Third secular blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh
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DHAKA: A masked gang wielding machetes hacked a secular blogger to death Tuesday in northeastern Bangladesh in the third such deadly attack since the start of the year, police said.
"Attackers wearing masks hacked Ananta Bijoy Das with machetes in Sylhet city at around 8.30am this morning. We have learnt that he was a writer," deputy commissioner of Sylhet police Faisal Mahmud told AFP.
Imran Sarker, head of a Bangladeshi bloggers' association, told AFP that Das was “an atheist and wrote blogs for Mukto-Mona,” a website which used to be moderated by Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-born US citizen who was himself hacked to death in the capital Dhaka in February.
"In recent months he received threats from extremists for his writings. He was on their hit-list," Debasish Debu, a friend of Das, told AFP from Sylhet, referring to an alleged hit-list of atheist bloggers prepared by Islamist militants.
Farid Ahmed, the current moderator of Mukto-Mona, who is based in Canada, confirmed to AFP via Facebook that Das wrote for the site.
Read: US blogger hacked to death in Dhaka
The murder comes just a week after Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Roy on February 26 in which his wife was also badly injured. An Islamist has been arrested over his murder.
Another atheist blogger, Washiqur Rahman, was hacked to death in Dhaka in March. Two madrassa students have been arrested over that attack.
Also read: Another blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh: police
Bangladesh is an officially secular country but more than 90 per cent of its 160 million population are Muslims.
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On DawnNews
Comments (29) Closed
May 12, 2015 10:56am
What is happening all over the world? Why people are so intolerant?
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May 12, 2015 11:25am
Horrible ... the entire sub-continent must come down hard on these murderers NOW .. lest this trend increases.
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May 12, 2015 11:29am
This happens when you criticize a specific religion while being secular. I never heard a secular talking about other religions expect Islam.
Seculars of subcontinent have Islam phobia, while they respect and following other religions' traditions and cultures. In-fact they don't know what they are supposed to do and say as a secular.
All they have understood is; criticizing Islam is the base of secularism.
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May 12, 2015 11:29am
My peacenik Bangladeshi and Indian friends in London will be shocked to learn of this attack. Shocked to find the first attack was not an isolated incident. They had hopes for Bangladesh. They thought it was a new cotton candy world.
The GAP will be shocked as well. Free speech can be dangerous to one's health in an authoritarian regime.
Liberal bloggers go away, and come again some other day.
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May 12, 2015 12:08pm
Where is tolerance..???
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May 12, 2015 12:17pm
The more this murderers kill bloggers in the name of their twisted beliefs, the more bloggers will arise. If these fanatics think they can murder those who have liberal secular views, the more bloggers with liberal secular beliefs will arise exponentially.
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May 12, 2015 12:46pm
When you live in Rome be a Roman.
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May 12, 2015 01:04pm
@majid sheikh Unfortunately, such eliminations are prevalent for many decades now in Bangladesh, Kerala, Assam etc - increasing in other states also. I am sure Pakistan also witnesses such murders but not many speak about it
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May 12, 2015 01:16pm
What a sad and horrible event. May he rest in peace.
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May 12, 2015 01:20pm
@Bulleh Singh Shah
Unfortunately extremism tends to actually silence the masses. Pakistan is a perfect example - it took us almost a decade (and a largely successful military campaign) for us to begin to find our voices to speak against extremism.
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May 12, 2015 02:20pm
You can kill people but you cannot kill ideas, they only grow in defiance.
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May 12, 2015 03:01pm
very sad, it seems it won't stop.
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May 12, 2015 03:07pm
Out of curiosity, how come all these bloggers happen to be from Hindu minority in Bangladesh?
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May 12, 2015 05:25pm
In Bangladesh as well as in Pakistan, the best people are being selected and eliminated by dark forces. Sabeen Mehmud and a stream of others in Pakistan and a bunch of thinkers in Bangladesh.
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May 12, 2015 06:22pm
@Taimoor Khan
Does it matter to which religion they belong to. They are humans and have the right to freedom of expression.
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May 12, 2015 06:46pm
Pakistan should help BD sort out this mess.Both countries are Islamic brothers.
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May 12, 2015 06:49pm
When people receive death threats, they should take it very seriously and leave the country. Life is most important, all other things are secondary. Take the example of Dr.Bernadette, after sacrificing her whole life for education in Pakistan, she had to leave because of death threats. This was a very sensible decision on her part. As society grows more and more intolerant, myopic in their view point, more barbaric, with nothing like law and order, what else can one do except leave if one possibly can. Never try to play hero with these barbarians, it is time to be more realistic and sensible. This is a most disgraceful, shameful, horrific act, there really are no words, the world demands that these criminals are brought to justice.
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May 12, 2015 06:49pm
From today onwards, I will write daily on Mukto mona blog. Truth does not know fear. If the extremists think that their beliefs and faith are superior they do not have to silence others as truth triumphs. Intolerance of divergent views proves that the fanatics do not have faith in their beliefs and veracity of their Faith. Only cowards and losers resort to violence. They will kill one and create thousand more to write and support Mukto-mona. Secularism is the way to civilisation.
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May 12, 2015 07:16pm
The so-called fanatics are the enemies of the faith they are trying to protect. In this age and time, online media is more powerful and nobody can silence the speakers other than by showing tolerance and creating conviction. There are people like me who always speak for the weaker and more somebody threatens more the resolve to stand up to the tyrants.
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May 12, 2015 08:24pm
@Atif Secularism means separation of religion and state. You can be religious and secular. Atheists do not believe in religion. They like to explain the reasoning behind their conclusions. It is much their right to talk about what they don't believe as it is your right to talk about what you do. The fact that you have never heard secularists criticise a religion other than Islam only proves that your worldview is limited.
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May 12, 2015 08:25pm
@Taimoor Khan
That's not quite right. Ahmed Rajib Haider who was murdered by these savages, was also an athiest blogger.
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May 12, 2015 08:37pm
I am an atheist and a rationalist , a staunch secularist and a scientist in my professional career. Meters from my home in Pune, a similar individual Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead for highlighting the regressive religious customs. He was the mildest man who respected the deep philosophies of major religions. It still hurts me. Why do religious folks get prickly at healthy dialogs and critiques?!
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May 12, 2015 08:46pm
@Syed I will read what you write brother!
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May 12, 2015 08:49pm
@SYED I salute you my Brother
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May 12, 2015 08:50pm
@Atif No... This happens when people like you do not accept the truth and start finding excuses for defending murder! Question is, do you believe in secularism?
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May 12, 2015 10:16pm
@Ridwan
Sorry but you are completely wrong. Don't compare supporting Army operation against Talibans with this issue. Majority of Pakistanis support death penalty for blasphemy. If these bloggers were in Pakistan they might be in Jail already.
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May 12, 2015 10:22pm
@Reason "When you live in Rome be a Roman."
Yes. And don't try to make Rome a better place.
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May 13, 2015 07:01am
@valiya
Why do people hurt others' feelings in the name of so called freedom of expression? Even freedom of expression is a tool of the west which can only be used for its designs. It is not allowed to be used against the west as proved by the recent cases of prompt apologies !!!!!
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May 13, 2015 02:00pm
//Bangladesh is an officially secular
country but more than 90 per cent of
its 160 million population are
Muslims.//
What does it even mean? USA and India are secular yet Christians and Hindus are in the majority. So what ? What has demographics got to do with secularism ??
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