Who Attacks Hezbut Tawheed—and Why?
Hezbut Tawheed is a completely non-political religious reform
movement. It was founded in 1995 in Korotia, Tangail. The founder
of this movement is Mr. Mohammad Bayazid Khan Panni, a
descendant of the esteemed Panni family.
From its inception, the primary goal and objective of this movement
has been to eliminate injustice, unrest, oppression, tyranny, and
bloodshed from across the world. Its aim is to establish peace, justice,
and fairness. In other words, its objective is to conduct human life in
accordance with the sovereignty of Allah.
To achieve this goal, we continuously call humanity toward Tawheed
(the oneness of God), advocate unity, and present a correct ideal
before the nation. All of our activities are carried out selflessly and
through peaceful means.
From its founding to the present, there is no recorded instance of
any activity of Hezbut Tawheed violating even a single law under
the Constitution of Bangladesh. Despite this, over the past 30 years,
every step of this ongoing movement has faced various forms of
disinformation and multifaceted obstacles.
Every ideology may have a counter-ideology and ideological
opponents. In a civilized society, it is expected that such opponents
will present constructive and evidence-based criticism of views
they disagree with. However, this has not been the case with Hezbut
Tawheed.
Instead of engaging in ideological critique, two groups have
primarily engaged in the spread of blatant falsehoods, rumors, and
baseless information against us. These two groups are:1. Religion profiteers
2. Islamophobic groups
Evidence Archive of Attacks and Disinformation Against Hezbut Tawheed
These groups have not confined themselves to reasoned disagreement.
Rather, they have consistently relied on disinformation campaigns
aimed at discrediting the movement and inciting opposition against
it.
Why Religion Profiteers Spread Disinformation?
The hostility shown by religion profiteers toward us has two primary
causes.
1. Injury to Pride
Their pride has been deeply hurt. They studied in madrasas and
became religious scholars. As a result, they consider themselves
deputies of the Prophet and the sole authorities over religion. When
ordinary people like us speak about religion, it strikes at their sense
of superiority.
2. Injury to Financial Interests
They use Islam as a means of livelihood and have turned religion
into a source of income. In contrast, we have presented the clear
position that Allah has forbidden taking any form of compensation
in exchange for His religion. Allah has also forbidden following
those who do so (Qur’an 2:174; 36:21).
In simple terms, seeking any economic or political gain in exchange
for religious work is completely prohibited in Islam. This is not our
statement. This is the command of Allah and His Messenger. We
have only presented it.
This position has directly harmed the interests of the religion profiteer
class. As a result, from the very beginning of the movement, they
have united in spreading disinformation against Hezbut Tawheed.
They spread blatant falsehoods about us in marketplaces, madrasas,
mosques, religious sermons, Friday (Jummah) sermons, and online
platforms.
Through these campaigns, they label us as Christians, disbelievers,
apostates, atheists, enemies of Islam, and agents of Jews. In some
instances, they also issue threats against us.
Edited and objectionable images have been circulated online as part
of this disinformation. For example, a report in The Guardian showed
a woman leading prayer in a mosque in Kerala, India. Someone
edited the image by placing the face of our respected leader onto
that photograph and then spread the false claim that women lead
prayers in Hezbut Tawheed. Countless people believed and shared
this claim.
Their actions did not stop at disinformation. Over the past 30 years,
they have repeatedly incited violence against us by exploiting
religious sentiment, on more than five hundred occasions. They have
attacked our homes, forcibly displaced many members from their
ancestral lands, injured hundreds, and killed five members, despite
the fact that thousands of truthful and sincere scholars support our
work and continue to offer prayers and cooperation.
Why Islamophobic Groups Spread Disinformation?
In this subcontinent, two parallel education systems are commonly
in place. One is the madrasa education system, and the other is the
general education system. Both systems were introduced during
British rule.
The madrasa education system does not include instruction in
science, technology, or modern curricular knowledge. As a result,
a class of religion profiteers emerges from this system. In contrast,
the general education system places little emphasis on religious
education. Instead, it promotes a mindset of subservience toward
Western thought.
Those educated under this system often develop a sense of inferiority
toward Islam and an attitude of cultural superiority aligned with the
West. Many among them view religion with deep contempt and
consider it harmful. After the departure of the British, responsibility
for governing the country largely passed into the hands of this group.
Control over the administration, bureaucracy, and media institutions
also remained with them.
Because their attitude toward Allah’s prescribed way of life is
hostile, they have continuously spread disinformation against
Hezbut Tawheed since the movement was established. For at least
the first 20 years, this campaign continued without pause.
They published thousands of false reports against us. In these
reports, they described Hezbut Tawheed as a banned and blacklisted
militant, terrorist, or extremist organization. Their primary objective
was to use state authorities against us.
It is commonly observed that when falsehoods are repeated again
and again, many people eventually begin to accept them as truth.
Those shaped by Western ideological influence have applied this
approach in spreading disinformation against Islam, repeatedly
portraying Muslims as violent or extremist.
Some domestic media outlets in Bangladesh, influenced by Western
ideological thinking, have also engaged in disinformation by
placing Hezbut Tawheed in the same category as certain militant
groups active in the country. They have published fabricated and
misleading reports to this effect.
Although we protested against these reports, our responses were not
published. One reason for this is that our movement’s name is in
Arabic and that we seek to see Islam reflected in national and state
life — positions that are unacceptable to them.
As a result of this sustained disinformation, many officials within
law-enforcement agencies, the civil administration, and the
judiciary have been influenced by false media narratives. Likewise,
when ordinary people attempt to learn about Hezbut Tawheed by
searching online, they are exposed primarily to these misleading
reports. Influenced by such hostility, some have gone on to cause
harm to the lives and property of members of the movement.
For these reasons, organized attacks and conspiracies against Hezbut
Tawheed have continued, with disinformation playing a central role
behind the scenes.
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