Indian news outlet falsely claims Jamaat declared terrorist organization
A Facebook handle of the India-based news media outlet Zee News recently claimed that the Bangladesh government has declared Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing as terrorist organizations. However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found that the claim is not true; the Government of Bangladesh has issued no such declaration banning the party.
On August 2, a photo card was posted from the verified Facebook page Zee News English. The caption of the post reads, “The Bangladesh government has designated Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir as banned entities under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act. Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization in Bangladesh have been declared terrorist organizations.” The post noted that this decision was issued through a government gazette notification.
Zee News wrote, “The action places Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir and related organisations under the category of prohibited groups. The move comes amid ongoing political developments in Bangladesh, with the government stating that the decision was based on security assessments and concerns related to alleged involvement in disruptive activities.”
As of the publication of this report, the post had been shared more than a hundred times.
Approximately two and a half hours later, the same post with the same claim was made from the verified Facebook and Instagram accounts of the India-based news media outlet DNA India. The photo card in this post read, “Terrorism Tag on Jamaat. Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization declared terrorist organizations.” One person commented on the post, “A Jamaat has already arrived here to spread hatred against our nation.”
However, no news regarding the recent banning of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization in Bangladesh could be found in the mainstream media. It should be noted, however, that on August 1, 2024, the then-Awami League government had issued a gazette notification banning Jamaat-e-Islami and all its affiliated organizations, including Chhatra Shibir, as political parties and organizations under the anti-terrorism law. Following the fall of the Awami League government in the mass uprising, the Home Ministry issued a notification withdrawing that decision on August 28 of the same year.
The notification stated, “‘Since no specific information or evidence has been found regarding the involvement of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization, Islami Chhatrashibir, along with all its affiliated organizations, in terrorism and violence; and since the government believes that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organization, Islami Chhatrashibir, along with all its affiliated organizations, are not involved in terrorist activities’ — the notification concerning the party’s declaration as banned is hereby annulled.”
All social media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.
