Jamaat-e-Islami leader urges supporters to use violence to end ‘heathen Western civilization’

In 2005, Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali addressed an assembly of Islami Chhatra Shibir, Jamaat’s “student wing,” during which he predicted the re-establishment of an Islamist Caliphate (Khilafat Ala Minhaj e Nabuwat) and called on Chhatra Shibir members to be frontline soldiers in bringing about the end of “heathen Western civilization.”

During his speech, Mr. Quasem Ali makes clear his support for violent jihad when he instructs the audience that “slogans with tabiz or du’a don’t defeat a civilization.” Instead, Mr. Quasem Ali explains, Muslims must defeat Western civilization “in the same way Allah’s messenger did in Ta’if, Badar, and Uhud.”

Tabiz are small amulets containing Quranic verses, and du’a is a form of supplication, whereas Ta’if, Badar, and Uhud are all considered important battle victories in early Islamic history. Mr. Quasem Ali is telling his audience that their goal of establishing an Islamist Caliphate cannot be met through peaceful means, but requires the use of violent force. He then urges them “to be the victorious soldiers of this new civilization.”

In this speech, Mr. Quasem Ali echoes similar statements from his colleagues in Pakistan. Earlier this year, Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami leader Sirajul Haq prayed “for strength and power to be able to enforce Shariah in the world,” and in August wrote an op-ed in which he reminded readers that “the main object of the politics of the JI is to implement Shariah,” and lauded Jamaat-e-Islami’s “important role in jihad of Afghanistan and Kashmir.”

Despite the efforts of their advocates in Washington and London to portray Jamaat-e-Islami as a moderate, democratic political party, Jamaat’s leaders continue to espouse a radical Islamist ideology and exhort their followers to engage in violent jihad to achieve their political aims.