He said these things in a statement sent to the media on Monday (August 10).
Pir Saheb Deowana said, the statues installed in the July Museum in the name or likeness of Hefazat-e-Islam leaders and activists are extremely regrettable and unwanted. Those who speak for Islamic values, faith and Shariah should not have something done in the name of preserving their memory that contradicts Islamic rulings.
He said, to preserve the memories of the martyrs and movement activists, instead of statues, Shariah-compliant methods such as documentaries, photographs, written history, documents and museum-based exhibitions can be adopted. In this way, history will be preserved and religious values will also remain intact.
He called upon the concerned authorities to promptly remove the statues of Hefazat leaders and activists from the July Museum, and requested that in the future no statue be made of any scholar, Islamic personality, or leader and activist of an Islamic party.
Pir Saheb Deowana further said, during the autocratic era, many scholars were imprisoned and embraced martyrdom while carrying out the anti-statue movement; yet statues have been made of those very scholars—this cannot be accepted in any way. Citing the example of the noble Companions, he said that although there are no statues of them, their lives and ideals are preserved in history.
He called for including the history of the sacrifice of the martyrs at the historic Shapla Chattar in textbooks and presenting the true history of their struggle before the nation.
