My tribute to Dr. Jaffor Ullah – an eminent scientist, a remarkable secular humanist, and a person of greatness and inspiration
An untimely death of Dr. Jaffor Ullah on August 21, 2013 was a huge loss for all the secularists and rationalists of Bangladesh. He was a great secular humanist and an extraordinary writer in the USA, who originally hailed from Bangladesh. Although he had a strong background as a research scientist, he worked his ways in the areas of literature and philosophy through extensive studies. His depth of knowledge in English and Indian literature was far-advanced. I came to know from him about his studies on the works of many writers in literature, who enriched his mind and thoughts on social science and philosophy. As a scholar in literature and as a devoted researcher in the areas of molecular biology and genetics, he was able to explore the meaning of rationalism in a more lucid form. The combination of his knowledge on scientific research and on literature allowed him to write in a rational and eloquent fashion. I always consider myself very fortunate to have met with him in 1999 in Atlanta, GA. Since then, I was always in touch with him over phone and e-mail.
BANGLADESH - Dar al-Islam Vs Dar al-Insaan
A big proportion of educated Muslims in Bangladesh read Qur'an without knowing the meaning and background of the verses. As true Muslims, they just believe that Qur'an contains the words of Allah (which is the highest knowledge of the world) and also includes science and miracle. They just believe whatever the Alim tells them about Qur'an. And why an Alim should dilute the absolute importance of Qur'an from where all his authority comes? So Qur'an is sacrosanct to vast majority of Bangladeshi Muslims (many educated and all uneducated) without being understood at all.
Abul Hasnat Jaffor Ullah, a Remarkable Free-Thinker
I felt deeply sad learning this morning that Dr. A. H. Jaffor Ullah died last night while in a coma. I got the news from Dr. Avijit Roy via his postings in the mukto-mona Bangla blog, in the mukto-mona forum, and on his Facebook page. After learning that he was a personal friend of mine, Dr. Roy, the founder and moderator of mukto-mona, asked me if I could write a piece on Dr. Ullah in the mukto-mona English blog.