I hadn’t posted on this because I assume that readers here also look at other secular websites, and many of those have written about the death of another atheist blogger, Washiqur Rahman, a 27-year-old who was hacked to death in Dhaka with machetes. (This of course also happened last month to Avijit Roy, another Bangladeshi atheist.) Rather than reprise the news, I send you to Heather Hastie’s extensive report on the murders, with the note that I of course share her outrage.
Chalk this up to another life that wouldn’t have been lost in a world without religion. Apostasy is only possible when there is faith.
Isn’t Islam such a peaceful religion?! Those murderers are disgusting.
Takfir = piously imbued homicide.
These atrocities should embolden us to speak out against faith-based thinking at every opportunity. It’s a terrifying thought, but there is no guarantee that the entire planet won’t be engulfed by theocratic thugs. If machete wielding theocrats wield the power of the atom before Enlightenment values alter their faith-based cultures, future historians may be writing about the fall of reason and the rise of a new dark age.
I’m horrified for the families of these brave writers.
It made me furious reading Heather’s article. It is easy for me when exposed to that kind of thing to think it would be really satisfying to hunt these scumbags down and kill them. Precisely why ethics and law should not be formulated “in the heat of the moment.”
Left a comment over on Heather’s site. It is hard to imagine Bangladesh ever coming out of the stone ages until it reject this pathetic religion.
Awful.
In the End Blasphemy Laws campaign, organizers stare that giving into those who try to stop criticism of religion leads to vigilantism. This is exactly what happened in Bangladesh. After two machete attacks on atheist bloggers in 2013, one resulting in death, the government sought to placate the Islamists by arresting several atheist bloggers. There were protests many will remember calling for death for atheists. The failure of the government to endorse the constitutional values of free speech has emboldened the Islamists, and two more murders is the result.
I read somewhere that Bangladesh broke from Pakistan in an attempt to have a secular government. Shame that didn’t work – though I have no idea how that actually all played out.
And the killing … how appalling.
Yes, that’s true, and they are more secular than Pakistan, and have a secular constitution. These Islamist groups are a phenomenon of the last ten-fifteen years, and have been getting much worse in the last two-three. A group saying they supported DAESH claimed responsibility for the 2013 murder, but as far as I know there’s no proof, so I didn’t mention that in my article.
As far as I know the the major reason was ethnic, the Pakistanis are in the NW of the subcontinent and regards themselves more central asian/turkic/iranic (though the majority are not) and Bangladeshis are different ethnically (clearly physically different and have different language/culture) and the west Pakistanis always had a superiority complex as a more martial race. However, Bangladeshis outnumbered them and a Bangladesh centered party won a national election with the winning party expressing frustration with the perceived second-class status for east Pakistanis. Being ruled by Bangladeshis was hard to swallow for the military/feudal elite of the west. Hence, military force was used to stop the eastern party from taking power, atrocities and massacres ensued, India intervened and eventually the the country was split.
The east might have been more secular or rather less fanatic as I’m not sure countries founded as Islamic states really can be secular (I know of incidents where the W. Pak.s described the E. Pak.s as too indigenous {as in clinging to old Indian pre-Islamic characteristics} because of their language{their Bangla had less Arabic/Persian and they still use Indic script}/dress/food). Of course, since independence Bangladesh has become more radicalized, their intelligence have reforged links with W.Pak.s services, had links with terrorist organizations and even their dress and appearance among their more religious populance (mullah style beards and dress like those of men in Pakistan are way more common now).
I don’t really read any other secular sites, so thanks PCC and Heather for posting this. Great article Heather. Being murdered for not being superstitious is beyond surreal.
Thanks Mark – I appreciate it. 🙂