Prothom Alo :

But during the long rule of the Awami League, the people of the country saw prominent Qawmi scholars, including Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi, meeting with the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They praised the government and also met the then Home Minister many times.

Mamunul Haque:

There is a term in Islam called Muallafat al-Qulub. It means winning someone’s heart. It is also called Talif al-Qalb, meaning the effort to please someone’s heart. In Islam, this has been mentioned in a significant way. Islam talks about winning the hearts of two types of people, and this has been encouraged for two reasons.

One is those who are soft or inclined toward Islam; it is said their hearts should be won over so that they may completely turn toward Islam.

The second category is also given the option of winning their hearts, and this too has been encouraged. These are those who are strongly anti-Islam, who are fiercely hostile toward Islam and Muslims. Islam says their hearts should also be won over, in order to protect oneself from their aggression.

Historically, we have seen that the Awami League has always been hostile toward the ulemas. So when we tried to build rapport with the Awami League, the main reason behind this effort was self-defense against their aggression. And if by winning their hearts, we could bring them down from a harsh stance to a softer one, then this is part of the traditional and religious responsibility of the scholarly community.