Mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

Abdus Sattar Akon (1929 – 6 February 2012) was a teacher, politician and former leader of the

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh. The origin of the party can be traced back to the original faction founded by Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi in 1941. The predecessor of Jamaat which is known as Ja ...

. He was a member of parliament for

Bagerhat-4 Bagerhat-4 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh from 2024 by HM Badiuzzaman Sohag of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Morrelganj, and Sarankhola Sarankhola is a ''mau ...

Early life and background

Akon was born in 1929, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

family in the village of Chalitabunia in Khaulia Union, Morrelganj,

Bagerhat Bagerhat is a city in southern Bangladesh and the headquarters of Bagerhat district. Located on the banks of the Bhairab river, Bagerhat has a population of around 50,000. It is located near the old city of Khalifatabad The Mosque City of Bag ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His father was Alimuddin Akon. Akon first began his education at the Amtali Madrasa in Morrelganj and then at the Tumchar Madrasa in

Lakshmipur Lakshmipur () is a city and headquarter of Lakshmipur District in the Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Lakshmipur had 17,009 households and a population of 83,112. 18,345 (22.07%) were u ...

. He then proceeded to study at the Sarsina Dar us-Sunnat Kamil Madrasa in Nesarabad, Firozpur.

Career

Akon began his career as an

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

teacher. He served as the principal of Bagerhat Alia Madrasa, Nesaria Alia Madrasa in Khulna and Chuadanga Alia Madrasa. In 1969, he became the leader of

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP), is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist political party. It is the Pakistani successor to Jamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in colonial India in 1941. JIP is a "vanguard party", whose members are intended to be leade ...

Bakerganj District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast delta of t ...

branch and was later promoted to become the leader of the party's

Khulna Division Khulna Division () is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 17,416,645 at the 2022 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and largest city is Khulna city in Khulna Dist ...

branch in 1970. He had also served as the leader for the party's

Bagerhat District Bagerhat District () is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. Geography Bagerhat district has a total area of 44,959.11 square kilometres. It is bounded by Gopalganj District and Narail District on the north, ...

branch and was a member of

's central

Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

. During the

1991 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 27 February 1991. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) emerged as the largest party in parliament, winning 140 of the 300 directly elected seats. The BNP formed a government with the support of Jamaa ...

s, Akon represented the party as a candidate for the

constituency and was successful. He was elected to parliament for a second-term in the

2001 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 1 October 2001. The 300 seats of the Jatiya Sangsad were contested by 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and 484 independents. The elections were the second to be held under the caretaker govern ...

Death and legacy

On 6 February 2012, Akon died as a result of illness at

Ibn Sina hospital Ibn Sina Hospital is a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq which was opened by four Iraqi doctors – Modafar Al Shather, Kadim Shubar, Kasim Abdul Majeed and Clement Serkis – in 1964. It was purchased for a fraction of its true value by the Iraqi governm ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, Bangladesh. Two days later, his funeral occurred and he was buried at his family graveyard. He left behind three sons and seven daughters.

References

1929 births 2012 deaths People from Bagerhat District Politicians from Khulna Division Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami politicians 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Muftis Jamaat-e-Islami East Pakistan politicians {{Khulna-politician-stub