Jamaat Labels Mahfuz Alam as ‘Indian Spy’ for Calling Them War Crime Collaborators

Staff Reporter

A heated debate has erupted over the statement made by Mahfuz Alam, the interim government’s advisor for Information and Broadcasting, who claimed that “Jamaat was a collaborator in war crimes.” Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has strongly protested this allegation, calling it “baseless, false, and misleading.” In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Mujibul Alam, in charge of the party’s central publicity department, made this claim on behalf of Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar.

The statement, signed by Mujibul Alam, asserted that Mahfuz Alam, despite being an advisor to an apolitical government, targeted a political party with false statements, which is beyond his moral and legal authority. They questioned, “If you want to make political statements, come to the political arena. Why are you undermining the character of the interim government?”

The statement further added:

“Mahfuz Alam has echoed the language of Shahriar Kabir, a spy for a neighboring country, by making baseless and false statements about Jamaat.”

However, historical records show that during the 1971 Liberation War, three leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were part of the Pakistani army-controlled wartime cabinet. Their student wing, Al-Badr, is accused of direct involvement in the massacre of intellectuals. These facts have long been the basis of allegations against Jamaat.

Jamaat, however, counters this by claiming that no evidence of their members’ involvement was found in the war crimes investigation commission formed during Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s tenure. They argue that this is why Bangabandhu granted amnesty and released those arrested. They also point out that former Jamaat Ameer Ghulam Azam won a case in the Supreme Court to regain his citizenship.

However, this claim is also questionable. The court did not declare Ghulam Azam “innocent”; rather, it restored his citizenship as a birthright. During Bangabandhu’s time, over 10,000 accused of minor crimes were released, but more than a hundred individuals were sentenced to death or life imprisonment for major war crimes, and trials were ongoing. After Bangabandhu’s assassination on August 15, 1975, Ziaur Rahman came to power and pardoned all accused—this is also part of history.

Top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami have been sentenced to the highest penalties by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal for crimes such as murder, looting, arson, rape, and forced religious conversion during the war. The tribunal’s rulings have also noted that Jamaat’s activities in 1971 are considered war crimes.

Jamaat is also angered by Mahfuz Alam’s description of their ideology as “misguided.” They claim to follow Ahle Sunnat Al-Jamaat and cite the formation of “Ittihadul Ummah” in 1983, which included Ghulam Azam and other prominent scholars and pirs, as evidence. They argue that Mahfuz’s statements stem from ignorance.

Yesterday, in a Facebook post, Mahfuz Alam suggested that Jamaat’s support for the 24-point movement was a form of atonement for their war crimes, effectively absolving them of responsibility.