Jamaat Ameer warns July Uprising was a ‘rehearsal for final battle’

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader, Shafiqur Rahman, on Sunday warned that the July-August 2024 uprising was only the “rehearsal for the final battle,” noting that the participants are vigilantly observing the country’s “current predicament.”

Speaking at a discussion session on state reforms, the Opposition Leader said the BNP government has taken the same path set by the Awami League regime before it was ousted in the uprising.

He urged the government to mend its ways before the people once again takes the streets -- this time against “neo-fascists.”

The discussion session focused on the ideals of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for state reforms and was hosted at the Institution of Diploma Engineers in the capital.

The National Seerat Celebration Committee organised the event marking the upcoming death anniversary of the Prophet. An essay competition and prize giving ceremony were also hosted as part the event.

“Fascism is not associated with any particular party. [Rather] It spreads from one place to another. Whoever this virus infects becomes a fascist,” Shafiqur said at the discussion session.

“If the government does well, the opposition’s responsibility is to cooperate with and support it. But if the government commits any wrongdoing, deprives people of their rights or takes the wrong path, the opposition must resist and protest against it,” he said.

Many people died in the July Uprising, but many still survive and continue to follow the country’s overall happenings, the Opposition Leader said.

"Before a final battle, an army is formed and hardened through trainings and rehearsals," he said.

Similarly, the July Uprising served as a "training platform and rehearsal" for the surviving participants to prepare for the “final battle,” he suggested.

Shafiqur alleged that the BNP government has removed many anti-hegemony elements from the July Uprising Memorial Museum, including a symbolic representation of Felani by Indian border force, to please a “particular country.”

The government has also removed symbols of sacrifices and torture endured by many people during Awami League’s authoritarian tenure, but filled the museum with elements linked to a “specific political party.”

These bear ominous signs for a country, the Jamaat chief warned.

After the July Uprising, many thought that “fascist garbage” would be sustainably removed from the country. But in reality, these have only grown, Shafiqur warned.

Other speakers at the event said the ruling party, BNP, was the ultimate beneficiary of the uprising, and yet, they have changed their tune since assuming power, and are “betraying” the spirit of the historic movement.

The party has also taken its stand against the July Charter, and the people’s referendum endorsing it, they alleged.

Keynote speaker AFK Khalid Hossain, an adviser in the interim government, urged people to remain united, warning that otherwise, the enemy could capitalise on the “growing internal tensions.”

Many Islamic scholars are throwing insults at one another, potentially under the influence of a “third force,” AFM Khalid said.

He urged caution against the “external divisive elements.”