Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
The authorities of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Muinul Islam, popularly known as Hathazari Madrasa alias Boro Madrasa, torched over 700 mobile phone sets of students at Hathazari in Chittagong on Sunday night.
The Qaumi education-based hardline Islamic madrasa confiscated several hundred mobile phones and burnt those in a bonfire on Sunday night saying they were distracting students from their learning, reports our local correspondent quoting Azizul Hoque, a spokesman for the madrasa.
He said that the authorities had taken the decision as per the instruction of the Hifazat-e-Islam Chief Shah Ahmed Shafi.
Mufti Jasim Uddin, the Superintendent of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam, told The New Nation on Tuesday that the residential students of the madrasa were not allowed to use mobile phones.
“We seize mobile phones, especially the ones that play music and videos, from the residential students during admission every year,” he said, skirting a query as to whether they have destroyed the phones.
Some students, requesting anonymity, said the authorities seized and burnt two sacks full of around 700 seized handsets on Sunday night.
Earlier, students of the madrasa were ordered to hand over their cell phones on Sunday to the school administrator who then tossed the devices en masse into a fire in a nearby field, sources said.
“These devices are ruining the students character, they use internet (on their phones) throughout the night and then doze during classes the next morning. Their parents are also concerned,” the Superintendent of the madrasa said.
“A 123-year-old institution with 14,000 registered students, is not against technology, but the negative results of mobile phones far outweigh its positives,” he said.
The Superintendent said, “We are flooded with letters seeking fatwas (Islamic edicts) from Muslims against the use of mobile phones, as many complained that the gadgets were frequently used for extramarital affairs.”
The Hathazari madrasa, situarted outside the port city of Chittagong, is headed by Ahmad Shafi, the head of hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam.
As per the government decision, more than one thousand students of Qaumi educational institutes have been recommended for government jobs. A notice of the concerned ministry was issued in this connection on Tuesday.
The authorities of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Muinul Islam, popularly known as Hathazari Madrasa alias Boro Madrasa, torched over 700 mobile phone sets of students at Hathazari in Chittagong on Sunday night.
The Qaumi education-based hardline Islamic madrasa confiscated several hundred mobile phones and burnt those in a bonfire on Sunday night saying they were distracting students from their learning, reports our local correspondent quoting Azizul Hoque, a spokesman for the madrasa.
He said that the authorities had taken the decision as per the instruction of the Hifazat-e-Islam Chief Shah Ahmed Shafi.
Mufti Jasim Uddin, the Superintendent of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam, told The New Nation on Tuesday that the residential students of the madrasa were not allowed to use mobile phones.
“We seize mobile phones, especially the ones that play music and videos, from the residential students during admission every year,” he said, skirting a query as to whether they have destroyed the phones.
Some students, requesting anonymity, said the authorities seized and burnt two sacks full of around 700 seized handsets on Sunday night.
Earlier, students of the madrasa were ordered to hand over their cell phones on Sunday to the school administrator who then tossed the devices en masse into a fire in a nearby field, sources said.
“These devices are ruining the students character, they use internet (on their phones) throughout the night and then doze during classes the next morning. Their parents are also concerned,” the Superintendent of the madrasa said.
“A 123-year-old institution with 14,000 registered students, is not against technology, but the negative results of mobile phones far outweigh its positives,” he said.
The Superintendent said, “We are flooded with letters seeking fatwas (Islamic edicts) from Muslims against the use of mobile phones, as many complained that the gadgets were frequently used for extramarital affairs.”
The Hathazari madrasa, situarted outside the port city of Chittagong, is headed by Ahmad Shafi, the head of hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam.
As per the government decision, more than one thousand students of Qaumi educational institutes have been recommended for government jobs. A notice of the concerned ministry was issued in this connection on Tuesday.
