One dies as Tablig factions clash near Tongi venue

A clash between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat left one dead and more than a hundred injured near the Tongi Ijtema ground on Saturday.

The deceased was identified as Ismail Mondol, 65, of Munshiganj district, said officer-in-charge (OC) of Tongi East Police Station Kamal Hossian, quoting the deceased's son Zahid Mondol.

The scuffle, between followers of Delhi-based Saad Kandhalvi and devotees belonging to the Deobandi Islamic movement, broke out after Fazr prayer at the entrance to the ground of the annual religious event on the banks of the Turag River in Gazipur.

The clash ensued as Tabligh Jamaat men subscribing to the Deobandi belief had been barring Kandhalvi followers from entering the Ijtema ground since Wednesday, the policeman told the FE.

City commuters suffered immensely due to the long tailback that formed at around 11:30 am as roads were blocked at different points from Airport to Tongi by the two rival Tabligh Jamaat groups.

The Tabligh Jamaat men blocked one side of the Tongi Road leaving vehicles caught in a severe traffic jam spreading from Farmgate to the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway via Mohakhali, Kuril, Airport, Uttara, Abdullahpur and Tongi.

The severe traffic congestion left its spill-over effect on vehicular movement on other major city roads that continued throughout the day.

A group of Tabligh Jamaat men taking an injured member to hospital during a clash on Saturday between two groups of the organisation. The photograph was taken from Airport Road in the city — FE photo

The road blockades were lifted at around 4:00pm after almost four and a half hours.

Many of the passengers of international and domestic flights were the worst sufferers. Many of them had to wait for long to come out of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) while others had to walk a long distance to catch their flights.

Sarwar Hossain, 35, in his facebook status said he walked towards the airport from Kuril Biswa Road to catch the Cox's Bazar-bound US-Bangla Airlines flight scheduled to leave at 2:45pm.

Despite delay of several flights scheduled for 12pm to 3:00pm at the HSIA due to the rowdy clash, some of the passengers missed their flights.

According to the World Airports Arrivals and Departures website, international flights of Sri Lankan Airlines, Jet Airways, Etihad Airways, Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways and Regent Airways were delayed.

According to bdnews24.com, over 200 were taken to Tongi's Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital for treatment since the clashes began around noon, said resident doctor Md Parvez Hossain. Twenty victims were transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The first phase of the Bishaw Ijtema, an annual religious event, was due to begin in January but was delayed in the last month over the leadership conflicts between the two factions of Tabligh.

The Election Commission issued an order banning any kind of congregation at Tongi Ijtema field prior to the Dec 30 election, following a petition by the Deoband group.

Despite the ban, the followers of Delhi Markaz's leader Moulana Mohammed Saad Kandhalvi had announced a five-day Jor Ijtema and the followers of Deoband leader Moulana Zubayer took up positions around the Tongi field and the nearby areas.

As the followers of Saad could not enter the Ijtema area on Friday, they took up positions in the nearby mosques.

The situation intensified when hundreds of Saad followers began to march towards Tongi on Saturday morning.

The situation escalated out of control when those who came to participate in the Jor Ijtema broke into the ijtema site around 11:00 am, said Tongi West Police Station chief Md Kamal Hossain.

Both groups became embroiled in a clash with bamboo sticks. Members of both groups were injured as they pelted brickbats at each other.

At one point the Saad followers drove away their opponents and occupied the field. Later, the police took control of the scene. The Gazipur mayor and the police superintendent held a meeting with the leaders of both factions and asked them to leave the site within half an hour.

Police also requested everyone to leave the area.

"We have banned any kind of congregation at the field following the directive of the EC. The law enforcement agencies will control it. Later a fresh date for Ijtema will be announced following discussions with everyone," Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Dewan Mohammed Humayun Kabir told the news agency.

Tabligh Jamaat, the biggest organisation of Sunni Muslims, has its centre in Delhi. Grandfather of Moulana Saad, Islamic pundit Iliyas Kandhalvi initiated the reformation movement in the 1920s.

The overall goal of the movement is to disseminate the basic principles of Islam. It does not discuss politics and Fiqah in order to avoid controversy.

After the death of Moulana Iliyas, his son Moulana Mohammed Yusuf and then Moulana Inamul Hasan have served as the Amir of Tabligh Jamaat.

A Shura committee was appointed to run the organisation in place of a single decision maker after the death of Moulana Inamul.

Moulana Saad became the Amir after the death of Moulana Zubayer who was a Shura Committee member and brought back the system of single leadership.

Moulana Zuhayerul Hasan, son of Moulana Zubayer, then came forward to demand new leadership and his supporters have called for a new Shura Committee.

The conflict intensified when Saad refused the demand. The Muslim thinkers were also divided in opinion over the statements by Saad.

The conflict over leadership became severe this time during the Bishaw Ijtema in January last.