minister Latif Siddique sparked anger across Bangladesh following his comments against hajj and Tablighi Jamaat.
"Hajj is waste of manpower," he said.
"Those who perform hajj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad.
“If 1,00,000 people perform Hajj from Bangladesh every year on an average and spend Bangladeshi taka 5 lakh each than the total cost stand at taka 500 crore,” he said.
Adding to Bangladeshis’ anger, he claimed that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was worried about the peoples of Arab as they were robbers. Therefore, he added, Prophet Muhammad arranged Hajj as an economic development program for the Arabs.
He also accused members of Tablighi Jamaat of doing nothing but blocking roads during their rallies.
The comments were given in a political program at New York in USA on 28th of September.
The Telecom minister, who belongs to the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League and presidium member which is central body of Awami League, was accompanied by Prime Minister Sheikha Hasina to United Nations General Assembly.
Sheikha Hasina already said that Abdul Latif Siddique will be expelled from Awami League.
Anger
His anti-Islamic and blasphemous comment has triggered widespread anger from all parties including opposition BNP, Jamaat and Jatiya Party and even ruling Awami League.
“His blasphemous comments hurt Muslims of Bangladesh and Muslims all over the world as well,” Dr. Muhammd Rezaul Karim, central Majlishe Surah Member of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, biggest Islamic party in Bangladesh, told OnIslam.
“We want arrest as soon as possible him and punished him as exemplary,” he added.
Dr. Rezaul went too far to ask for annulment of Siddique’s citizenship as well as parliament membership.
Lt. Genreal Mahbubur Rahman, former chief of Bangladesh Army, said that Hajj is one of the main pillars of the Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) observed Hajj as obligatory.
“We as Muslim observed Hajj with due respect, but Latfi Siddque’s comments hurting Muslims believe and sentiments,” he told OnIslam.net.
“Abdul Latif Siddque hurt Muslims belief through his comments about Hajj and Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
He must be exemplary punished though proper investigation and judicial process under the state bearing,” Mahbubur Rhman, a member of central standing committee of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, second largest and popular political party, added.
Mirza fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said at a press briefing in Dhaka that “we want telecom minister Abdul Latif Siddque to be removed from cabinet and National Parliament also”.
BNP has urged government to bring Latif Siddique to justice for his derogatory comments about Hajj and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Mirza Fakhrul said that if government didn’t take an action, people will have to start a massive agitation and protest program after `Eid and Puja festival.
Muslims from around the world pour to Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the pillars of Islam.
Hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.
This year, Hajj falls between October 2 and 7, with the climax falling on October 3 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.
Source: On Islam
