Bangladesh Sliding into Darkness
Pictures of Dr. AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, University Professor and Cultural Personality (Including Sitar Player)
Bangladesh's existential threat
It is a matter of supreme irony that almost to the day 45 years ago when Pakistan unleashed the most barbaric and vicious attack on unarmed civilians of the then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh would have to endure a body blow to its existence from its own judiciary system. Islamisation of Bangladesh has become so deep rooted that even the present progressive government of Bangladesh and the judicial system are scared to antagonise the rampant mullahs of the country. That the government had caved in to appease the mullahs even at the expense of country's constitution indicates a serious existential threat to the country.
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Islam Should Remain as the State Religion in Bangladesh While Government Plays Safe
A few days ago, the Daily Mail (UK) published a news item entitled "Bangladesh Considering Abandoning Islam as Its Official Religion Following Wake of Extremist Attacks." While it reflects the fact that there will be a hearing in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on the 27th of March to decide whether Islam should remain as Bangladesh's state religion, the heading gives a false hope of solving a major problem. This hearing is not in motion because of the recent rise of Islamic extremism, killing and violence towards the minority. It is not a step taken by the government to fight Islamism, but rather a decision taken by the Supreme Court to look at a petition that was filed 28 years ago.
Lamenting Avijit's Jeopardous Trip to Bangladesh
In the morning of February 26 last year both my wife and I were at our computers in our home office in the greater Washington DC area. I was doing my office work, and she was browsing news on the internet. She was much startled by a news item, and started reading it loudly, so that I could hear it. It was about the murder of Avijit Roy, writer and blogger, at the Ekushe Book Fair in Dhaka. Before she could say "writer and blogger" after "Avijit Roy", my heart started pounding. I felt like I was having a nightmare; I did not want to believe the news. I screamed, no, no! The next phase of my reaction was mostly swearing at Avijit for going to Bangladesh.
Is America Unfair to Muslims?
Recently there has been a lot of media uproar on the claim that the United States of America was unfair to the Muslims and discriminated against them. It is also claimed that the USA hated Muslims.
Swedish "The Dissident Blog's" Special Issue on Bangladesh
The Dissident Blog is a publication of the Swedish PEN that wants to bring to light texts "that can neither be written nor published in the writers' own countries." The goal is provide these writings a Swedish as well as an international audience. This is an excellent well-developed online magazine that should be on the reading list of all free-thinkers. https://www.dissidentblog.org/en
Epigraph for the Freedom of Thought Report
Rafida Ahmed writes in the preface to the 2015 edition, "once a country silences and intimidates its intellectuals and freethinkers, a vicious cycle of terror and extremism becomes inevitable". We must not let that happen. Freedom of Thought Report: 2015