Bangladesh is not a place for freethinkers.

Avijit Roy was brutally murdered in Bangladesh a month ago. The murderers have not yet been arrested. And yesterday another blogger, atheist and secular humanist Washikur Rahman Babu was brutally murdered by Islamists. Their crime was that they criticized Islam. Bangladeshi Islamists have been systemically murdering all freethinkers.

The murderers of Babu are the Madrasa students. They are brainwashed. They were ordered by their madrasa teacher to kill Washikur Babu. Madrasa students just followed their teacher’s order. Madrasas and mosques are the breeding ground for terrorists. But governments still continue building more madrasas and more mosques all over the country to get votes from ignorant masses. I am not surprised when I hear freethinkers are getting murdered in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has laws against blasphemy. Governments don’t spare ministers when they say unsatisfactory comments on Islam. State religion is Islam. Popular media, such as radio and television praise Islam. Family laws are based on Islam. All the established institutions claim that they all are devout Muslims. There is always a competition between major political parties who would be more religious than others. More women are wearing hijabs, and men are becoming more misogynists. It is not the country I knew in my childhood and adolescence.

Let’s see why Islamists killed Washikur Babu. What he really wrote.

On his page, Rahman reposted a cartoon depicting Prophet Mohammed from the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo. He wished a happy birthday to author Taslima Nasreen, who was forced to flee Bangladesh due to death threats from fundamentalists. And he “liked” a picture of sausages wrapped in crescent rolls that someone had captioned, “Pigs in burqas.” Posts threatening him were numerous. “Get ready for the afterlife,” one person commented on one of his posts. “See you in hell,” said another. He used to write under the pseudonym “Stupid Man” on a blog but switched to posting on Facebook after 2011. On Facebook, he is credited for a series, “Jaw-crushing answers to insulting comments of atheists.” There, he posted questions that critics of Islam often raised and then answered them. But he paired the answers in such a way that they highlighted the contradiction within Islam. For example, one question asked what proof was there that the Quran was the word of God. The answer, “Mohammed said in his own words that the Quran is the word of God. Since Mohammed is the messenger of Allah, his claims are true.” He placed the question next to one that asked, “What is the proof that Mohammed was the messenger of Allah?” The answer, “The Quran claims that Mohammed was the messenger of Allah. And since the Quran is God’s word, its claims must be true.”

No Bangladesh government takes action against the Muslim terrorists when they kill atheists and freethinkers. Even so called moderate Muslims do not mind if atheists get brutally murdered. They rather blame atheist bloggers for writing blogs.

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Why I respect Islamists

I like Islamists much more than I like so called non-Islamists, secularists and modernists in the Indian subcontinent. Islamists are less hypocrites than many other groups of people. They speak their minds. When they want to kill, they say they want to kill. They do not claim they are good guys, they are against violence. Others kill secretly. Others wear masks. Islamists kill publicly. They do not say things they do not mean. Others often do. Tehreek-e-Taliban gave an interview. See how honest they are.

”What is your opinion about the upcoming elections?

Tehreek-e-Taliban is an Islamic militia organization to enforce the Islamic system in the country. We do not believe in democracy because democracy is secular. We stand against this system and ideology. Whoever supports democracy violates Islam. We want Islamic law in this country because this country got independence [from British rule] on the basis of Islamic ideology. We will never support democracy.

Why does your group attack politicians and their supporters?

Three parties [Pakistan Peoples Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and the Awami National Party] are openly calling themselves secular and liberal. They do not realize that secularism represents a set of beliefs abhorrent to Islam. These parties have essentially declared themselves non-Muslims, and so we have every right to attack them. They have the blood of the innocent Muslims of Swat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi, Balochistan, and the tribal areas on their hands. They consider the U.S. war [on terror] their own war. So we will target them. They will reap what they have sown.

How opposed is your group to women running for public office?

Islam gives a specifically valuable position to women. We are not against women. We are against democracy, and we will attack anyone, male or female, who supports it. Women must veil themselves and act in accordance with Islamic code. They should be content with what Islam has already given them. Whoever is part of the U.S. war—whether it’s a woman or man, journalist or propagandist, security officer or ideological sympathizer—we have every right to attack them.

The Taliban appear to be soft on Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan. Is this accurate?

We will not support anyone who believes in democracy. We have declared our war against three political parties because these parties are vicious and imposed brutalities on innocent people. We cannot make any assessments about the parties which were not in power when the government was targeting the Taliban. People shout popular slogans before coming into power. Once they get power, they change their tune and forget to implement their promises. We will carefully watch what [Sharif or Khan] does when in power. We will see what policies they have toward the mujahideen of Islam and toward the U.S. We will be in a position to comment only after their real policies are made clear.

As you said you don’t believe in democracy and elections are going to be held on May 11. Are you going to disrupt the elections on May 11?

We are against the system. This is not specific to just one day. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, our way of protest is very clear, it is through militancy, and we will continue to record our protest. ”

Bravo. I congratulate Islamists for telling the truth. They are clearly saying that democracy is against Islam. They prefer to impose theocracy. They want 7th century’s laws. They want women to wear veils and be submissive to men. Women must not have equal rights and freedom. Islamists are not hypocrites like most secular politicians in the subcontinent who say secularism is not against Islam. Islamists are not hypocrites like most secular politicians who promise to secularize state and society and to do everything for women’s equality, but do not really do anything. Islamists hate secularism, they know very well that secularism, democracy, women’s rights are not compatible with Islam. Islamists kill, destroy, terrorize the world. They do not deny that Allah asks them to kill infidels, and non-Muslims. They do not lie, they do not say terrorism has no religion, they do not claim that Islam is a religion of peace.

Islamists burn the Quran

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People were killed. Many were injured day before yesterday. Islamists threw stones at police, set fire to private and public property.

There were rows of bookstalls selling old books there even until Sunday noon. Hifazat-e Islam’s violent blockade of Dhaka on Sunday has gutted almost 40 of these decades-old bookstores along with thousands of its collections.

The bookstores on the opposite footpath and also those under the over bridge, seemed to have shared the same fate.

The loss continues with Hifazat supporters setting fire to another 11 stores located beside the south gate of the National Mosque Baitul Mukarram during their program Sunday. Followers of Hifazat who claim to be the keepers of Islam did not even spare the Holy Quran, books of Hadith and other religious books. The blackened pages of the holy scripture of Islam now lie scattered as ash under the pedestrian feet.

The bereaved booksellers said supporters of Hifazat-e Islam had set fire to almost 55 bookstores. Beyond 50,000 books worth approximately Tk 10 million have been destroyed in the abrupt arson attack on Sunday.

The people who had gathered to see the sight were erupting with disgust for those who assert themselves as ‘keepers of Islam’ but are also desecrators’ of the holy book of Islam.

They burned everything that they found around the streets, buses, trucks, shops. They burned thousands of copies of the Quran. The burning of the Quran, I believe, is the best thing they have ever done. No ordinary Muslim would dare to burn the Quran. But the Islamists are brave enough to do whatever they like. Who knows more than the leaders of the Islamists that the words of the holy book are not really holy. All they want is the crown. They use holy books to build a ladder to reach the crown.

Islamists physically attacked and abused women, snatched their phones, looted their money

Female journalists were physically attacked by the Islamists in Bangladesh. Nadia Sharmin, a TV journalist is admitted to hospital.

The Hifazat-e Islam not only barred women from entering its rally in the capital on Saturday, but also harassed physically and mentally several female journalists performing their professional duties there.

Activists of the Chittagong-based radical Islamist group assaulted Ekushey Television Reporter Nadia Sharmin at Bijoynagar and interrupted Financial Express Reporter Arafat Ara at Paltan when she was going to office.

On Friday, Mohona TV Chief Reporter Sumi Khan faced obstruction from the Hifazat activists in Chittagong.

Female journalists were not alone to face the Hifazat harassment, even the women garbage collectors were driven out from the rally area.

Leaders of the group demanded imposition of restrictions on open movement of male and female together, from the rally organised in Motijheel to press for their demands, including action against ‘atheists’.

Nadia Sharmin told bdnews24.com that she was attacked around 3pm when she went to cover the rally.

“Some Hifazat activists came to me and told me that admission of women to the rally is not allowed. They said, ‘You resort to falsehood. You’re the agents of Ganajagaran Mancha.’ At one point of the conversation they assaulted me. I took shelter in a car nearby and then they even tried to vandalise the car,” she said.

Later, several journalists tried to take Nadia to Bijoynagar where she was attacked again.

“Fifty-sixty activists hurled brickbats and water bottles at me at Bijoynagar. They snatched my mobile phone and handbag having several thousand takas. Then they threw me on the ground and beat me up,” she said.

Injured in the head, left side of the neck and leg, Nadia was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

She said she was attacked only for being a woman.

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I am not surprised that women are attacked by the Islamists. They hate women, because their god and prophet hate women.

Bangladesh has potential to be worse than Pakistan.

We were so happy to have witnessed the wonderful secular movement at Shahbagh in February, 2013.
How many of us knew that Islamists could make 100 times or 1000 times bigger crowds than secular crowds?
We should have no doubt that Bangladesh is a purely Islamic country and it is going to be a purely Islamic fundaentalist country.
The country is full of Islamists. The biggest Islamist is the government, no matter who it is, Ziaur or Hasina or Khaleda or Ershad or Army!

They all help monsters to be born and monsters to grow. Now we witness the monsters occupying Bangladesh, once a secular country.
Bangladesh can be worse than Pakistan. The world keeps an eye on Pakistan. US drone attacks are there. The country has often been ruled by educated secular people. But Bangladesh remains in the dark backyard. Not so many countries are interested in Bangladesh, one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. The rulers are uneducated idiots, Islamist morons and the patronizers of Islamic fanatics. Slowly it is becoming the worst Islamist country in the world. Wait and watch.

Look at them. Several hundred thousand people gathered to hang people who criticized Islam. It happened yesterday.

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Atheists are arrested.

Atheists get arrested in Bangladesh, a so called liberal Muslim country.

Bangladesh police have arrested three atheist bloggers for allegedly defaming Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, police said Tuesday, amid calls from religious fundamentalists for an Internet crackdown.

The arrest of the three, who were paraded in handcuffs at a news conference, followed pressure from Islamists who have organised a march from all over the country to the capital to demand the death penalty for atheist bloggers.

“They have hurt the religious feelings of the people by writing against different religions and their prophets and founders including the Prophet Mohammed,” said deputy commissioner of Dhaka police, Molla Nazrul Islam.

The three could face 10 years in jail if convicted under the country’s cyber laws which outlaw “defaming” a religion, Islam said.

He denied the arrests were linked to the planned march to Dhaka set for Saturday.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan said the three arrested men were among 84 “atheist bloggers” named in a list handed over by an Islamist group to a government panel probing alleged blasphemy against Islam on the Internet.

“The arrests were made on primary information” and further investigation is underway, Khan said, adding the government would act toughly to prevent any attempt to upset “communal harmony” via the Internet.

There has been vociferous debate between staunch atheists and fundamentalists in Bangladesh’s blogosphere and on social media for years, but it took a deadly turn in February when an atheist blogger was murdered.

The arrests came as Bangladesh has been hit by violent protests over a war crimes tribunal which is trying leading Islamists who opposed the country’s independence from Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war.

Islamists are stabbing and killing atheists. The government, instead of protecting atheists, harassing, threatening and arresting atheists. Atheists are treated as criminals in Bangladesh. It is a crime not to have a faith in Allah and Muhammad. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is protecting Allah and Muhammad from atheists. It means she believes that she is more powerful than Allah and Muhammad and Allah and Muhammad are too weak and vulnerable and unable to protect themselves. So it is her duty to protect them. What a blasphemy!