Bangladesh might witness more violence: Top Islamist leader at mega Dhaka rally
In an oblique reference to the ousted regime, the party supremo said, 'From 28 October 2006, onward, all those responsible for various politically motivated 'massacres', including that of deaths of army officers in the then-paramilitary BDR border guard force and the events of July 2024, must be tried on the soil of Bangladesh."'Until visible trials begin, Bangladesh cannot move forward under the old system," said Rahman.Hasina's government had slapped a total ban on the Islamist party days ahead of her ouster on August 5, 2024, in a violent mass movement which was led by a student group and supported by several parties including the Jamaat-e-Islami. The interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus later lifted the ban.At the rally, Rahman said that the party would now spearhead a movement against corruption and extortion."We will not accept extortion, we will not engage in corruption, and we will not tolerate it," he said.If voted to power, no lawmaker or minister associated with the party would accept government plots and tax-exempt vehicles or personally handle public funds, he added.One of the major agendas of the party is to wage a campaign to introduce a proportional representation (PR) system in the national election.Senior party leader Nayeb-e-Ameer Abdullah Mohammad Taher told the rally that elections under the PR system were the most appropriate method in the current political context.Jamaat-e-Islami has distanced itself from its once crucial ally, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, which is opposed to the PR system.No BNP leader was seen in the rally, even though they shared power during the 2001-2006 period when the BNP led a four-party alliance government.Several other Islamist parties and leaders of the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) attended the rally.Rahman, 66, collapsed twice while addressing the rally and was later hospitalised, according to party leaders.Media reports quoting Jamaat leaders said this first solo rally was staged after nearly a month of preparations and drew over half a million attendees. The party has previously participated in joint rallies at Suhrawardy Udyan alongside the BNP.advertisementAccording to political historians and analysts, the party, which was opposed to Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan, last tried to stage a grand rally in Paltan Maidan in the then East Pakistan ahead of the 1970 elections.But the rally broke at the midpoint as opponents, particularly activists of the now-disbanded Awami League, chased them away.'From then on or since Bangladesh's 1971 independence, Jamaat, even after the withdrawal of its ban in 1976 (imposed after the 1971 victory), could not stage a grand rally in the capital though it held numerous quickly arranged unscheduled smaller roadside public meetings,' political writer Shamsuddin Ahmed Peara said.- EndsMust Watch
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Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
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His critics have continued pressuring Sequoia to deal with what they see as hate speech and other invective, while his supporters have said Maguire has the right to free Sun Valley, Botha listened, but remained neutral, the people with knowledge of the matter half a century, Sequoia has tried to maintain that neutrality, even as rival venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund started taking political stances. But as Maguire has increasingly made inflammatory comments, including saying that diversity, equity and inclusion "kills people," Sequoia is now in a place that its leaders never wanted to be: smack in the middle of the culture a tricky moment for the vaunted venture firm, which backed Apple, Nvidia and Google when they were startups. For decades, Sequoia kept its partners in the background while shining the spotlight on the founders of the startups it invests in. Yet those values have become harder to adhere to as the venture industry has ballooned, and many investors have cast off Maguire is unusual at Sequoia for his outspokenness on X, he is not an industry outlier. Venture capitalists such as Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel have openly talked about their thinking, sometimes with the intent of influencing national Sequoia has said nothing about Maguire. Behind the scenes, one senior partner at Sequoia, Doug Leone, appeared to defend Maguire, according to email correspondence reviewed by The New York Times."Sequoia is backed into a corner and only has bad options," said Paul Biggar, CEO of the advocacy group Tech for Palestine, who also founded CircleCI, a software development startup. "People are speaking up because everyone sees what they've supported, and directionally that's only going to get worse for them."Sequoia declined to comment. In an interview with Fortune in March, Botha described the firm as having a "spirit of institutional neutrality" while allowing individuals to hold their political a nearly 30-minute video posted on X last week, Maguire again called Mamdani "an Islamist," and a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Maguire also tried drawing a distinction, saying "Islamists are not all Muslims" and apologized "to any Muslim that is not an Islamist and to any Indian that took offense with this tweet."Mamdani's campaign did not respond to a request for in 1972, Sequoia was known for years for its stellar track record with investing in startups. The firm reaped billions of dollars when young companies that it bet on burgeoned into large businesses and went public or were acquired for enormous the 1990s, Sequoia had established itself as a top venture firm on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, with investments in companies including Cisco, the telecommunications hardware provider. 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In 2020, Leone, a Republican, donated to the reelection campaign of Trump, but denounced the president in a statement to the press after the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising at the moments, along with similar ones over the years, paved the way for others at Sequoia to speak more openly about their politics, two people with knowledge of the firm hired Maguire, 39, who co-founded a cybersecurity company, in 2019 on the recommendation of Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, a payments startup that is one of the venture firm's largest investments. Maguire had chafed at hot-button issues before; he once claimed he was not promoted at another venture firm for "being a white man."At Sequoia, Maguire tied himself to Elon Musk. Maguire helped land the firm its investment in SpaceX, Musk's rocket company, which has soared in value. Maguire also led Sequoia's deals with other companies run by Musk, including the tunneling firm the Boring Co., X and artificial intelligence startup who know Maguire described him as warm and friendly in person and said his relative youth -- Botha, by contrast, is 51 -- made him relatable to younger Maguire also developed a reputation -- or perhaps notoriety -- as a prolific user of X, where he has more than 275,000 followers. In dozens of posts daily, he has commented on political issues and progressive causes. After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Maguire, who is a self-described "Jew and a Zionist," defended the Israeli government's response while raising alarms on what he saw as a rise in antisemitism."With every single person I meet, the first thing through my brain is: 'Would they want to kill me if they knew I was Jewish?'" he posted on X three days after the Valley noticed. Founders, investors and other tech workers messaged Sequoia's partners and other employees about Maguire's behavior, two people familiar with the matter month, Maguire posted about Mamdani after the Times published an article about how the mayoral candidate, a Muslim of South Asian descent who was born in Uganda, wrote that he was Asian and African American in an application to Columbia University. (He was not admitted to the school.) Mamdani had just won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on a progressive platform, emphasizing affordability and other cost-of-living issues, and had defended the rights of response to Maguire's post, technologists and startup founders circulated the open letter calling for Sequoia to commission an independent investigation into his behavior. The letter claimed to represent roughly 1,000 startups, with signatures from more than 1,100 people, though not all the names on the list could be verified. At least one company that signed the letter was funded by Sequoia."This was not a misstep," the letter said of Maguire. "It was a deliberate, inflammatory attack that promotes dangerous anti-Muslim stereotypes and stokes division."In a post on X, Maguire referred to his "enemies" and said, "I'm going to play nice for now, but am ready to embarrass any of you should you escalate."A counterletter supporting Maguire garnered more than 1,000 signatories, including Bill Ackman, a billionaire financier who supports Israel, as well as startup founders whose companies are backed by Sequoia. The letter described Maguire as a "principled thinker" who has "helped build careers, fund companies and elevate voices across divides."Others have sent private messages to Sequoia employees urging them to stand by Maguire, two people with knowledge of the matter insiders have trod carefully. On July 10, Pat Grady, a partner at the firm, posted a statement on X sympathizing with both the Muslim community and Maguire. It was reposted by Alfred Lin, another partner."I do not agree with everything my partners say," Grady wrote. "Aggressive truth-seeking and a healthy conflict of ideas is a hallmark of Sequoia. These are key ingredients in making the partnership great."In emails with a concerned founder this month, which were reviewed by the Times, Leone wrote that Maguire's posts did not condemn Muslims. 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Hans India
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Time of India
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Egyptian police kill 2 suspected militants in a shootout
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