Discussion and criticism have erupted on social media after Sarjis Alam, chief coordinator of NCP’s northern region, chanted slogans at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet following Taraweeh prayers on Wednesday night.
A video circulating on social media shows Sarjis Alam repeatedly chanting slogans, with thousands of people joining in. Many Facebook users have expressed anger, claiming that the sanctity of the historic Shahjalal shrine was compromised.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Nazim Uddin Shahan, joint convener of NCP in Sylhet district, said a large number of Gen-Z youths had gathered in the shrine courtyard after Taraweeh prayers. According to him, they were chanting various slogans demanding justice for Hadi’s killing, and Sarjis Alam later joined them.
He added that during BNP Chairman and current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to Sylhet, some supporters had also chanted slogans such as “Dulabhai, Dulabhai” inside the shrine during his ziarat, describing such incidents as emotional expressions. Shahan further called for a ban on alcohol and cannabis in the shrine area to restore its sanctity and solemnity.
Witnesses said the NCP’s Sylhet district and metropolitan units organized a divisional iftar gathering on Wednesday. The party’s convener and MP Nahid Islam, Chief Coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwary, and North Zone Chief Organizer Sarjis Alam attended the event. They later offered Taraweeh prayers at the shrine mosque of Hazrat Shahjalal.
After the prayers, as central NCP leaders were leaving, several thousand people present at the shrine began chanting slogans. Nahid Islam and Nasir Uddin Patwary left the shrine premises amid the chanting. However, at one stage Sarjis Alam stood on the roof of the women’s prayer area inside the shrine complex and led the slogans, with thousands joining him.
Among the slogans chanted were: “Inquilab Zindabad”, “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar”, “Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka”, “No collaboration, only street movement”, “No compromise, only struggle”, “No slavery, only freedom”, “We have given blood, we will give more”, “In a flood of blood, injustice will be swept away”, “We will fight through the ages, we will all become Hadi”, and “Who are you, who am I? Hadi, Hadi”.
Abdul Karim Chowdhury (Kim), coordinator of Sangkhubdho Nagarik Andolon Sylhet, shared the video on Facebook and wrote: “No political party has ever raised partisan slogans in the shrine area during a visit to the mazar of Sultanul Bangal Hazrat Shahjalal. What the NCP leaders did last night in the name of ziarat is against the etiquette of a Sufi shrine. Standing atop the women’s prayer area, Sarjis Alam chanted ‘Delhi or Dhaka’. I am outraged by this conduct.”
In another video message shared on Thursday afternoon, he said the people of Sylhet — regarded as the spiritual capital — were angered by the incident, adding that the shrine has established rules and decorum which were not respected.
Mahathab Shah Fakir wrote on Facebook: “Those who cannot distinguish between a place of prayer and a platform for slogans — how will they govern a country? Sylhet is the capital of spirituality. It carries the legacy of saints. Here, etiquette comes before emotion. Preserving the dignity of sacred places is everyone’s moral responsibility.”
Another user, Moinul Hossain Monowar, wrote: “The Awami League and BNP have ruled Bangladesh for most of the time, yet they never created such an incident in the sacred premises of Hazrat Shahjalal’s shrine under the guise of political programmes. Mosques and shrines are not venues for political activities. What ignorance is this? I strongly condemn and protest.”
At the iftar gathering, Sarjis Alam alleged that engineering had taken place in some constituencies during the national election, but said they had accepted the results in the national interest. He warned that if anyone attempted to influence or rig elections in city corporations, municipalities, upazilas or union parishads, they would resist such “black hands”.
He further said: “During Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, partisan elements in offices kept people intimidated. We do not want to see that Bangladesh again. If you give shelter to proven accomplices of fascism or those who opposed the July uprising, you yourselves will ultimately fall into that trap.”
