A Crowd Puller and his Zombies - The Indian government has been silent on snakes in their backyard.
By: Chris Emmanuel Dsouza
Regressive Islam
The Muslim world is now in utter chaotic and fragmented state both economically and politically after nearly 1400 years of its existence. The cause of its problem lies not so much in its disharmony with the present world but in the very modality of its existence. As the last of the three monotheistic religions (Judaism and Christianity being the other two), it came into existence as the last and final religion proclaiming the ultimate truth from the Creator, the Almighty God. The message was final and nothing could replace it. Whereas other religions kept pace with time and space and evolved (albeit reluctantly) with scientific development and knowledge, Islam steadfastly refused to reform itself. It is indeed utterly constrained by its own proclamation of finality and thereby invariant to changes.
Machettes, fundamentalism and rationalism - what does history tell us? Video of Rafida Ahmed Bonya's presentation at UC Riverside
Within the last year five Bangladeshis who have promoted rationalism and free thought, including authors, bloggers, and their publishers, have been brutally murdered for professing their views. Rafida Ahmed, herself savagely attacked as her husband was murdered, will reflect on issues associated with these murders within the wider context of history of free thinking and the recent rise of religious fundamentalism. She discusses her unique perspective in conversation with Prof. Nigel Hughes of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Click here to see the video presentation.
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.
Bangladesh must shun the religious proxy war
[fusion_text]It may be very tempting and, indeed, flattering when a super rich country like Saudi Arabia requests a country like Bangladesh to participate, almost as equal, in the Islamic coalition against terrorism to fight the menace of the Islamic State (IS). Bangladesh may be painted by the vested quarters as a strong and sufficiently grown up in stature among the Islamic nations to be part of a collective action against the evil outfit of IS (also known as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)). But this image of empowerment is illusory, misleading and could be potentially harmful.
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
Remarks for Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Briefing on Human Rights in Bangladesh
Announcement of the briefing from Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission website
Turkey's inexorable descent to extremism
Turkey may be viewed by the developing countries as well as by the Muslim world as an advanced industrialised country very much in tune with the Western democratic system. But this perception is largely misplaced now and very much out of date. The reality of Turkey's position is far from this perception.