Professor Ghulam Azam, a key name in the history of the Islamic movement of Bangladesh and Muslim world, died earlier this week at the age of 91, leaving behind a huge vacuum in the Islamic movement in the country.
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“Professor Ghulam Azam played a key role in the global Islamic movement in the world, I strongly believe that his demise does not mean the death of the Islamic movement in Bangladesh,” Brigadier General (retired) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, his son, told OnIslam.net.
"My father, Ghulam Azam, had to travel extensively throughout Bangladesh to preach and establish Islam in Bangladesh during his whole life,” he added.
Over the past 60 years, the late professor played a key role in Bangladesh and Pakistan politics.
He has been an active partner and ruler of Bengali language movement in 1950’s democratic movement in Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan.
Promoting unity between Pakistan and Bangladesh, his role in the 1971 Bangladesh “independence” war has put him in the middle of a controversy of the claimed war crimes committed during this era.
However, he remained as a preacher, and leader of the Islamic movement in the world as well as in Bangladesh.
Azam, whose imprisonment on war crimes charges set off violent protests last year, died on October 23 at the prison ward at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical Univrsity (BSMU) in Dhaka, a state run hospital, Bangladesh; he was then buried in their family graveyard at Dhaka on October 25.
Azam, a former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party,was sentenced to 90 years in prison on 61 charges of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence from Pakistan.
The former East Pakistan declared independence from Islamabad in December 1971 at the end of a nine-month civil war in which the government says three million people were killed.
Independent estimates put the figure much lower.
A dozen of defendants are being tried by the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, which was set up in March 2010, over their alleged role in the war.
But all the defendants are either members of the Jamaat-e-Islami party or of the main opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), prompting accusations that the process is politically-driven.
Baseless
Mourning the Islamic leader’s departure, Bangladeshi leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami vowed to continue the message of the deceased leader.
“Professor Ghulam Azam worked to establish an Islamic society in Bangladesh for his entire life,” Professor Mujibur Rahman, Nayebe Ameer means vice president of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami said this in his brief speech before namaje janaja, funeral prayer, at Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Dhaka.
“We will continue to do what he did as he is dead now, May Allah forgives all his sins,” he added.
Dr. Abdullah Al Mamun, teacher of Bangladesh Islamic University, has also mourned the late figure.
“Professor Ghulam Azam tried heart and soul to unite all Islamic forces and parties in Bangladesh to establish an Islamic society and state in Bangladesh,” Dr. Al Mamun told OnIslam.net
He said that Ghulam Azam was the true Muslim leader and source of Muslims’ inspiration, “but secular, left forces and present government were doing false propaganda driven by political agenda only.”
Being a renowned leader of Islamic movement, Azam was also praised as a language hero in Bangladesh language movement.
“Muslim Bangladesh has lost her great leader as Professor Ghulam Azam who was leader of Islamic movement as well as a language hero in Bangladesh,” Advocate Zahangir Hossain, pleader of Bangladesh Supreme Court, told OnIslam.net.
Advocate Zahangir said that Professor Azam was a source of inspiration for Islamic movement and icon for Bangladeshi and world Muslims as well.
Who Is Ghulam Azam
Ghulam Azam was born on November 7, 1922, at Dhaka in Bangladesh.
He obtained his master degree in political science from Dhaka University in 1950. He was renowned student leader of Dhaka University in 1940’s and General Secretary of Dhaka University Central Student Union in 1947-48 and 48-49.
He started his carrier as a teacher of political science at Rangpur Karmical College in Bangladesh. During his teaching profession, he worked with Tableeg Jamaat as regional Ameer of Tableeg Jamaat up to 1954.
Professor Ghulam Azam joined Jamaat-e-Islami in 1954 as general member and served as its secretary from 1957 to 1969.
He was elected Ameer of East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] Jamaat-e-Islami in 1969-1971 and again taking responsibility of the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from 1978 to 2000.
He was a pioneer thinker of Care Taker Government system which is practiced in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and many other countries in the world.
“His whole life was so (full of) disciplines and true Islamic ways, his time management was 100 percent systemic,” Najmul Haque, Private Secretary of Ghulam Azam told OnIslam.net
Najmul said that Professor Ghulam Azam sincerely tried to unite all Islamic forces in Bangladesh.
“He was really a leader and soldier of the Islamic movement. We have lost our pious religious leader,” Abdullah Al Amin, 22, told OnIslam./SR
