Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib

Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib (Arabic: د.محمد اسد الله الغالب; Bengali: ড. মুহাম্মাদ আসাদুল্লাহ আল-গালিব; born 15 January 1948) is a Bangladeshi reformist Islamic scholar and former professor of Arabic at the University of Rajshahi. He is the leader of a puritan Islamic movement Ahl-i Hadith Andalon Bangladesh (AHAB).[1][2] He is also the founder of an Islamic research journal, Monthly At-tahreek.[3] Former Rajshahi University vice-chancellor, the late Dr MA Bari, first took an initiative in the 1960s to form such an organization. Ghalib joined the Arabic department of Rajshahi University as a lecturer with the help of Bari in the mid-1980s. However, Galib’s links with the movement can be traced back to 1978, when he formed Ahab’s youth wing Ahle Hadith Jubo Shangha (AHJS). While forming the AHJS, Galib argued that they needed to engage in Jihad against Islamic fallacies including the mazar culture to bring an Islamic rule in the country. In an interview in 2017, Shakhawat Hossain, Ahl-e Hadith Andolon Bangladesh spokesperson, said the group claimed its lineage and the inspiration for its name from Islamist groups that had fought British colonialism in the early 19th century.[4]

On 23 February 2005, the Bangladesh government arrested him following allegations of Islamic militancy.[5][6][7] He was further alleged to have received funding from the Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage.[8][9] However, he denied any involvement with Islamic militancy and was freed from jail on 28 August 2008.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] He was eventually acquitted of all charges.[17][18][19][20][21]