Abdul Mannan (died 6 February 2006) was a Bangladeshi religious leader and journalist who served as the minister for religious affairs in the cabinet of

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

. He was accused of being a collaborator of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and was accused of war crimes during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

Political career

Mannan was a general secretary of the Islamic Advisory Council and Regional Council during the administration of

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

Controversies

On 29 September, under the leadership of Mannan, a group of the teachers of

Madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

met Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi. At that meeting, Mannan gave a copy of the Quran to general Niazi and stated that they are ready to support the Pakistan army to preserve the security of Pakistan and the glory of Islam. Mannan was allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of physician AFM Alim Chowdhury.

After 1971

After independence, he became the president of the Jamiat-e-Mudarressin Bangladesh, an organisation of madrasah teachers and the founder of the ''

Daily Inqilab ''The Daily Inqilab'' () is a major daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka in the Bengali language. It was founded by Maulana MA Mannan, on June 4, 1986. Its main slogan is ‘Only for the country and the people’. History In ...

'', one of the country's highly circulated newspapers. In ''Saptahik Bichitra'' (a weekly magazine), Mannan denied that he had been a member of Peace Committee and claimed that he had not issued any statement in favor of

and the genocide committed by them. In 1979, he was elected a lawmaker from Chandpur and was appointed minister by President

's cabinet.

Trial and release

Hotel Intercontinental and Holy Family Hospital was declared neutral zones by the government on 11 December 1971. Mannan took shelter in one of these zones. In a report released in March 1994, a People's Inquiry Commission, identified, in addition to

Ghulam Azam Ghulam Azam (7 November 192223 October 2014) was Bangladeshi politician and writer who served as Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He was vocal in gaining support for Operation Searchlight, a crackdown o ...

, eight others as the collaborators of the

Al-Badr The Al-Badr (; ; ) was an East Pakistani militia composed mainly of pro-Pakistan people, which operated in East Pakistan against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh War of Independence, under the patronage of the Governmen ...

in the atrocities. Mannan was one of those identified collaborators.

Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury (born 22 April 1942) is a Bangladeshi educationist. She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2001 by the Government of Bangladesh. Career Chowdhury joined the Udayan School on February 15, 1966. She later became the principal o ...

, wife of AFM Alim Chowdhury, alleges that Mannan was responsible for the death of her husband.

Death

Mannan died on 6 February 2006 at his Banani residence in Dhaka. His funeral was held at the Gausul Azam Mosque Complex in

Mohakhali Mohakhali () is a neighborhood of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. Mohakhali is one of the busiest places in Dhaka city. Mohakhali is bounded by Banani (neighbourhood), Banani in the north, Tejgaon Industrial Area Thana, Tejgoan area in the ...

the next day where he was buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannan, Abdul 2006 deaths People from Faridganj Upazila Politicians from Chittagong Division Ministers of religious affairs of Bangladesh 2nd Jatiya Sangsad members 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members 4th Jatiya Sangsad members