Teary adieu to imam
Manama : A large number of Bahrainis and residents bid a tearful adieu to Shaikh Abduljalil Hmood, the imam of the Bin Sheddah mosque who was brutally murdered by the mosque’s muathen (caller to prayer), a Bangladeshi national, a few days ago. The mourners, who attended the funeral, called for death penalty to the prime accused and the perpetrators who carried out the crime with the help of his accomplices.
“The muathen had made the mosque a hub for his illegal visa trade. This led to the sheikh (Imam) to raise this issue to the Sunni Awqaf (endowments) to show that this man is not fit to be a muathen. He was interrogated and fired last Thursday. On Saturday the imam was found killed,” a source told The Tribune. The imam’s body was found in a scrapyard in Aksar a few days ago.
The head of Muharraq’s prosecution province, Hussein Khamis said that the Bengali suspect had confessed to the crime, explaining that the complaint of the imam to the Awqaf (endowment) administration led to the crime. The Awqaf had decided to terminate his work, giving him time for final settlement to return to his country, Khamis said, adding that the man used an iron rod to kill the imam.
He hid the rod in the mosque courtyard for the right opportunity to carry out his crime. The crime has shaken the Bahraini society, prompting Sheikh Dr Rashid bin Mohammed Al-Hajri, Chairman of the Sunni Awqaf Council, to put an end to appointing foreigners in these positions and open doors to nationals to carry out the functions of the Imams and muathens.
Bangladeshi community condemns murder
TDT| Harpreet Kaur
The Bangladeshi community in the Kingdom has condemned the brutal killing of the imam, taking a firm stance against the injustice hoping the incident doesn’t create a wave of xenophobia. “The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh expresses deep shock at the brutal, gruesome killing of the Imam of Muharraq mosque, Shaikh Abduljalil Hmood,” the The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh said in a statement.
“The Embassy condemns this horrendous and inhumane act of crime in the strongest possible terms. The killer should be given exemplary punishment. The Embassy would like to convey its deepest condolences to the bereaved family members of late Imam Shaikh Abduljalil Hmood. May Almighty Allah give them mental strength to bear this irreparable loss,” the embassy said.
“I have been in the Kingdom for ten years now. Just like the others the news has come as a shock to us too. It is extremely brutal and I can’t imagine anyone being so heartless. It’s very unfortunate, most of us have come here for a better life and support our families. I am not the same person as the person who is accused of killing the Imam, similarly, all the Bangladeshi community in the Kingdom is not bad. There are good and bad people both in the world and we hope that people won’t generalise us based on one incident,” said Mohammad Kaykobad Ovi, a Bangladeshi national.
“I feel ashamed when an incident like this happens, you can’t blame an entire community for an individual act. Of course, there should be harsh punishment for such cases. Blaming an entire community won’t do any good for any of us. It disregards the rest of the good and hard working people that have been part of Bahrain for a long time. Many of us consider Bahrain as our home especially those who are born and raised here and we are proud and lucky to have been born in such a wonderful country. People who commit such crimes are the black sheep of our community. Time and again such people and acts have hurt and degraded our image. Although our community is not known for achieving great things many of us are indeed trying their level best and working hard to live a peaceful life. As people know most of the Bangladeshi nationals here are labour class who work hard day and night to meet ends meet and support their family back home,” said Salman Yousuf, another Bangladeshi national.
“There are a lot of Bangladeshis in Bahrain who is against violence. It is a very unfortunate incident but it’s solely based on an individual’s actions. We can never generalize the entire community for an individual’s actions where an individual’s actions are his own alone. Generalizing the entire community will be unfair to the community,” said Hassan Gazi, another Bangladeshi national.
Related Posts