The authorities concerned are getting prepared to monitor waz (religious speech) and “Khutba” (sermon) before and after Jumma prayers on Fridays. The monitoring will begin on July 15, officials said.
The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order at a meeting on Sunday decided to monitor Khutbas and speeches during Jumma prayers throughout the country. The decision was taken to check the activities that could inspire militancy. According to Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, Jumma prayers are being offered at about 2.50 lakh mosques across the country.”For monitoring waz and Khutbas at the mosques on Fridays, the authorities would involve general people, social and political workers and the staff of Islamic Foundation,” Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, also president of the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, told BSS. The minister said the law-enforcement agencies would also remain on duty to ensure security and check any untoward incidents during the Jumma prayers while members of the detective branch would be a part of the coordinated efforts of monitoring.
The minister requested the imams to deliver lectures in line with the Islamic ideology that denounces terrorism and extremism. Islamic Foundation Bangladesh Director General Sameem Mohammad Afzal told BSS that the Foundation with its 70 thousand staff and cooperation from general people and the law-enforcement agencies would be able to monitor the speeches and Khutbas.
The government has already opened a monitoring cell to receive complaints and take necessary actions to check the activities that are considered provocative.
