Abdul Mannan (politician, born 1935)

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Abdul Mannan
আবদুল মান্নান
Minister of Religious Affairs
In office
1986 – 14 June 1988[1]
Member of Parliament
for
In office
2 April 1979 – 24 March 1982
Preceded byMizanur Rahman Chowdhury[3]
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Parliament
for Chandpur-6
In office
10 July 1986 – 6 December 1990
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byAlamgir Hyder Khan[4]
Personal details
Died (aged 71)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi

Abdul Mannan (died 6 February 2006)[5] was a Bangladeshi religious leader and journalist who served as the Minister for Religious Affairs in the cabinet of Hussain Muhammad Ershad. He was a key collaborator of the Pakistani Army and was accused of war crimes during the Liberation war of Bangladesh.[6]

Political career[edit]

Mannan was a general secretary of the Islamic Advisory Council and Regional Council during the administration of Ayub Khan.

Opposition to the independence of Bangladesh[edit]

On 29 September, under the leadership of Mannan, a group of the teachers of Madrasah met Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi. At that meeting, Mannan gave a copy of the Quran to general Niazi and stated that they are ready to support the Pakistan army to preserve the security of Pakistan and the glory of Islam.[7]

Mannan was allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of physician AFM Alim Chowdhury.[8]

After 1971[edit]

After independence, he became the president of the Jamiat-e- Mudarressin Bangladesh, an organisation of madrasah teachers and the founder of the Daily Inqilab, one of the country's highly circulated newspapers.[5][9] In Saptahik Bichitra (a weekly magazine), Mannan denied that he had been a member of Peace committee and claimed that he had not issued any statement in favor of Pakistan Army and the genocide committed by them.[7]

In 1979, he was elected a lawmaker from Chandpur and was appointed minister by President Hussain Muhammad Ershad's cabinet.[5][10]

Trial and release[edit]

Hotel Intercontinental and Holy Family Hospital was declared neutral zones by the government on 11 December 1971. Mannan took shelter in one of these zones.[11]

In a report released in March 1994, a People's Inquiry Commission, identified, in addition to Ghulam Azam, eight others as the collaborators of the Al-Badr in the atrocities. Mannan was one of those identified collaborators.[10]

Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, wife of the AFM Alim Chowdhury, alleges that Mannan was responsible for the death of her husband.[12]

Death[edit]

Mannan died on 6 February 2006 at his Banani residence in Dhaka. His funeral was held at the Gausul Azam Mosque Complex in Mohakhali the next day where he was buried.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ershad Fires Religion Minister". AP News. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  2. ^ "List of 2nd Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  3. ^ "List of 1st Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  4. ^ "List of 5th Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  5. ^ a b c d "Maulana Mannan no more". The Daily Star. 7 February 2006.
  6. ^ "Inqilab press sealed, 3 arrested". BDNews24. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b Śarīpha, Āhamada (1987). Genocide '71, An Account of the Killers and Collaborators. Dhaka: Muktijuddha Chetana Bikash Kendra. p. 107. OCLC 21593686.
  8. ^ Śarīpha, Āhamada (1987). Genocide '71, An Account of the Killers and Collaborators. Dhaka: Muktijuddha Chetana Bikash Kendra. pp. 108–110. OCLC 21593686.
  9. ^ "President and PM condole death of Maulana Mannan". BDNews24. 5 February 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. ^ a b Raman, B. (23 April 2001). "Bangladesh: A Bengali Abbasi Lurking Somewhere? Paper no. 232". South Asia Analysis Group.
  11. ^ Śarīpha, Āhamada (1987). Genocide '71, An Account of the Killers and Collaborators. Dhaka: Muktijuddha Chetana Bikash Kendra. p. 77. OCLC 21593686.
  12. ^ "Al-Badr Mannan, whom we sheltered killed my husband-Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury". BSS. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.