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Jamaat thrived on zakat

HC wants ban on it in the full verdict; observes EC disregarded constitution to register the party

SHAKHAWAT LlTON and ASHUTOSH SARKAR
The High Court has directed the Election Commission to take legal action to prevent the Jamaat-e-Islami from raising funds through zakat and ushr for running its activities.
Zakat, one of the pillars of Islam, is a levy on the property of wealthy people for distribution to society's poor, and ushr is an Islamic tax on the agricultural produce from a piece of land.
In its charter, lamaat mentions zakat and ushr as major sources of funds at every tier of its organisational structure.
"No political party can be allowed to collect zakat and ushr to raise its fund and to spend the fund for the welfare of party's leaders and workers. Disorder may prevail in this area if every political party is allowed to collect such zakat," observed the HC in a landmark verdict on lamaat's registration with the EC.
On August 1, the HC declared illegal lamaat's
registration as a parliamentary political party with the EC, as many provisions of its charter run counter to the country's constitution and the Representation of the People Order.
The full text of the verdict was released yesterday.
The HC verdict came following a writ petition against the EC's decision to register the Jamaat.
However, the three-member HC bench was split on the verdict. Two judges - Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque declared Jamaat's registration illegal, while Justice M Moazzam Husain rejected the writ petition and said the EC should settle the matter.
The party will not be able to contest the next parliamentary election if the HC verdict is upheld by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
Analysing the facts on Jamaat's registration with the EC in November 2008, the HC said the party got registered through fraudulence. It also criticised the EC for registering the party by disregarding the
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constitution and the RPO.
The Jamaat brought some provisional changes in its charter to get registered before the 2008 parliamentary polls. The party promised to amend its charter in line with the RPO by January 24, 2010 to retain its registration, but didn't deliver on the pledges.
Even on expiry of the deadline, it ignored EC's repeated calls for amending its charter in the last three and a halfyears.
According to the EC's findings, Jamaat's charter contains a number of provisions, including the call for establishing the rule of Islam and refusal to accept parliament's plenary power to enact laws, which don't conform to the country's constitution and the RPO.
Though the party was supposed to lose its registration according to the RPO, it managed to retain its status as a political party due to the EC's inaction.
The RPO says a political party will not be qualified for registration if the objectives and provisions in its charter are at variance with those of the country's constitution and the RPO.
Referring to Jamaat's registration with the EC, the HC said court can interfere in the matter if it thinks that anybody has obtained something through fraudulence, which makes all activities impure and ineffective.
"Its objectives as laid down in its party constitution are ex-facie violation of the basic structure of the constitution," observed the HC.
Public interest and the country's security have been exposed to grave danger by Jamaat's activities based on its express objectives in the party's charter "which in fact purports to subvert and overthrow the constitution of the republic,” it said.
Mentioning Jamaat's active role against the nation's struggle for independence, the verdict said Jamaat members were in the enemy's war cabinet and soiled their hands with the blood of unarmed civilians.
During the 1971 Liberation War, they committed genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, mass rape, acts of arson, and eliminated the nation's prominent intellectuals and professionals.
They also perpetrated other gruesome acts through Al-Shams, Al-Badr, Rajakars, the Peace Committee and other auxiliary forces, and helped the Pakistan occupation forces commit genocide in the name of Islam, said the court.
In their verdicts, International Crimes Tribunals identified the Jamaat as a criminal
organisation for its involvement in crimes against humanity, said the court.
A specific provision needs to be included in the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 to empower the tribunals to take action against any party if found guilty according to the law, it said.
The original law didn't have any provision for holding trial of any party or group on the charge of crimes against humanity. Such a provision was incorporated in the law this year, said the court.
But unfortunately, no provision was included in it specifying punishment against any party if found guilty of committing crimes against humanity, it said.
Similarly, the RPO has no provision for disqualifying a political party from getting registered with the EC if the party is found guilty of committing war crimes or misinterpreting or using religion card, it said.
The court stressed the need for including such provision in the RPO, and said the Jatiya Sangsad has to decide on the issue.
It observed that Jamaat-e-Islami's charter, its concepts and activities go against Islam in many cases.
Controversial Islamist thinker Abul A'la Mawdudi founded the Jamaat in undivided India in 1941.
The Jamaat was widely criticised in Pakistan after 1947 because of Mawdudi's controversial interpretation of Islam and statements that provoked communal riots.
The Jamaat had an East Pakistan wing before Bangladesh achieved its independence in 1971.
Ghulam Azam, recently convicted of war crimes, was the ameer (chief) of East Pakistan Jamaat.
Incumbent Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed were top leaders of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat, during the Liberation War.
Nizami, now in jail, faces trial for 1971 war crimes, while Mojaheed has already been convicted ofwar crimes.
In 1972, a constitutional ban was imposed on five communal outfits including Jamaat that not only opposed the nation's independence but also actively helped Pakistan occupation forces commit genocide and other war crimes.
The Jamaat and the other banned parties were allowed to do politics under Ziaur Rahman's regime after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975.