Hefazat-e-Islam Ameer Junaid Babunagari dies

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Ameer Maulana Junaid Babunagari has died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Chittagong. He was 67.

Babunagari suffered a stroke at the Hathazari Madrasa around 11am on Thursday, where the Islamist group is based.

Later he was taken to the CSCR Hospital in the port city where doctors declared him dead around 12:30pm, confirmed Secretary General Nurul Islam Jihadi to Dhaka Tribune.

He left behind one son, five daughters, and a host of relatives and followers to mourn his death.

Babunagari had been suffering from different old age complications including kidney problems and diabetes.

He received Covid-19 vaccine on August 8.

The ambulance carrying the dead body of Hefazat-e-Islam Ameer Junaid Babunagari leaves the CSCR Hospital premises in Chittagong on Thursday, August 19, 2021 | Focus BanglaBabunagari's namaz-e-janaza would be held at the Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam madrasah, popularly known as Hathazari Madrasa, at 11pm Thursday.

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Initially, it was decided that he would be buried next to former Hefazat ameer Shah Ahmad Shafi. But later Hefazat leaders decided to bury him at Babunagar of Fatikchhari.

When contacted, CSCR Hospital Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr Salahuddin Mahmud said: “He [Babunagari] was dead by the time he was brought to the hospital at around 12:15pm. We officially declared him dead at 12:30pm.”

State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan expressed deep sorrow at the death of Babunagari.

In a condolence message, he prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family, said a press release.

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Babunagari.

Students, teachers of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Madrasa gather on its premises in Hathazari, Chittagong following the news of the death of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Ameer Maulana Junaid Babunagari on Thursday, August 19, 2021 | Dhaka Tribune

In a condolence message, the senior BNP leader said: “He [Babunagari], being an Islamic thinker and scholar, was respected by all. He was always vocal in for justice and fairness.”

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Babungari was born on October 8, 1953, in an aristocratic Muslim family in the Babungar village under Fatikchhari police station in Chittagong. 

He got admission to the Al Jamiatul Islamia Azizul Uloom Babunagar Madrasa at the age of five. He then continued his studies at the Hathazari Madrasa in Chittagong. 

Babunagari completed his higher education in Pakistan.

He returned to Bangladesh in 1978 and joined Babunagar Madrasa as a teacher.

The Islamic preacher took the helm of Hefazat-e-Islam in November, 2020, after the death of Allama Shafi, the first ameer and supreme leader of the organization on September 18, 2020.