A section of madrasa teachers and guardians have demanded that the upcoming Durga Puja holiday in madrasas be cancelled, describing it as “irrelevant” and “against Sharia”.
Educational institutions across Bangladesh, including madrasas, are scheduled to remain closed during the Hindu festival in October. However, in a written petition submitted to the office of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday (September 24), the group urged the government to withdraw the two-day Puja break for madrasas.
The petition stated: “The previous government imposed many anti-Islamic decisions on the Aliya madrasa system. One of them was enforcing holidays for religious events of other faiths. This is completely contrary to Islamic Sharia. While we respect the rights of people of other religions to observe their festivals, there are no students of other faiths in madrasas. Therefore, such holidays are irrelevant.”
The petition, signed by Al-Farooq Cadet Madrasa head teacher Md Anwar Hossain along with guardian representatives Jubayer Ahmed and Sheikh Sa’d bin Jahan, cited several large Aliya madrasas including Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrasa and Darunnajat Siddiquia Kamil Madrasa where, they argued, “not a single non-Muslim student is enrolled among thousands”.
It further suggested that if any madrasa teacher belongs to another faith, they should be entitled to their own religious leave, but that such provisions should not apply to all students.
Speaking to Jago News, Anwar Hossain said: “We will launch a movement if necessary with this demand. Where there are no students of different religions in the madrasa, what will happen by giving holidays? We think it is against Sharia.”
The demand has already spilled onto the streets. Teachers, students and guardians from several madrasas held a human chain protest in front of the National Press Club on Wednesday afternoon, iterating their call for cancellation.
At the rally, participants insisted that religious holidays for other communities should not apply to madrasa education, as Aliya madrasas are exclusively attended by Muslim students.
The move is likely to stir debate in Bangladesh’s religiously diverse society, where public institutions traditionally observe holidays for major festivals of different faiths as a symbol of communal harmony.