Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Maulana Jalaluddin Ahmad has condemned a recent Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board circular directing Alia madrasas to form separate football teams for the Prime Minister’s Gold Cup Football Tournament 2026. In a statement published on July 24, he described the instruction to form girls’ football teams as part of an anti-Islam conspiracy. The circular asks institutions to include one male and one female student from Dakhil classes and one male and one female student from Alim levels, and submit lists to the board by July 30.

Ahmad said the instruction conflicts with the distinct character and religious values of Islamic education. He stated that Alia madrasas operate on Islamic ideals, Shariah rules and religious values. He called for the immediate withdrawal of the circular, an end to imposing such decisions on madrasas, and effective measures to protect the distinctiveness of the Islamic education system.