Jamaat Ameer for facing situation with patience, avoiding provocation
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman today called upon people, including students, to act with restraint, wisdom and a heightened sense of responsibility at a time of profound national grief following the death of July Movement activist Sharif Osman Hadi.
In a statement today, the Jamaat chief expressed deep sorrow over the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha and a frontline activist of the July Movement, who died on December 18 while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
Dr Shafiqur Rahman said Hadi’s demise has cast a long shadow of sorrow across the country, touching the hearts of students, activists and ordinary citizens alike, and has given rise to a collective sense of pain, anger and unanswered questions.
People from all walks of life, he said, are praying for the eternal peace of the departed soul while also expressing deep anguish over the circumstances surrounding his death and the failure to ensure his safety.
“The grief and emotional upheaval that have emerged among students and the general public after the death of Osman Hadi are natural, human and deeply understandable,” the Jamaat Ameer said.
“This pain reflects the depth of people’s attachment to justice and sacrifice,” he added.
However, he cautioned that such moments of intense emotion are also vulnerable to manipulation.
“If any quarter attempts to exploit this grief and anger to advance narrow or partisan interests, it will only deepen the wound and betray the spirit of the struggle,” he said, adding that there is a clear risk of deliberate efforts to divert a legitimate movement from its moral course.
Dr Rahman stressed that the media remains the fourth pillar of the state and one of the most vital channels through which the people’s voice finds expression.
“An attack on the media is not merely an attack on institutions,” he said. “It is an attack on democratic values, freedom of expression and the rule of law itself.”
Emphasising restraint and discipline, he said history shows that any just and principled movement achieves its goals only when it remains peaceful, orderly and grounded in ethical conduct.
“When anger overtakes discipline, the original purpose of sacrifice and struggle risks being lost,” he added.
The Jamaat Ameer demanded that those responsible for the death of Sharif Osman Hadi be identified without delay and brought under the purview of law, ensuring exemplary punishment so that justice is not reduced to a hollow promise.
Referring to the present national crisis, he said this is a moment that calls for collective conscience, patience and unity rather than confrontation and chaos.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami believes that only through the establishment of a democratic, peaceful and inclusive political environment, the dignity of those who gave their lives in movements for justice can be truly honoured, he added.
Jamaat chief appealed to students, citizens and people from all walks of life to stand firm with patience, awareness and responsibility, so that grief does not turn into despair and justice is not overshadowed by disorder.