In recent months, groups operating under the banner of “Touhidi Janata” (Unitary People) have carried out mob attacks on both Muslim and non-Muslim communities across several districts of Bangladesh, citing alleged criticism or blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. Using local mosques and madrasas as organising hubs, they are aggressively building public opinion in favour of the harshest possible punishments.
Their belligerent posture has been so intimidating that even local elders, police, and the army have largely refrained from confronting them.
Following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, these radical Islamist militants unleashed nationwide attacks on monuments of the Liberation War, sculptures, cultural centres, libraries, and museums—looting, vandalising, and setting them ablaze. The culture of impunity has now turned them into veritable monsters.
They brand people as kafir, murtad, or nastik (infidel, apostate, or atheist) and issue fatwas calling for their murder. At rallies demanding the banning of the Ahmadiyya community, Pakistani militant leaders have been invited as guests. Shrines are being demolished, and corpses are being exhumed, beaten with sticks, and publicly burned. Followers of the spiritually inclined Hindu organisation ISKCON are being threatened with mass slaughter on fabricated charges.
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Instead of arresting these extremists who operate under the “Touhidi Janata” label, the current administration is openly patronising them.
Meanwhile, when certain Islamic preachers lie, misinterpret texts, or even utter vile words against the Prophet or his wives, no punishment follows. No reputable scholar demands their punishment. The definition of who is a “Shatim-e-Rasul” (one who insults the Prophet) is applied with blatant bias.
Open Threats
On February 21, 2025, at Baitul Mokarram National Mosque, Hefazat-e-Islam held a protest rally demanding the maximum punishment for atheists. Speaking there with the banner of the Kalima in hand, Enayetullah Abbasi, grandson of the Jainpuri Pir, declared: “No more processions. This time, we will personally execute the apostates in a Sharia court with our own hands. If speaking against Allah and His Messenger is freedom of expression for the atheists, then cutting their throats will be our hands’ freedom. I tell the top leaders of Hefazat: your journey began with the caravan of martyrs. You must now make the final preparation. The notorious Rakhal Raha, the tyrant, must be arrested and hanged. No book by Taslima will be allowed in Bangladesh. Whoever speaks against the Qur’an and Sunnah, against the supreme honour of Muhammad (pbuh), we will activate the freedom of our hands.”
A few days later, in an interview with journalist Khaled Muhiuddin, Abbasi stood by his statement.
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Standing beside him that day, another popular Islamist speaker, Abu Twaha Muhammad Adnan, thundered: “On the soil of Bengal, we will not allow the existence of any person who insults Allah and His Prophet, inshallah. You either stay in the camp of faith or you stay in the camp of disbelief. You either become a believer or a hypocrite. You either become Touhidi Janata or the populace of the kafirs. There is no middle path open before us.”
On Facebook, Abu Twaha later wrote: “There is no forgiveness or repentance for the insulter of the Prophet.”
Recently, his first wife accused him of having an extramarital affair in a Facebook post, causing a stir across the country.
Confession of Machete Attacks
Asif Mahiuddin, a rationalist blogger and activist who discusses and critiques various religions online, became the first victim of the machete era in 2013 when members of the al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar al-Islam attacked him. Though struck in the neck, he survived. The attack was justified as lawful by Jasimuddin Rahmani, who labelled Asif a “Shatim-e-Rasul.”
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Rahmani was linked to Jamaat-run NGOs, foreign militant groups, and Hizb ut-Tahrir, and used to teach at a madrasa in Mohammadpur while serving as imam at a mosque in Rayarbazar. He was released with the army personnel giving a salute after the August 5 changeover.
In a recent video, Rahmani said: “I don’t want to take the law into my own hands; I never will, nor will I tell anyone to. But if again on the soil of Bengal someone insults Allah or His Messenger, know this: the machete of 2013 will roar once more, inshallah.”
In another clip, he boasted: “In their language, I am cancer. As long as I am alive, none of their blogger fathers can be saved. That’s why they got me locked up. Yet they still didn’t survive—people kept dying afterwards. They used to ask me in jail: ‘Sheikh, which one next month?’ One body used to fall every month, didn’t it? Everyone in prison would ask, ‘Which one will fall next month?’ I would say: be patient; you’ll know in time. Whoever insults Allah and His Messenger has no right to live in this world. The Qur’an has clear verses about it.”
In an old sermon, Rahmani had openly instructed: “Atheists have started creating trouble. Form groups of two or four and finish them off. There is no ambiguity in this fatwa, no secrecy. The Prophet and his companions did exactly that… O Muslim nation, for this you don’t need any mufti’s fatwa or any organisation. Wherever you find them, in whatever state, finish them discreetly so the kuffar cannot find any link.”
Mufti Abdullah Al Masud and Mufti Imran bin Bashir—former insiders who once trained and taught within the Qawmi madrasa system—have been working for years to unmask the fraudulent Islamic scholars and the jihadist patrons through their video blogs widely circulated on YouTube and Facebook.
They warn that the toxic mix of literalist scripture, closed madrasa culture, and the new political patronage of “Touhidi Janata” mobs is pushing Bangladesh toward catastrophe. Until the state stops shielding these extremists and confronts the ideology that justifies murder for “blasphemy,” they say, neither scholars who ask honest questions nor ordinary citizens will ever be safe.
From Hefazat’s Street Fighter to Exiled Critic
Young Qawmi scholar Mufti Imran bin Bashir completed Dawra-e-Hadith and served for many years as imam of a mosque in Chandpur. Alongside his duties, he carried out deep research on the Qur’an and Hadith. Perhaps because he studied the texts so meticulously, questions began to arise in his mind.
He approached countless madrasa teachers, imams, and scholars seeking answers. To express what was in his heart, he wrote books, made discussion videos about religion, and even produced short dramas that he uploaded to YouTube.
After the violent change of power on August 5, 2024, when mob forces seized control, Mufti Imran immediately fell into the crosshairs of the local “Touhidi Janata” and the newly formed “student coordinators”. One day, a frenzied crowd arrived at his mosque and ordered him to leave the area at once. Trying to calm the situation, he invited them inside the mosque to talk.
But the leaders of Touhidi Janata and the local student coordinators issued such severe threats and intimidation that, fearing for his life, he was forced to abandon his birthplace, his family, and everything he knew, and flee to an unknown destination abroad.
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Mufti Imran was himself once part of the same radical ecosystem. In 2013, during Hefazat-e-Islam’s Shapla Chattar sit-in that demanded the death penalty for “atheists,” the scrapping of the women’s policy, the declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims, and changes to textbooks, he was on the streets with thousands of other madrasa students.
Like the rest, he took part in vandalism. Yet when police and RAB opened fire at night, and sound grenades exploded, he mistook them for real bombs and stood frozen in terror.
He recalls: “On May 5, 2013, I went to Motijheel with other madrasa students. Leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir were there teaching us how to attack the police—how to throw bricks, how to make petrol bombs. Throughout the day, we clashed with the police. At night, when the operation began, we heard the sound of grenades and thought they were real bombs. I stood paralysed with fear.”
Later, when Hefazat leaders spread blatant lies about the number of deaths that night, Mufti Imran began openly criticising them. That criticism, combined with his growing doubts and public questioning of orthodox positions, marked him as a dangerous murtad in the eyes of the radicals.
After the August 2024 upheaval, the same forces he once marched alongside now hunted him. The “student coordinators” who suddenly wielded power in every locality put his name on their target list. Death threats poured in. With no protection from police or administration—who were either afraid or complicit—he had no choice but to flee the country, leaving his ageing parents, wife, and children behind.
Today, living in exile and still wearing the beard and dress of a traditional scholar so that madrasa students recognise he is “one of us,” Mufti Imran says with pain: “I keep this beard now only so the students understand I am fighting for their liberation, not to spread hatred. In the country where I now live, I feel ashamed of this beard and Islamic attire—people see us as terrorists. Why should the beard and cap be symbols of terror? I never wanted this path, but I was left with no other option.”
Mufti Masud Explains Root of Violence
Former Qawmi madrasa teacher Mufti Abdullah Masud has first-hand experience of the extremist mindset. He explains: “According to Islam, any kind of criticism of Prophet Muhammad, of any nature, is considered an insult. The word ‘shatim’ means one who abuses. We were taught in a madrasa that any criticism of Muhammad is treated as abuse. The only punishment for abuse is death. Rahmani is absolutely right. No state law is needed for this; no court is required. The person will be killed then and there.”
He quotes Surah Al-Ahzab (33:60–61) and explains: “The rule of Sharia is that for theft or adultery, you need witnesses. But Muhammad issued an order: wherever they are found, seize them immediately and slaughter them brutally. Through this law, any Muslim can kill any critic of Muhammad anywhere without trial. This is the ruling, and it is encouraged.”
Mufti Masud continues: “In Qawmi madrasas, hatred is taught against kafirs and atheists. This is the teaching of Muhammad. Muslims even kill their own religious leaders. Uthman, Ali, and Muhammad’s grandsons—Muslims killed them all.
“The problem with Muslims is that they cannot tolerate the slightest difference of opinion. Hatred is taught in madrasas… Students are raised within a closed system—eating, sleeping, studying, dressing, rules—everything is uniform. They are groomed to become soldiers of Allah’s army.”
After the kidnapping drama of Muhibullah, the anti-ISKCON imam of a mosque in Tongi, Mufti Masud lambasted him, saying that the cleric used to give hate speeches against Hindus. Spreading hatred was his main source of income. After spreading hatred, for some unknown reason, this cleric staged a drama.
“Now, the reason behind the play needs to be revealed. It is necessary to ask those Muslims who gave anti-Hindu speeches and called for killing Hindus, because of this play, how they feel now!
“Ahmadullah has been seen as the most active. How does Ahmadullah feel now? Although I know that Mullahs have no shame, I still want to ask Mullah Ahmadullah whether he does not feel ashamed in his heart.”
He also mentioned that Mahmudur Rahman, the editor of the daily Amar Desh and a jihadist patron, and his close aide Pinaki Bhattacharya are behind the propaganda against ISKCON and India.
Why Mufti Imran Fell into Doubt
Long-time imam and Qawmi scholar Mufti Imran bin Bashir says: “A Muslim can never be secular or non-communal. If someone is, he is not a good Muslim at all. Because one part of Islam’s rulings is communalism, communalism is part of iman (faith). If you want to be a good Muslim and follow every word of the Sunnah, you have to be a communal person.
“Prophet Muhammad was an extremely communal person. Even just before death, he gave three pieces of advice; one was deeply communal: expel the mushriks from the Arabian Peninsula, banish them, and uproot them.
“The more you know, the deeper you study, the more doubts arise. If you know nothing, no doubt appears. Doubt is necessary. But the ruling of Islam is: if doubt arises or is expressed—kill the person.
“There are hadiths such as: ‘Do not take anyone except a believer as a close friend’ and ‘When you meet Jews and Christians on the road, push them to the side.’ Famous scholars avoid mentioning these hadiths in public now because they have to live and eat with non-Muslims. They distort Islam to remain popular. They are ashamed or afraid to speak Allah’s words openly. This is religious business.
“Zakir Naik shows love towards non-Muslims and atheists. Yet the same atheists were killed by the Messenger of Allah, their property seized as war booty, and their mothers and sisters turned into slave girls. These are indisputable rulings of Islam.”
Mufti Imran still keeps his beard: “I could shave it off tomorrow. I live in a country where I feel ashamed of this beard and Islamic dress—people see us as terrorists. Why should the beard or cap be seen as symbols of terrorism? I keep the beard only so madrasa students understand I am one of them, that I am fighting for their liberation.”
He issues an open challenge: “I want to sit in a live discussion with famous scholars like Ahmadullah, Mizanur Rahman Azhari, and Abu Taha Muhammad Adnan—along with Asad Noor, Mufti Masud, Asif Mahiuddin, and some neutral people. If needed, I will sell my kidney to raise Tk10 lakh for their time. If they can satisfy me with answers, I will serve Islam with double the enthusiasm I once did.”
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