Does Islam Need Reforming?
The world of Islam is in a state of turmoil. Radicalised Muslims and their misdemeanours are rarely out of media spotlight these days and rightly so. From the earth shattering event of 9/11 in New York in 2001 and the London Underground bombing in 2005 to al-Qaeda activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and in many other places; the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in beheading countless innocent people in Syria and Iraq; Boko Haram's kidnapping and killing of school children in Nigeria, killing of Charlie Hebdo employees in France; killing of 23 tourists in the Bardo museum in Tunis by the IS affiliate groups and many, many more atrocities; all point to the grim reality that there is something fundamentally wrong with these radicalised Muslims and their monstrous mentality. These people are just not in harmony with the modern times and they fail to uphold human values.
Urge the Bangladeshi government to speak up and pursue a thorough investigation.
March 26th marks one month from the date my husband, Avijit Roy, and I were brutally attacked on the Dhaka University campus. Avijit wrote about science and humanity, critiqued religious fundamentalism, and created the first online Bangla platform for Freethinking. For these reasons, religious extremists hacked Avijit to death with machetes. The attack occurred in a crowded place with dozens of eyewitnesses, surveillance cameras, and police checkpoints. An Islamist terrorist group, "Ansarullah Bangla-7" has even claimed responsibility on social media for the attack. Despite all these leads, the only progress that has been made after one month of investigation is a seemingly tangential arrest.
Dozens Attend "Standing With Avijit" Rally in Washington DC 3/21/15
Washington, DC - On March 21, 2015, about 100 Bangladeshi-Americans, human rights advocates, and interfaith leaders gathered in Dupont Circle to highlight the recent murder of a humanist writer. The rally, titled "Standing with Avijit" responded to the February 26 murder of Bangladeshi-American writer/blogger Avijit Roy by religious extremists in Dhaka.
AVIJIT'S MURDER & APOLOGIST MODERATE ISLAM
The murder of Avijit Roy: championing illiberal liberals
Avijit Roy and His Legacy
Published in the Free Inquiry magazine, a publication of the Center for Free Inquiry (CFI), USA. Please read and leave a comment. (I would suggest to leave a comment on the CFI website so that those more Americans can see it.)
Victory is Inevitable
By now you may have come to know that the founder and one of the moderators of Mukto-Mona blog Dr. Avijit Roy was brutally attacked and hacked to death on 26th February, 2015 in Bangladesh. His visit to Dhaka was primarily to spend time with his ailing mother. However, it was just natural that while there, he would attend Ekushey Boimela (the month-long national book fair held every year in February commemorating the 1952 Bangla language movement). He had two books published this year – "Victoria Ocampo" and "Shunno Theke Mohabissho" (From Zero to Infinity) co-authored by Dr. Mizan Rahman. Both have been well received by readers and critics. He longed for a chance to meet and greet friends and readers in a cordial atmosphere and Ekushey Boimela was indeed a unique opportunity for him. Understandably, he was enjoying a great time in the book fair.
Why I Do Not Criticize the Quran
While I generally do not criticize any religious book, the generalized title "Why I Do Not Criticize Religious Books", would be inappropriate for this article. How is that? The answer would be that I have two major reasons for not criticizing the Quran, but only one major reason for not criticizing the Bible, the Gita, etc. These reasons are the topics of this article.
OUR AVIJIT, THEIR AVIJIT AND BANGLADESH
If you ask 'us' who was Avijit Roy, we say that he was a true 'Mukto Mona'. If you ask 'them' the same question the reply will be that he was anti-Islam. So, from 'their' perspective Islamic (?) Republic of Bangladesh does not have any moral authority to punish the assassins of Avijit. To them, Avijit's murder was necessary to save Islam and hence the murder was unlike other criminal activity. To us, the actions (or inactions) of Bangladesh government following the murder of Avijit tell loud and clear that Islamists have dominant power in the country.
AFTER THE MURDER OF AVIJIT
In response to my very brief post (written in utmost grief) "Chhi Chhi" of 27th February 2015 in this blog following the gruesome murder of Avijit Roy, one Huseyin Rahmi Guner commented " … If anyone slew a person unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole humanity." (Al-Qur'an 5:32).
Avijit, the Knight
After learning about the threat stating that - he will be killed when he comes back to Bangladesh, I, immediately, called Avijit to remind him not to go back to Bangladesh ever. I also asked him to be extra careful while he is in the USA, and advised him to forward that threat-link to FBI. He assured me by saying - "Don't worry, Jiten-da, I will be careful." I heard no intimidation, but carelessness, in his voice. So, I knew, he will not change anything in his life.