Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has asserted that no preceding administration in Bangladesh has advanced the cause of Islam and Islamic scholars quite as comprehensively as the Awami League government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Addressing a gathering of madrasah teachers and prominent ulema at the Rangunia Upazila Auditorium in Chattogram, Dr Mahmud detailed a series of landmark policy achievements designed to uplift religious education. Among these, he highlighted the establishment of the independent Islamic Arabic University, noting that this century-old aspiration of the alem-ulama had remained unfulfilled through successive British, Pakistani, and post-independence regimes, including eras overseen by the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and during the Ershad administration.
The minister drew particular attention to the formal recognition granted to Qawmi Madrasa certificates by the current administration, a move that has enabled thousands of Qawmi graduates to enter mainstream employment markets. Expanding further on institutional milestones, he pointed to the nationwide construction of five hundred and sixty model mosques across various districts and upazilas, a project intended to elevate both the accessibility and architectural standard of public worship spaces.
Financial and structural support for grassroots religious education has also seen marked expansion. Across the country, approximately one hundred thousand mosque-based maktabs now operate, with roughly two hundred situated within Rangunia Upazila alone. Teachers stationed at these foundational institutions receive regular government financial assistance, alongside a monthly allowance of twelve thousand taka allocated specifically for educators at Darul Arkam Ebtadayee Madrasas.
Reflecting on personal philanthropic efforts within his constituency, Dr Mahmud noted that more than twenty mosque buildings have been erected through his family-run NNK Foundation and the Allama Foyzullha Foundation. He called upon religious scholars present at the assembly to actively disseminate public awareness regarding the administration’s contributions to Islamic welfare and institutional development.
The high-profile consultation brought together a diverse group of dignitaries and religious leaders, including Pir Golamur Rahman Ashraf Shah of the Betagi Darbar-e-Astana Sharif, Maulana Anas Madani, and various local administrative officials such as Upazila Chairman Swajan Kumar Talukder and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ataul Gani Osmani, underscoring a collaborative dialogue between state representatives and the local ulema community.
