MOVE Foundation

MOVE-Islamic Book Publishers dialogue session held   MOVE Foundation has organized a dialogue session on 1^st August (Wednesday) titled “Role of Islamic Book Publishers in PVE”. The session was attended by some of the leading Islamic book publishers of the country, as well as a number of writers, journalists, law enforcement personnel and educationists.   The dialogue session, held at the MOVE office, was moderated by Mr. ABM Rashedul Hasan, Vice Chancellor (VC) of EXIM Bank Agricultural University and presided over by Mr. Saiful Haque Tushar, President of MOVE Foundation. Mr. Abdul Mannan, Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, was also present there as a Special Guest. A number of significant proposals were tabled at the dialogue session by Mawlana Miraj Rahman, Feature Editor of Dainik Bangladesher Khobor, Mawlana Mahmudul Hasan of Rahnuma Publications, Shahadat Bin Shamsujjaman of Maktabatut Takwa, Rokomari.com’s Coordinator Abdul Malek and Ehsanul Haque, representative of Sian Publications, Masud Sharif among others.   The session highlighted some pressing issues concerning Islamic publication industry, including the method of selecting Islamic books and authors, editorial policies, compliance of the published material with government guidelines, process of identifying extremist elements in the literature, awareness and accountabilities of contemporary publishers etc. The mainstream Islamic book publishers present at the session asserted that when it comes to selecting books, they maintain a fair amount of caution. They always refrain from publishing extremist literature and strictly discourage it. Rather, the mainstream Islamic book publishers have been victimized because of the those who publish books containing falsified Islamic interpretations and misleading information. They also criticized the practice of labelling every book retrieved from terrorist shelters as ‘Jihadi book’ by police, only from judging the cover and without proper review or investigation. At the same time, they recommended monitoring the run-of-the-mill printing presses who primarily print leaflets and booklets without reviewing the content. VC Mr. Rashedul Hasan said that the mainstream publishers must step in to stop the spread of lie and misinformation regarding Islam. Laws and regulations alone cannot stop the propagation of radicalization. Strengthening the bond within communities is quite necessary to handle this issue.   In his speech as the Special Guest, ADC of CTTC Mr. Abdul Mannan said that we need to raise our voice against those who try to create instabilities in the society. It would be easier for the Police to take actions against the culprits, if the publishers who are carrying out their activities legally and lawfully become united in contributing to stop the spread of extremist ideologies. He also added that there is inadequacy in circulating the correct religious explanations that oppose violent extremist ideologies. There is no alternative to a collaborative effort from Islamic book publishers, authors and concerned citizens in this regard. General Secretary of Baitul Mukarram Pustak Biponi Shomiti Mawlana Md. Sirajul Haque said the community of the Islamic book publishers in Bangladesh used to be relatively small, which has expanded substantially at present. As a result, the spread of misinformation and confusion have increased. Raising awareness is the only way to get over this confusing situation.   Owner of Guardian Publications Mr. Noor Mohammad Abu Taher said, it cannot be denied that the situation has become critical, but the publishers alone are not responsible for this. Often ordinary Islamic books are portrayed as radical books in the media. As a result, our publications become affected. We are not even allotted any space at the book fair of Bangla Academy because of being publishers of Islamic books. He urged the concerned authorities to take necessary steps in this regard. In the closing speech, Saiful Haque, said it is necessary to create new policies for the translated books and publishing industry considering the global scenario and contemporary issues. Additionally, perpetrators are taking advantage of the situation regarding discrepancies in the interpretations of Islamic texts and the absence of an established authority composed of reputed Islamic scholars to edit these written contents. Then again, the law enforcement agencies do not have a proper assessment tool to select and distinguish between the Islamic books and extremist books. MOVE Foundation will continue working on bringing these issues to the attention of authorities through regularly consulting with the publishers.