Why I Am Not a Muslim
The title of this article could have been "Why I Am Not a Hindu, or "Why I Am Not a Christian", etc.; replacing the word Muslim with the name of any other religious group. If I did not want to make the title sound negative, I could have made it something like "Why I Am an Atheist." But since among the religions of the world, my least preference would be Islam, the religion of the Muslims, I thought the word "Muslim" would fit the title the best.
A Note of Salute to Avijit Roy
Yesterday, when my wife was reading news from Bangladesh on the internet, she told me that she was reading about the murder of Avijit Roy in Dhaka. I exclaimed to her, "our Avijit?", got on to internet immediately, and started reading the news myself. I felt like I was having a nightmare, did not want to believe the news to be true.
Saraswati Puja at Bangladesh Parliament – It is Progress Indeed
{Postscript from the Author (January 27, 2015): It is a great disappointment that in spite of the initial consent by the Prime Minister and approval by the Speaker, there was actually no Saraswati Puja at the Bangladesh Parliament. I am not sure why the big leaders' approvals were not implemented. But there is no doubt that this reneging pleases and supports the Islamic/Muslim hate-mongers of Bangladesh.}
The Massacre at a School in a Failed State
Isn't it intriguing that, when Bangladesh is celebrating the victory month, Pakistan is in shock due to the killing of almost 150 people, mostly students, in a military-run school?
The Aberration of Veiling Women
Recently there were two op-ed articles in the Bangladesh-based internet daily, bdnews24.com, on the issue of veiling women. Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country, and veiling of Muslim women is a serious topic there, with increasing number of women there using veils.
Misery in the Fraudulent 'Holy Land
The old story of human despair due to the Muslim-Jew conflict continues in the so-called holy land. In the last few weeks more than 800 Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed by the two fighting parties (1). The tolls on both sides include innocent children, who are neither fighters nor hate-mongers nor policy makers by any means.
The Irresponsible Talks of the 'Image of the Government/Country
I am actually very frustrated about Bangladesh. It bothers me too much when I see newspaper headlines like 'Abductions, killings to tarnish govt's image: ministers.'
Politics and Democracy – the Bangladeshi Style
In my 32 years in the United States, my social life was most pressing during my time in the greater Boston area. That was 1989-1992, when I was a young lecturer at Northeastern University. When my wife and I arrived there, we knew quite a few Bangladeshis from our Dhaka University days in the 1970s and 1980s. Through them we came to know quite a few more. Most of our friends and acquaintances were highly qualified, both professionals and graduate students. Through social interactions with them, I got involved in the Bangladesh Association of New England (BANE), a Boston-centric group.
Bangladesh Must Fight this Terrorism
The following is a pretty benign picture of what is going on in Bangladesh in the name of democratic movement!
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.