Attacks on Muhammad Zafar Iqbal

At a ceremony in Dhaka. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal

Muhammad Zafar Iqbal (born December 23, 1952 ) is a Bangladeshi writer, physicist and educator. He is regarded as the pioneer of writing and popularizing scientific fiction in Bangladesh. He is also a popular children's writer and columnist. His writings have been adapted into several novel films. He is currently a professor of computer science and engineering at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and head of the Electrical Strategy Department. During the closing ceremony of a robotic competition at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology at 3 pm on March 27 (3 March 2018), a madrasa student named Faizur was attacked by the audience for attempting to kill him.

Threats of murder and others

• When the mass rally was organized in Shahbag in the capital, demanding the maximum punishment for Jamaat leader Quader Mollah, a criminal against humanity of the Great War of Liberation in 1971, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal was at the forefront of this movement. At that time, militant organizations and militants were threatening to overthrow him. Zafar Iqbal was reported to be on the hit list of the banned militant outfit Ansar Al Islam (then named Ansarullah Bangla Team or ABT) at that time.
• On May 27, several teachers, including Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, were threatened with murder. The killing was threatened in the name of 'Al Qaeda Ansarullah Bangla Team: 13'. There was a threat in the excavation - 'mast you will prepare for the dead'.  In a letter that was then called in the post, the target was a list of five people, including Prime Minister HT Imam, Prof Arefin Siddique, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Kaberi Gaine, Imran H Sarker of the People's Republic and Tarana Halim. At that time, Professor Zafar Iqbal said, "The threat of murder is nothing new to me, so I am not afraid of it." I have received letters like this many times, many times, I have not told anyone, not even my wife.
• On October 24 (Wednesday), Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and his wife Yasmin Haque were threatened with the murder of a cellphone by the militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team. There it was written, 'welcome to our new top list! Your breath may stop at anytime. ABT '. At 2:30 pm on the same date, a message from Muhammad Zafar Iqbal also threatened. It was written, 'Hi Unbeliever! We will strangulate you soon '. On October 1, they made a general diary (GD) at Jalalabad police station in Sylhet city. Police said at the time, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and his wife Yasmin Haq were threatened with a message from 121. The threat was made in the name of militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal also made a GD in that case. Armed police guards were then placed at their residence.
• On August 27, a letter was sent from an organization called Ittehadul Mujahideen threatening to attack the sculptor, along with seven online activists, writers and writers, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. On October 24 (Wednesday), Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and his wife Yasmin Haque were threatened with the murder of a cellphone by the militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team.
• Police recovered a hitlist from a JMB dugout in Bogra on 28 May, where Muhammad Zafar Iqbal's name was found.
• Police recovered a hitlist along with the names of four prominent men of Ansar al-Islam in the area, where Muhammad Zafar Iqbal's name was found.
• On September 27, Zafar Iqbal Shahjalal protested against the Chhatra League's attack on teachers of science and technology universities. In a speech last August, Jafar Iqbal said, "The cause of the Chhatra League will be the Awami League." For this reason, a section of the Chhatra League has been reported angry over Jafar Iqbal.
• June 28, Dr. Zafar Iqbal demanded exemplary punishment, and Awami League and eight other parties held a humanitarian program in front of the National Press Club. The program says, "Atheism is being widely patronized in the label of progressive, intellectual and freeman in this country." Atheists are publicly blaspheming against the religion of Islam everywhere, including online. '
• Sylhet-3 constituency MP Mahmud Samad Chowdhury expressed his anger against Jafar Iqbal. At a meeting, he said, "If I was a big deal, I would have stabbed Jafar Iqbal in the court pote."
• Zafar Iqbal and Yasmin Haq couple were attacked in front of Shahjalal Science and Technology University administrative building. Professor Yasmin Haque was also reported to have fallen to the ground in an attack on Vice-Chancellor-backed students when he joined the protest, which began on April 12. Angry Jafar Iqbal said at the time, "If the students who attacked the teachers here should have died in my throat if they were my students."

March 3 assassination attempt

On Saturday, March 3, 2018, at 5:40 PM, Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal was stabbed at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet. At the time, the closing ceremony of the Robotics Competition of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) Festival was underway at the university’s open stage. According to eyewitnesses, at one point during the event, a commotion broke out. During this, someone attacked the professor’s head.

Immediately after the attack, Zafar Iqbal was taken to Sylhet M.A.G. Osmani Medical College Hospital. There, he was taken into the operating theater where his wounds were cleaned and stitched. He had four blows to the head, believed to be from a metal rod. In addition, he had stab wounds on his left hand and back. Zafar Iqbal received 26 stitches to the head, six to his left hand, and another six to the left side of his back — totaling 38 stitches.

Identity of the attacker

Right after the attack, students and police officers present at the scene apprehended the attacker. The young man was beaten by the crowd and taken to the university’s administrative building. There, university authorities and police officials interrogated him.

According to investigative reports from various newspapers, the assailant who attacked author Zafar Iqbal is named Faizur Rahman, also known as Faizul (24). He is a resident of Sheikhpara, adjacent to the bus stand in Kumargaon, near the university campus. He is the son of Hafiz Atikur Rahman, the owner of a house named "Kacha Monjil" in Sheikhpara. His ancestral home is in the village of Kaliarkapon, under Jagdal Union in Dirai Upazila of Sunamganj. He used to work at a shop named "Moin Computer" in Sylhet.

According to locals and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Faizur passed the Dakhil exam from Dhol Madrasa in Dirai. He then sat for the Alim exam from a madrasa in Sylhet. After passing Dakhil from the madrasa, he did not continue his education. However, no one knows from which madrasa he took the Alim exam. Faizul’s father, Maulana Atikur Rahman, is known to be a teacher at Shah Khurrum Mokhlisia Hafizia Women’s Madrasa in the Tukerbazar area, adjacent to the Sylhet-Sunamganj road.

The CTTC further reported that Faizul had been living with his family in the area near the university for about 20 years. His father bought land in Sheikhpara and built a semi-pucca house there. Immediately after the attack on Saturday, Faizul’s family locked up their home in Sheikhpara and fled elsewhere by CNG-run auto-rickshaw.

During the operation, the attacker’s uncle Fazlur Rahman was arrested, and books and CDs were seized from the home of the attacker’s father, Maulana Atikur Rahman. The arrested Fazlur Rahman Fazlu is the Joint Convener of the Sunamganj District Farmers’ League. He is involved in the land-selling business.

On Sunday night at around 10:30 PM, Faizul Hasan’s father Hafiz Atikur Rahman and mother Minara Begum were arrested by police from the Madina Market area in Sylhet city.

After multiple interrogations, the attacker identified Zafar Iqbal as an enemy of Islam and revealed this as the motive for the attempted murder. The commanding officer of RAB-9 confirmed this information. Later, Faizul told RAB that the attack on Zafar Iqbal was carried out because of his novel "Bhuter Baccha Solaiman" (Solaiman, the Ghost’s Child).

The Sylhet Bureau reported that the attacker, Faizul Hasan, confessed to attempting to kill Dr. Zafar Iqbal because he had been inspired by extremist ideology. In RAB’s initial interrogation, Faizul admitted that he attacked Professor Dr. Zafar Iqbal because the novel "Bhuter Baccha Solaiman" mocked the Prophet Solomon. Faizul claimed, “Zafar Iqbal is an enemy of Islam, that’s why I attacked him to kill him. He is an atheist himself and spreads atheism to others. His writings mislead people.” This confession was reported on Sunday by the commanding officer of RAB-9. RAB stated that Faizur Rahman, also known as Faizul, also known as Shafiqur, is a believer in extremist ideology. He was influenced to carry out the attack by listening to religious sermons (waz), watching videos online, and reading books. A RAB official mentioned that Faizul had gone to the university campus twice on the day of the attack. Faizul stated that at the time of the attack, there was no one else around him.

Faizul and his family’s mysterious behavior and Salafi connections

According to local residents, under the influence of Faizul’s two uncles who live in Kuwait, the entire family became inclined towards the Ahl-e-Hadith or Salafi ideology. Family members even began praying in the mosque using different methods. His elder brother Enamul Hasan lives in Dhaka, and another brother, Abul Hasan, is a migrant in Kuwait. The two younger sisters, Hafsa Begum and Habiba Begum, study in madrasas—Hafsa at Rashidia Hafizia Madrasa and Habiba at their father Atikur Rahman’s madrasa. All family members have a madrasa-based education.

Faizul’s elder brother, Hafiz Hasan, previously studied at the Pathantula Jamia in the city. He faced backlash from the worshippers when he tried to perform prayers differently at the village mosque. Eventually, both Faizul and his uncle were expelled from the mosque.

Faizul was also seen peddling clothes door-to-door. About a year ago, he was caught pickpocketing at the Kumargaon bus stand. At that time, locals gave a stern warning to his father about him.

The organizational secretary of the traders’ association of the market where Faizul worked at a computer shop said about him, “Faizul was often seen praying. I thought—such a devout boy must be very good. But now I see he’s truly ignorant.” He added, “He looked completely plain and simple. It seemed as if he didn’t understand or know anything.”

Immediate moment of the attempted murder

• According to Naushad Sajib, a judge of the competition and an eyewitness to the attempted attack, right after being stabbed, the writer stood up and said to the students present, “I am alright, don’t get agitated.” He further said that at the time, blood was streaming down the teacher’s head, soaking his face and shirt. Immediately after saying that, he placed one hand on the wound and tried to find a chair with the other hand to sit down. Right after that, teachers and students caught hold of him and transferred him to the hospital.
• While being taken to the operation theatre at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, he said to the general students, “Where is the boy? Don’t beat him.”
• A doctor on duty during the operation wrote in a Facebook post that after regaining consciousness, Sir asked him for sleeping pills. Another doctor in the operating theatre wrote, “Professor Zafar Iqbal is one of the bravest men I’ve seen. Even while being administered anesthesia on the operating table, he said — ‘I’m okay. Just need some blood.’”
• The writer called his wife Yasmeen Haque via mobile phone to inform her that he had been attacked. However, he assured her that he was okay and was being taken to the hospital. He did not want his family to learn of the incident from television. The writer also urged his wife over the phone to calm the protesting students. Later, upon meeting her husband, the renowned writer again requested her not to let the students on campus become agitated and to console them instead.

Family’s reaction

The writer’s nephew and playwright, Nuhash Humayun, said in response, “No matter what pain or conflict or even death may come — his family will continue trying to change society.”

The writer’s wife, Yasmeen Haque, told the media, “Zafar Iqbal will return to campus. He has five courses to teach.” She directly rejected the allegation that the police were negligent in their duties.

The writer’s daughter, Yesham, said in response, “These kinds of people are like fungi. They haven’t been properly cleaned out... They’re not going anywhere from this country that was born out of something like the Liberation War.”

Reaction after recovery

After being discharged from the hospital, the he expressed sorrow for those who engage in murderous intent, while missing out on feeling the beauty of the world and doing good as young people.

Meeting with Faizur

Since the attack, Zafar Iqbal had been eager to meet the assailant Faizur, but the meeting took place several days later. When he finally met Faizur, who was being held in Sylhet Jail, the author noted that the assailant’s face bore a cheerful expression. The author asked Faizur why he had committed the act, to which he replied that he did it because Principal Iqbal was anti-Islam.

When asked why he thought so, Faizur said it was because of the book Bhuter Baccha Solaiman ("The Ghost Child Solaiman"). In response to the professor’s question, Faizur admitted he had not read the book before attacking the teacher. Although the police later made him read it, even then, he could not find anything in it that was anti-Islam.

After speaking with Zafar Iqbal, Faizur stated before leaving that he had made a mistake. In his book Obishshashyo Shundor Prithibi ("An Incredibly Beautiful World"), Zafar Iqbal expresses his dismay, saying, “No guilt or remorse—Faizur simply believes he made a mistake.”

The professor casts doubt on whether Faizur truly believes that, and dismissing the matter, he notes at the end of the book, “Just to see this wonderful world means so much to him.”