In recent weeks, Muslims in Bangladesh have marched on the capital demanding death for atheists who have simply openly blogged about their their beliefs. Islamic groups have denounced the blogs as an insult to Mohammad and Islam and demanded arrests. In the meantime, they have attacked atheists and engaged in violent attacks in the name of Islam. They have killed eight people as part of their moral crusade. Rather than arresting the culprits, the government has moved against the bloggers.
Two leading Internet sites have been ordered to remove hundreds of posts by seven bloggers. This attack on free speech is led by assistant director Rahman Khan who insisted that “[t]hese writings have defamed Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. The two sites have removed most of the posts.” Khan called such bloggers the enemy of Islam and the nation for stating their beliefs.
A dozen websites have been blocked and the government has set up a panel to carry on a witch hunt for atheists.
Ironically, yesterday I spoke at the Department of Energy on the war on free speech, including the past U.S. support for blasphemy measures in the United Nations. This is yet another example of the danger of such appeasement for those seeking to criminalize insults to religion. There can be no accommodation for blasphemy by a free nation as Bangladesh shows by inverse example.
Source: Tribune
I remember posting on another blog site a while back that once the corporation pushes thru the same sex bills into law. they would begin with the atheists all of this is a ruse to keep you blinded to the fact that they are forcing thru laws that allows pedophiles to have sex with children 6 and older
Hate speech is illegal if made towards a woman or sexual or racial minority but legal if made towards a religion? Historically and logically, id say that is pretty short sighted.
Seriously – fundamentalist muslims: crawl back under your stone and stop bothering the rest of us. No, seriously.
Jerome, right you are. There were some articles about just that kind of thing recently. That is why I too worry about America’s apparent willingness to engage with other countries in setting some kind of blasphemy standard. To be fair, SoS Clinton did say that America would not constrain the first Amendment with such standards, no worries on that point, but, political positions change though and she’s gone. I’d like an update from Kerry on that issue.
This is what happens when religion becomes too powerful. One should not forget that less than a century ago there were still blasphemy prosecutions against atheists in America. A good segment of Americans when polled would still support these type of prosecutions. Christian fundamentalist types commonly advocate that atheist speech be removed by the government, such as on billboards. When it is not, they commonly vandalize it. Still a long way to go in the U.S. to live up to our Enlightenment principles.
Nick, no, he did the right thing at the time: I recall the war for their independence and its aftermath, it was a horrible, horrible thing. The move to radical Muslim fundamentalism is a recent thing and, stab in the dark here, I suspect Saudi money to fund the radicals. Bangladesh had real promise and was set up as a parliamentary democracy. Sad, sad, sad. Fundamentalism, why we can’t have anything nice.
I admit though, that was a good line 🙂
BS!
Bangladeshi government have been killing muslims themselves.
George Harrison called from his grave, he wants his concert/album money back.
I think our radical Muslim brothers are fast becoming the universe’s most despised inhabitants. The Orcs needed a break anyway:
Amazing how ideologues, who, one thinks, should be able to get a handle on that ideology doesn’t stem from human bodies and doesn’t desist when human bodies are destroyed. Ideas and beliefs have a funny way of continuing to exist in the ether waves beyond human decomposition.
Respectfully,
American foreign aid has done wonders in our world since 1945 …. You could fill the Library of Congress with details of all the good Americans have done… Paid for by our tax dollars — and for the most part we have never complained when the good deeds we sow bear fruit.
We are today, though, faced with mounting debt — over 16 Trillion as we all know and that figure is climbing — as well as unemployment and a truly crumbling infrastructure that must start getting repaired before more of it crumbles killing people like it did in Minneapolis as well as that bridge on the NY Thruway years ago … As two examples out of about 70,000 that need repair …..
So, why, when we see this kind of religious intolerance / “CR*P” … From nation-states like this happening do we continue to send these countries foreign aid???
I am sorry but it has to stop … Not only in Bangladesh but especially in our
“REAL” allies (LOL) Iraq and Afghanistan — do you hear that Presidents Karzai and Maliki ….???
The punishment demanded seems to almost always be death.
Bangladesh will be among the first countries to succumb to the coming high water. Good thing they are dealing with those pesky athiests. Maybe they can build a sea wall made of blasphemers. Hope allah can swim.
Agree with Frankly, these people have such low regard for their god. Their god can’t even stand up to a few puny human bloggers. Go figure.
Of course there beliefs are right… Because god told em….
Agreed, Frankly. How insecure in their beliefs are these people that they are so threatened by those who don’t believe? It’s, well, unbelievable!
How weak and pathetic is your God who cannot withstand my disbelief! What an insignificant wimp you must think He is. If He were an all-powerful deity my refusal to acknowledge Him would be so insignificant as to be nothing.
If those tentheads are going to act like that in Bangladesh then I demand that we crack down on tentheads blogging in America. There is nothing more blastfurnace than a tenthead blogger. Blasphfemiinst, blastfurnace, it is all the same thing,
Bangladesh: Pirate Territory. Fly over and flush. Dont buy no toilet products from them. If ya got to, wipe the arse with a page from Sears Roebuck catalogue.
Perhaps this year’s Monsoon will be particularly devastating, and flood huge areas where these ”Orthodox” Muslims live…. Go Allah!!!!!
Sharing on Facebook. One outrage after another.