After a crackdown against the leadership of the Hefazat-e-Islam (HEI) Bangladesh authorities have begun a dialogue with the extemist group, which had stepped up street protests during the recent visit to Dhaka by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Monday night Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, met a section of the HeI leadership at his residence.
A delegation of “five to six leaders of the Islamist group held a meeting with the minister for over an hour on Monday night,” the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The report said that senior police officials were also present during the interaction.
Expectedly, the leaders refrained from commenting on the outcome of what appeared to exploratory talks.
Hefazat Nayeb-e-Ameer Ataullah Hafeji, Secretary General Nurul Islam Jihadi, Qwami Madrasa Education Board (Befaq) Secretary General Mahfuzul Haque, also the brother of Hefazat Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque, Mizanur Rahman were among those who attended the meeting.
Separately, five top Hefazat leaders also held a meeting with an intelligence agency on Monday afternoon.
Extremist groups are posing a threat to Bangladesh's inclusive cultural identity, driven more by Bengal's progressive heritage of music, poetry and gender equality. Writings of intellectual and cultural icons such as Rabindrnath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam have played a seminal role in maintreaming a common culture on either side of the border of India and Bangladesh.
“According to the sources concerned, the Hefazat leaders are trying to come to an understating with the government for the latter took a tough stance against the Islamist group following its violent movements. They want no more leaders and activists to be arrested by the law enforcement agencies,” Dhaka Tribune said.
Several Hefazat e Islam leaders, including those in the top rung like Mamunul Haque, Rafiqul Islam Madani, who was known as "shishu bokta" and Junaid Al Habib, been arrested in connection of violence. However, it is not yet clear whether the government has durably acquired an upper hand in the contest between the two oppositional narratives.
HeI chief Junaid Babunagari, who issued a statement on social media saying that the cases filed against the leaders are false, has sought unconditional release of all members of the group. But feeling the pressure, he also requested the leaders and activists of his party to be patient as well as not to make any chaos centring current circumstances.
