Govt unveils national programme for Eid-e-Miladunnabi celebration

The government has unveiled a comprehensive national programme to mark the sacred occasion of Eid-e-Miladunnabi on 26 August, laying out an extensive slate of religious and cultural activities designed to honour the day with due solemnity and reverence.

According to a press release issued Wednesday by Ministry of Religious Affairs public relations officer Md Abubakar Siddique, the programme was finalised at an inter-ministerial meeting on 13 August, chaired by Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad NDC and attended by Islamic Foundation Director-General Mufti Muhammad Muhibbullahil Baqi, along with additional secretaries and representatives from various ministries, directorates and agencies. As part of the arrangements, both the President and Prime Minister will issue separate messages, national flags will be hoisted at all government, semi-government, autonomous and private buildings as well as armed forces installations, and Dhaka's key traffic islands, lamp posts and thoroughfares will be adorned with national and decorative flags bearing the Kalima Tayyibah.

Prayer gatherings will be held at mosques nationwide, including the Bangladesh Secretariat Mosque, while divisional, district and upazila administrations, city corporations, municipalities and the armed forces will organise discussion sessions and milad mahfils within their respective jurisdictions. The Islamic Foundation will broadcast waz mahfils, seminars and talk shows across electronic media alongside Quran recitation, hamd-naat performances, poetry readings, and student cultural and Arabic khutbah-writing competitions, while also publishing commemorative supplements and hosting a month-long Islamic book fair near Baitul Mokarram Mosque's southern precinct. State broadcasters and newspapers have been requested to air special programming and publish dedicated supplements for the occasion.

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Universities and educational institutions nationwide, along with district Shilpakala academies, child academies, the Islamic Foundation, waqf administration offices, and hajj offices in Dhaka and Jeddah, have been directed to organise discussions on the Prophet Muhammad's life and teachings, emphasising Islam's messages of peace, tolerance, universal brotherhood, human rights and the dignity of women, alongside cultural and quiz competitions; the Bangladesh Shishu Academy will run parallel programming for children, including hamd-naat sessions and essay contests. Additionally, upgraded meals will be served at military and civilian hospitals, prisons, government child welfare homes, residential child development centres and elderly care facilities nationwide, while Bangladesh's overseas missions and embassies will observe the day with appropriate dignity.