Farcical democracy in the EU referendum
On 3rd of November 2016, three senior most judges of the British high court gave a landmark ruling that the British Parliament alone, not the government, has the ultimate authority to trigger Article 50, the formal process to exit the European Union. The government had so far insisted that it does not require any parliamentary authority as royal prerogative powers were sufficient to proceed. When government's contention was legally challenged by a handful of well intentioned public, the lord chief justice of the high court declared, "The government does not have power under the crown's prerogative to give notice pursuant to article 50 for the UK to withdraw from the EU."
Time to take stand in defense of free speech
Recently on Facebook, Taslima Nasrin, our own icon of freedom, accused several Bangladeshi Newspaper editors of being cowardly for refusing the publication of an article written to commemorate the tragic murder of the Jordanian satirist and writer Nahid Hattar. I can honestly feel Miss Nasrin's frustration, but however, I personally do not think it is appropriate to hold the editors or the journalists responsible for the appalling state of free speech Bangladeshi writers and freethinkers are suffering from.
We must honour our dissenters - An interview with Maryam Namazie
In a personal conversation with Maryam Namzie I shared the story of Mukto-mona, discussed on key global issues what sort of future we envisage.
The God Delusion - Curing virus of faith for a decade!
Ajoy Roy, father of murdered atheist writer Avijit Roy, an University professor and humanist, first started to translate The God Delusion in Bengali in 2007 knowing how important it was to deliver the book's message of science and reason for building a humanist, secular, rational society. The official Bengali translation of the book was later done by Kazi Mahboob Hassan. It was published in 2015 in the Dhaka Book Fair. The Fair is organized each February to celebrate the International Mother Language Day in honor of the Bangladeshis who died to retain Bengali (or Bangla) as the official language of then East Pakistan on February 21, 1952.
Take Home Messages of the Recent Political Conventions in USA
I do not know – how many people, who watched the Democratic National Committee (DNC) convention in Philadelphia, noticed resounding boos… from the diehard Bernie-supporters at the moment Bernie endorsed Hillary for President. So, it was clear that Bernie supporters were disappointed with him for his public endorsement of Hillary Clinton. On the other hand, Ted Cruz was also showered with boos in the Republican convention at Cleveland, Ohio; that was for not endorsing the front runner, Mr. Trump. So, these two boos are for two different reasons. Most diehard democrats and republicans may have missed these moments, but, it was a striking moment for me.
Is Angela Merkel an angel or an agent for damage and destruction?
By the middle of 2015, after nearly four years of vicious Syrian conflict and at the height of ISIL's (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) march towards Baghdad to make the Islamic Caliphate a reality, refugees started pouring out of Syria and Iraq in large numbers. Nearly two years earlier, the self-proclaimed Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the ISIL Caliphate, boastfully announced that ISIL would flood Europe with Muslim refugees and Islamists from Asia and Africa and Islamise the European continent.
History of Hajj
It is almost universally accepted by the Muslims, but not necessarily by all 100 per cent of Muslims, that every bit of Islamic teaching in the form of verses, as depicted in the Holy Quran, is the direct message from the all powerful, omnipresent, omniscient Allah through His messenger Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). As these teachings are direct revelations from Allah, they are the absolute and ultimate truth and nothing can or should be done ever to change or reform these revelations. That is why Islam remains frozen for the last 1400 years or so.
How Zakir Naik's Words can Hurt
[caption width="1600" align="aligncenter"]
Zakir Naik, who suggested Every Muslim Should be a terrorist. [/caption] to the Islamic preacher.
CNN Article - Whose death anniversary will I mourn next?
On the morning of February 26, as I was mourning the loss of my husband last year, I was left wondering something else: Whose death anniversary will I mourn next?