Muhammad Ishaq (born 1935) is a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician. He is an advisor of

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh () is a Deobandi Islamist advocacy group consisting mostly of religious teachers (''Ulama'') and students in Bangladesh. The group is mainly based on qawmi madrasas in Bangladesh. In 2013, they submitted a 13-point ch ...

and the central advisor and former Ameer of the

Khelafat Majlis Khelafat Majlis () is a far-right Islamist political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh in 1989 by Azizul Haque along with Ahmad Abdul Qadir and former leaders of the National Awami Party and Tamad ...

. He began his political career by joining the

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (, abbreviated as JUI, translated as Assembly of Islamic Clergy) is a Deobandi Sunni Muslim organization that was founded on 26 October 1945 by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani as a pro-Pakistan offshoot of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH ...

and later became the president of the Pabna district branch of the

Nizam-e-Islam Party The Nizam-e-Islam Party (), is a religious-political party in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The party was founded in the city of Kishoreganj in 1952, by the Islamic scholars of erstwhile East Bengal, Pakistan as an offshoot of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Isla ...

. 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 ...

in 1971, Ishaq served as the publicity secretary of the Pabna district branch of the

East Pakistan Central Peace Committee East Pakistan Central Peace Committee was one of several committees formed in East Pakistan in 1971 to aid efforts of Pakistani forces during the Bangladesh War of Independence. Nurul Amin, as a leader of Pakistan Democratic Party, led the for ...

and was the minister of democracy and local autonomy in the last East Pakistan government. After the

independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

, Muhammad Ishaq was imprisoned by the new government for collaborating with Pakistan, but was released in 1973 under a general amnesty. In the 1980s, he became a member of the

Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan () is an Islamist political party in Bangladesh, founded by Hafezzi Huzur after the 1981 Bangladeshi presidential election. Hafezzi Huzur had been a presidential candidate in 1981. He came third, scoring 387,215 vote ...

and the

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis is an Islamist political party in Bangladesh, established on December 8, 1989, through the merger of part of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon and the Islami Jubo Shibir. The organization's primary aim is to establish a gover ...

. Following a split in the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, a faction led by Ishaq formed another political party with a similar name in 2005.

Early life and education

Muhammad Ishaq was born in 1935 in the village of Madhupur in

Pabna District Pabna District () is a district in west central Bangladesh. It is a geographically and economically important district. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. The main five rivers of this district are: Padma, Jamuna, Baral, Atra ...

, located in the northern part of the

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 ...

, British India (now in

Sujanagar Upazila Sujanagar () is an upazila of the Pabna District of northern Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division. It is the home of agriculture across the district, and the Onion Capital of the country. History Sujanagar (lit. ''City of Shuja'') takes its name from th ...

, Bangladesh). He began his political career by joining the

. During his student life, he served as the publicity secretary of the Pabna district branch of the

. In 1956, he became the vice president of East Pakistan Jamiat-e-Talaba-e-Arabia, an Islamic student political platform, and the following year, he passed the Kamil examination from Sirajganj Haji Ahmad Ali Alia Madrasa. Later, in 1962, he completed his post-graduation in Islamic Studies from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

and underwent training in agriculture and civil defense. Muhammad Ishaq served as the principal of Pabna Kamil Alia Madrasa.

Career

He was appointed assistant secretary of the East Provincial Branch of the Pakistan Madrasa Teachers Association. During the

in 1971, he served as president of the Pabna district branch of the Nizam-e-Islam Party and as publicity secretary of the

for the district. In September during the war, he was made a minister in the

Malik ministry The Malik ministry was an interim cabinet formed in East Pakistan, Pakistan's former eastern province, during the Bangladesh War of Independence. This cabinet, characterized as a civilian form of military rule, was established on 17 September 1971 ...

. As minister, he was responsible for the department of democracy and local autonomy in East Pakistan. In the

1971 East Pakistan by-elections Following the victory in the 1970 general elections, the failure to transfer power led to a non-cooperation movement called by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League based in East Pakistan. In response, on 25 March 1971, the Pakist ...

, he was elected unopposed to the constituency of Pabna-12 in the

East Pakistan Provincial Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

. After the

, on 24 December 1971, the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

arrested him on charges of collaborating with Pakistan during the war. On 30 November 1973, he was released following a general amnesty granted by the government. Later, he became a central committee member of the

, founded in 1981 by Islamic scholar

Muhammadullah Hafezzi Muhammadullah Hafezzi (1895 – 6 May 1987), commonly known as Hafezzī Huzūr, was a Bangladeshi politician, Islamic leader and founder of the Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan. He was the first religious figure to stand for the highest state office ...

. Two years after Hafezzi's death, in 1989, a faction of the party joined the newly formed

under the leadership of

Azizul Haque Azizul Haque, () meaning "strong in the truth", is a male Muslim given name. Notable bearers of the name include: * Qazi Azizul Haque (1872–1935), also Khan Bahadur Qazi Azizul Huq, Quazi Syed Azizul Haque, police officer and fingerprint pioneer ...

, where Ishaq served as secretary-general and nayeeb-e-ameer. In 2005, the party experienced a split, and a faction led by Ishaq formed another political party under the name

. He became the Ameer of the new party. In 2020, he became a member of the advisory council of the Islamic organization

. He also retained the same post in 2023. After serving as Ameer of Khelafat Majlish until 2023, Ishaq retired and became the central advisor of the party.

References

{{Hanafi scholars 1935 births Living people Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh advisors Khelafat Majlish Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis politicians Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan politicians Nizam-e-Islam Party politicians Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam politicians Provincial ministers of East Pakistan People of the Bangladesh Liberation War People from Sujanagar Upazila Deobandis 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam University of Dhaka alumni