Highlighting “misinformation” regarding Bangladesh’s uprising, Information Advisor Nahid Islam referred to reports by two Indian media outlets. According to him, if Islamic extremism rises in Bangladesh, it becomes beneficial for extremists in India. From this perspective, this misinformation campaign may have been initiated.
Nahid Islam made these remarks today, Sunday, at a seminar titled “The Cross-Border Spread of Misinformation in South Asia,” held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. He condemned and protested reports published by two Indian newspapers about Mahfuz Alam, the special assistant to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the interim government.
Referring to various types of propaganda, Nahid Islam said, “Recently, a controversy has been created about one of the key figures in our movement, Mahfuz Alam. Without any evidence, the Indian newspaper The Economic Times identified him as a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. We saw the same tone reflected in Anandabazar Patrika. Taslima Nasrin is also speaking in the same tune. There seems to be an effort to establish this narrative in the international arena.”
The Economic Times published a report on September 11 about the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh, claiming that Mahfuz Alam is loyal to the group. Following the Chief Advisor’s trip to the United States, Anandabazar Patrika, a West Bengal-based Indian newspaper, also published a report accusing Mahfuz Alam of links with Hizb ut-Tahrir.
However, Mahfuz Alam has previously clarified that he is not associated with Hizb ut-Tahrir or Jamaat-e-Islami. In a Facebook post on September 14, he wrote, “There is a smear campaign going on against me. Particularly Indian media and the propaganda cells of Bangladesh’s Awami League are accusing me of being involved in Islamist or militant politics, especially with Hizb ut-Tahrir. I was not involved!”
In the post, Mahfuz Alam further wrote that he has always been and remains opposed to the ideology of Hizb ut-Tahrir and other anti-democratic groups. He clarified, “I was not involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir either. I did not participate in their political activities. In my first year of university, they approached me and invited me to participate in their programs, but I did not agree with their ideological goals for Bangladesh.”
During today’s discussion, Advisor Nahid Islam stated that the spread of this misinformation intensified after Mahfuz Alam stood on a global stage with the Chief Advisor and helped give global recognition to the movement.
Nahid Islam emphasized the need to understand the intent behind these efforts, saying, “There is an attempt to link this uprising in Bangladesh with Islamic extremism. It is being portrayed as if a form of extremism is rising in Bangladesh and that the uprising is being carried out by them. This is absolutely false; rather, there is an engineered effort behind it. We know that if Islamic extremism grows in Bangladesh, it aids the extremists in India.”
Nahid Islam also expressed hope that democratic people in India would condemn and protest such actions. He said, “If we want to build a democratic South Asia, we must stand up and speak against this kind of propaganda, misinformation, and false narratives.”
The seminar, organized by the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), also featured speeches by Professor Salimullah Khan and ICT Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury, among others. During the inaugural session, a research paper was presented on the cross-border spread and adaptation of misinformation in various South Asian countries.
