MAMUNUR RASHID

The Jamaat-e-Islami exhibited a new logo in meetings between its Ameer Shafiqur Rahman and foreign diplomats yesterday without formally unveiling the new emblem.

A leader said the party is considering changing the logo as part of efforts to reshape its image in what it calls a “new Bangladesh” after the July uprising.

The new design features a rising sun, a pen and a balance scale placed on an open book against a green background.

Photographs released by the party show the emblem displayed at the meetings between Shafiqur, Spanish Ambassador Gabriel Sistiaga Ochoa de Chinchetru, and a delegation of the European Union Election Observation Mission at his residence in the capital’s Bashundhara Residential Area.

Contacted, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said the change was still under discussion. “The change has not been finalised. Several designs have been made, and that one is among them. Once it is final, we will announce it,” he said.

Leaders said the party has changed its name and logo before, most recently in June 2016. After the change, the logo carried just the word “Bangladesh” written on a red portion and “Jamaat-e-Islami” on green.

Previously, the widely used logo had carried the electoral symbol -- scale -- the Arabic word “Aakimuddin” (establish Islam), along with “Allah” in calligraphy.

Jamaat rarely uses the red and green version even for official purposes, often reverting to the older logo with the calligraphy in programmes and documents.

Its electoral symbol -- the balance scale -- was dropped from the Election Commission’s list of symbols in March 2017 after the Supreme Court reserved it exclusively for the judiciary. But in June this year, Jamaat’s registration and the scale symbol were reinstated following an Appellate Division verdict.

Explaining the latest move, Ehsanul said, “The previous logo has become quite old. That’s why there is a proposal for a new design. We are trying to reshape everything with a new look in a new Bangladesh. This initiative is part of that effort.”