A red donation box bearing the name of a pious man from Patuakhali is not an unusual sight on the street corners of Khulna city.
The guardians of these boxes are also not familiar faces in the city’s neighbourhoods; they only show up periodically to open the locks and collect the donations.
No authority can provide an accurate count of the boxes. One of the guardians estimates the number is no less than 1,000.
Khulna Metropolitan Police's Additional Deputy Commissioner Monira Sultana said they do not have much knowledge about how the drop boxes are operated, and by whom.
A red box is seen hanging in front of a vegetable shop |
Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneThe ADC also noted that the donation boxes involve religious sentiment, and taking any measure to suddenly monitor them could turn into a serious religious issue.
However, there are people who have always been suspicious about the donation boxes.
“This is a kind of deception. Religious-minded Muslims usually make donations in these boxes. There are many who would kiss one of these boxes before starting for an exam or any auspicious activity,” said Md Imran Hossain, a tailoring shop owner in the Textile Mill area adjacent to New Market.
Imran's shop is on one of the busiest roads of Khulna, and he could count up to 15 donation boxes in his neighbourhood.
Md Firoz Alam, a resident of the nearby Bayra Main Road area, said a donation box for the same institution has been in his vicinity for the last three decades. “Some strangers unlock the boxes and take away the money on regular basis. This is what the drop box is all about. We do not know of a follower of that pious man (Yaar Uddin Khalifa) living in the neighbourhood. And we never know the amount of donation (in the drop box).
“All we can say is that several people come here in every one-two months with a bag full of keys. They unlock the boxes and take away the money.”
The red donation boxes are even seen at the city's New Market area |
Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneAll the boxes in the Textile Mill and Bayra Main Road areas are marked with the name of an orphanage-madrasa at the shrine of late Yaar Uddin Khalifa Saheb, a pious man from Mirzaganj upazila, Patuakhali.
The name of the keeper, Md Abbas Hossain, and his mobile phone number are given on the obverse side of all the boxes.
When the Dhaka Tribune contacted Abbas, who identifies himself as a custodian of the shrine, he said he maintains 60 drop boxes for the orphanage-madrasa.
Abbas added that he along with 16 other custodians of the shrine maintain about 1,000 donation boxes in different areas of Khulna city. This Dhaka Tribune correspondent also found drop boxes in the Khalishpur, Doulotpur, and Tutpara Jorakol Bazar areas of the city. The boxes are mostly hung from light posts or stumps with iron chains.
Late Yaar Uddin was a grocery shop owner and a pious man of Mirzaganj. The shrine of the pious man and other establishments centring the shrine were built by his admirers about 70-80 years ago, according to the custodian.
It is noteworthy that on March 14, 2016, 52 donation boxes, all belonging to the shrine of the same man, were seized from around the terminal buildings of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the Armed Police Battalion.
Perspectives on donating to unfamiliar charities
The donations that accrue in the red boxes reflect some people’s willingness to make informal donations to an institution associated with a pious man, no matter how unfamiliar they are with that pious man or the institution concerned.
Dropping a coin or a note into the round slab-shaped boxes, which are symbolic of religious charities, has long been a way for devout people to make contributions towards the welfare of the society.
However, for people like Imran and Firoz, the very act can be seen on the one hand as blind faith, and on the other hand, a means of perpetuating deception by dishonest quarters.
Such suspicion gains more traction when the donation is bound for an institution located faraway.
A red box hangs beside a makeshift vegetable shop |
Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneIn this particular case, residents of Khulna are donating money for an orphanage-madrasa located about 160 km southeast from them.
Dr Md Abdur Rahim, head mufti (expert of Islamic jurisprudence) of Khulna Alia Kamil Madrasa, told the Dhaka Tribune that according to hadith – records of Prophet Muhammad’s words or actions – the rich people of an area are bound to contribute to the welfare of the less fortunate in their own neighbourhood. But there can be exceptions in times of famine, war, and pestilence, he added.
A red box is seen hanging in front of a vegetable shop | Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneThe ADC also noted that the donation boxes involve religious sentiment, and taking any measure to suddenly monitor them could turn into a serious religious issue.
However, there are people who have always been suspicious about the donation boxes.
“This is a kind of deception. Religious-minded Muslims usually make donations in these boxes. There are many who would kiss one of these boxes before starting for an exam or any auspicious activity,” said Md Imran Hossain, a tailoring shop owner in the Textile Mill area adjacent to New Market.
Imran's shop is on one of the busiest roads of Khulna, and he could count up to 15 donation boxes in his neighbourhood.
Md Firoz Alam, a resident of the nearby Bayra Main Road area, said a donation box for the same institution has been in his vicinity for the last three decades. “Some strangers unlock the boxes and take away the money on regular basis. This is what the drop box is all about. We do not know of a follower of that pious man (Yaar Uddin Khalifa) living in the neighbourhood. And we never know the amount of donation (in the drop box).
“All we can say is that several people come here in every one-two months with a bag full of keys. They unlock the boxes and take away the money.”
The red donation boxes are even seen at the city's New Market area | Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneAll the boxes in the Textile Mill and Bayra Main Road areas are marked with the name of an orphanage-madrasa at the shrine of late Yaar Uddin Khalifa Saheb, a pious man from Mirzaganj upazila, Patuakhali.
The name of the keeper, Md Abbas Hossain, and his mobile phone number are given on the obverse side of all the boxes.
When the Dhaka Tribune contacted Abbas, who identifies himself as a custodian of the shrine, he said he maintains 60 drop boxes for the orphanage-madrasa.
Abbas added that he along with 16 other custodians of the shrine maintain about 1,000 donation boxes in different areas of Khulna city. This Dhaka Tribune correspondent also found drop boxes in the Khalishpur, Doulotpur, and Tutpara Jorakol Bazar areas of the city. The boxes are mostly hung from light posts or stumps with iron chains.
Late Yaar Uddin was a grocery shop owner and a pious man of Mirzaganj. The shrine of the pious man and other establishments centring the shrine were built by his admirers about 70-80 years ago, according to the custodian.
It is noteworthy that on March 14, 2016, 52 donation boxes, all belonging to the shrine of the same man, were seized from around the terminal buildings of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the Armed Police Battalion.
A red box hangs beside a makeshift vegetable shop | Hedait Hossain Molla/Dhaka TribuneIn this particular case, residents of Khulna are donating money for an orphanage-madrasa located about 160 km southeast from them.
Dr Md Abdur Rahim, head mufti (expert of Islamic jurisprudence) of Khulna Alia Kamil Madrasa, told the Dhaka Tribune that according to hadith – records of Prophet Muhammad’s words or actions – the rich people of an area are bound to contribute to the welfare of the less fortunate in their own neighbourhood. But there can be exceptions in times of famine, war, and pestilence, he added.