Motiur Rahman Nizami ( bn, মতিউর রহমান নিজামী, links=no; 31 March 1943 – 11 May 2016) was a politician, former Minister of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, Islamic scholar, writer, and the former leader of the

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামী, Bānglādēsh Jāmāyatē Islāmī, Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, or Jamaat for short, was ...

. He is noted for leading the terror squad

Al-Badr Al Badr is a village in Mecca Province, in western Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it ...

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. On 29 October 2014, he was convicted of masterminding the Demra massacre by the International Crimes Tribunal of

. Nizami was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the

Pabna-1 Pabna-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2008 by Shamsul Hoque Tuku of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Santhia Upazila, Bera Municipality, and four union ...

constituency from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. He also served as the Bangladeshi Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Industry. While various political entities and international organizations had originally welcomed the trials, in November 2011

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

criticized the government for aspects of their progress, lack of transparency, and reported harassment of defense lawyers and witnesses representing the accused. Nizami was the last high-profile suspect to be tried for war crimes of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide; the court delayed his verdict in June 2014 because of the state of his health."Bangladesh war crimes: verdict on Jamaat-e- Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami deferred"
''

DNA India ''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of ne ...

'', 24 June 2014 In 2004, Nizami was convicted under separate charges for

arms trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

to the state of

Assam, India Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and was sentenced to death, along with 13 other men in January 2014. On 29 October 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in masterminding the Demra massacre, in which 800–900 unarmed

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

civilians were killed after the women were raped. He was executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

at Dhaka Central Jail on 11 May 2016. He is the third minister of Bangladesh to be hanged. He was frequently listed on ''

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

''.

Early life and education

Nizami was born on 31 March 1943 in the village of Monmothpur of Santhia Upazila at

Pabna Pabna ( bn, পাবনা) is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the histo ...

. His father was Lutfur Rahman Khan. He completed his secondary education at a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

. In 1963, he received his Kamil degree in

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ex ...

from Madrasa-e-Alia in Dhaka. He earned his bachelor's from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

in 1967.

Political career

Nizami rose in the ranks of the

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

branch of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in the 1960s, having led the student organization, Islamic Chhatro Shango (now Islami Chhatro Shibir). After the independence of Bangladesh,

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

, the first president, banned Jamaat from political participation as it had opposed the liberation war, and many of its members collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the conflict. Nizami and some other top leaders left the country. After the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

by military officers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975,

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup ...

became president in a coup in 1977. He permitted top Jamaat leaders, such as

Ghulam Azam Ghulam Azam ( bn, গোলাম আযম; 7 November 192223 October 2014) was a Bangladeshi Islamist politician. He was the former leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh. Azam was arrested b ...

and Nizami, to return to Bangladesh in 1978; they revived the Jamaat party, which became the largest Islamist party in the country. Nizami emerged as a key leader of the Jamaat, organising the

Islami Chhatra Shibir Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ইসলামী ছাত্রশিবির), is an Islamic student organization based in Bangladesh. It was established on 15 February 1996. The organisation is generally under ...

(Jammat Students Organisation), which serves as the youth wing of the Jamaat. In 1991, he was elected as a

, representing Jamaat-e-Islami for the constituency of

; he was Jamaat's Parliamentary Party leader until 1994.Biography
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. During the 1996 elections, he lost to the candidates of both the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

(BNP), an ally of Jamaat, and the

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

in his constituency. Professor Abu Sayed of the Awami League gained his seat. In 1971, Nizami was a chief of the infamous

militia. Along with the Pakistan Army, this militia abducted and massacred 989 Bengali intellectuals including professors, journalists, litterateurs, doctors and pro-Bangladesh activists in general.

Leader of Jamaat-e-Islami

Nizami took over as the leader of Jamaat from Ghulam Azam in 2001."Prof. Ghulam Azam Retires"
''Islamic Voice,'' December 2006. In the same year, representing his party as part of a four-party alliance including BNP, Nizami won a seat in Parliament in

, receiving 57.68% of the votes. From 2001 to 2003, he served as the Minister of Agriculture, then as the Minister of Industry from 2003 to 2006. Nizami was defeated in the December 2008 general election as a candidate of the Four-Party Alliance, losing his seat for Pabna-1 to Md. Shamsul Haque of the

. Nizami received 45.6% of the votes. The Awami League took two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.

Controversies

Allegations of corruption

In May 2008, the Anti-corruption Commission of Bangladesh indicted Nizami in the GATCO Corruption case, in which he along with several other politicians were alleged to have illegally granted a container-depot contract to the local firm GATCO."Bangladesh orders arrest of Islamist party chief"
Reuters, 15 May 2008. A warrant was issued to arrest Nizami along with 12 others on 15 May 2008. Nizami was charged with conspiring with 12 other politicians to award the contract to GATCO although the company did not meet the conditions of the tender. The prosecution alleged that the deal with GATCO caused a total loss of more than 100 million Bangladeshi Taka to the Government. Nizami denied the charges and said they were politically motivated. He was released after two months on bail.

Blasphemy charges

In a public speech on 17 March 2010, the Dhaka Jamaat chief, Rafiqul Islam, compared Nizami's life to that of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

, persisting in the face of persecution. On 21 March, the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation sued Rafiqul, Nizami and other Jamaat members "for hurting Islamic sentiments of the masses by comparing Nizami with the Prophet". Nizami, along with three other senior Jamaat leaders, was arrested on charges on 29 March 2010. He secured bail the next day and appealed for dismissal of the case on 14 February 2011. The High Court adjourned the case for four months in March 2011.

Smuggling charges

On 4 May 2011, Nizami was arrested on allegations of smuggling arms to Assamese insurgents in India in 2004. His bail petition on 7 September 2011 was denied. On 30 January 2014, Nizami and 13 co-conspirators were sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of smuggling arms.

International Crimes Tribunal

In 2009, the

-led Bangladesh government established a tribunal in Bangladesh to investigate those suspected of committing atrocities during

in 1971. Nizami and eight other leaders of

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fr ...

were charged with war crimes by the prosecution, as were two leaders of the

Bangladesh National Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the majo ...

. Opposition parties and human rights groups alleged political interference in the trial, given that all the accused were leading opposition politicians. Nizami was the last high-profile suspect to be tried for 1971 war crimes; the court delayed his verdict in June 2014 because of the state of his health. On 29 October 2014, it was announced that Nizami had been sentenced to death for war crimes committed during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Death

On 11 May 2016, Nizami was

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

at Dhaka Central Jail, just days after the nation's highest court dismissed his final appeal to overturn the death sentence for atrocities committed during the country's 1971 war. He was hanged just before midnight (1800 GMT) after he refused to seek mercy from the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

. He was executed between 11:50 pm and 12:01 am midnight. He was buried at his family’s home in northern Bangladesh.

Reaction

:Pakistan's foreign office said in statement that "Pakistan is deeply saddened over the hanging of the emir of Jamaat-i-Islami Bangladesh, Mr Motiur Rahman Nizami, for the alleged crimes committed before December 1971. :Turkey condemned execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami and withdrew Turkish Ambassador from Bangladesh.

References

External links

"Martyred Intellectuals: Murdered History: Raising Hopes Only to be Betrayed"
''New Age,'' 15 December 2005
AsiaMedia report
University of California Los Angeles {{DEFAULTSORT:Nizami, Matiur Rahman 1943 births 2016 deaths Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami politicians Bangladeshi people convicted of war crimes Executed Bangladeshi people 21st-century executions by Bangladesh People from Pabna District People executed by Bangladesh by hanging People executed for war crimes 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Industries ministers of Bangladesh Agriculture ministers of Bangladesh 5th Jatiya Sangsad members University of Dhaka alumni Executed politicians Government Madrasah-e-Alia alumni 1971 Bangladesh genocide perpetrators Executed mass murderers