Check trade on Islam
Hasina urges imams
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon the imams (religious leaders) to keep conscious so nobody can mislead people through misinterpretation of the religion.
“The masses turn to you (imams) to get the interpretation of the Quran and Hadith. I request you all to remain alert so that people who trade on religion cannot mislead the innocent people and engage them in terrorism and militancy,” she said.
The premier made the call at the inaugural ceremony of “National conference of the trained imams” at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
She said Islam is the religion of peace and Bangladesh is the place for religious harmony, where people have been living for thousands of years peacefully.
“There is no room for terrorist activities in Islam. But militants are created in the name of Islam. Islam is always against terrorism, killing, and suicide.”
This stains Islam, she said, adding that why the religion of peace will suffer for some misguided people. Hasina said terrorists are terrorists wherever they live.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Shahjahan Miah chaired the function addressed also by secretary of the ministry Qazi Habibul Awal, Unicef Country Representative Carrel de Roy, and Islamic Foundation Director General Shamim Mohammad Afzal.
Terming the imams the leaders of the society, Hasina requested them to bring positive change in the society through motivating the people against all forms of terrorism and militancy.
She said Bangladesh is known to the international community as the most peaceful nation for its religious education and cultural tradition. It should be maintained at any cost, she urged.
Imams have acquired knowledge on poverty alleviation, agriculture, prevention of corruption, stopping of dowry, child marriage, and primary healthcare during their training courses along with religious knowledge, said the prime minister.
Hasina expressed her hope that they would use their knowledge for the development of the people in their respective areas.
The premier said the government made religious education mandatory at the secondary level so that the students can gain real knowledge of religion.
The new education policy was adopted with more importance on madrasa education to keep it up with time and religious and moral education was included in the new policy, she said.
She also mentioned that the government adopted the National Hajj Policy 2010 and a record 91,770 pilgrims performed hajj last year.
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