History
Established in Dhaka in 1926 under the leadership of thinkers such as Kazi Abdul Odud, Abul Hussain, Kazi Motahar Hossain, and Motaher Hussain Chowdhury, the ' Muslim Sahitya Samaj ' (Muslim Literary Society) movement rallied behind the slogan: "Where knowledge is limited, the intellect is stifled, and liberation is impossible." In 1929, the publication of Abul Hussain’s essay Adesher Nigraha (The Oppression of Commands) provoked a furious reaction from Dhaka’s conservative Muslim society, forcing him to apologize and ultimately leave the city. [5]
The philosopher Ali Matubbar (1900–1985) authored books such as Satyer Sondhan (The Search for Truth, 1973), Srishtirahasya (The Mystery of Creation, 1977), and Anuman (Hypothesis, 1983), in which he presented arguments against religious myths and superstitions in language accessible to the common people. [6]
Following the political upheavals after 1975, " Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim " was inserted into the constitution, and in 1988, Islam was enshrined as the "State Religion." [7]
In 2001, the engineer and writer Avijit Roy launched ' Mukto-Mona ', the first and largest online platform in South Asia uniting Bengali atheists and rationalists. [8]
Between 2013 and 2018, militant groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) created hitlists and systematically assassinated bloggers, writers, publishers, and LGBT activists. These victims were hacked to death with machetes using the same modus operandi.
In November 2024, a decision to recruit 5,166 music and physical education teachers for primary schools was revoked following claims by Islamist groups that music education is "anti-Islamic." [9] [10] [11]
Persecution of irreligious people
Many secularist or irreligious bloggers who supported the anti-Islamist 2013 Shahbag protests came under attack following the protests. [20] Amnesty International noted with concern the rise in communal violence against religious minorities, including attacks on Hindus. [21] [22]
In early April 2013 the police began arresting bloggers they said were hurting religious sentiments. Four bloggers, Subrata Adhikary Shuvo, Russell Parvez, Mashiur Rahman Biplob and Asif Mohiuddin (who was still recovering from his wounds), were arrested within days of one another. The blog, Amar Blog, was also taken down. [23] A religious group called Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh called for the hanging of the bloggers. [24] Asif Mohiuddin's blog was shut down by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and he was jailed for posting "offensive comments about Islam and Mohammed." [25] [26] The secular government arrested several other bloggers and blocked about a dozen websites and blogs, as well as giving police protection to some bloggers. [27]
International organisations, including Human Rights Watch, [28] Amnesty International, [29] Reporters without Borders [30] and the Committee to Protect Journalists [31] condemned the imprisonment of bloggers and the climate of fear for journalists. Worldwide protest and demonstrations were held on in 2013 to put pressure on the Bangladeshi government to free the arrested bloggers. Several humanist groups (including the IHEU, the Center for Inquiry, the British Humanist Association, American Atheists and the Secular Coalition for America) called for their release, among others including [32] Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasrin, Hemant Mehta, Maryam Namazie, PZ Myers, Avijit Roy, Abu Ahammad, Ajoy Roy, Qayyum Chowdhury, Ramendu Majumdar and Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. [33]
Taslima Nasrin, an author and atheist, used to criticise rising religious fundamentalism and government inaction in her newspaper columns and books. In early 1992, mobs began attacking bookstores stocking her work. The same year she was assaulted at a book fair and her passport was confiscated. In July 1993, her novel Lajja was banned by the government which said it created misunderstanding among the communities. On 23 September 1993, a fatwa was issued for her death. After international pressure, her passport was returned in April 1994. She travelled to France and returned via India. On 4 July 1994, an arrest warrant was issued for hurting religious feelings and Nasrin went underground. On 3 August, she was granted bail, but she fled to Sweden and remained in exile. In 1998, she visited her critically ill mother in Bangladesh. In 2005, she moved to India and applied for citizenship. [34]
In 2003, Bangladeshi author Humayun Azad wrote a book about an Islamic fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh collaborating with the Pakistani army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Azad received numerous death threats from fundamentalists until his death the next year. [35] In May 2015, Humayun Azad's son, blogger Ananya Azad, was repeatedly threatened with death after publishing critiques of Islamist fundamentalism. [36] He was subsequently forced into exile in Europe. [37]
On 15 January 2013, Asif Mohiuddin, an atheist blogger (rational, gentle and Anti-Islamist), was stabbed near his office in Dhaka. He survived the attack. [38] On 15 February 2013, Ahmed Rajib Haider, a prominent anti-Islamist blogger, was found murdered by a machete outside his Dhaka home. [39] Mohiuddin, a winner of the BOBs award for online activism, was on an Islamist hit list that also included the murdered sociology professor Shafiul Islam. [40]
On the night of 7 March 2013, an atheist blogger Sunnyur Rahaman was attacked by two men who swooped on him and hacked him with machetes while shouting "Allahu Akbar". He came under attack around 9:00 pm near Purabi Cinema Hall in Mirpur. With the support of local police he was rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital with wounds in his head, neck, right leg and left hand. [41]
On 26 February 2015, Avijit Roy, the founder of the Mukto-Mona blog, and his wife were attacked in Dhaka with machete-wielding assailants. Roy died on his way to the hospital. His wife was also seriously injured and lost a finger. [42] [43]
On 30 March 2015, blogger Washiqur Rahman was killed in a similar attack in Dhaka. The police arrested two suspects near the scene and recovered meat cleavers from them. The suspects said they killed Rahman due to his anti-Islamic articles. [44]
On 12 March 2015, another blogger Ananta Bijoy Das was attacked and murdered by masked men wielding machetes. Ananta Bijoy Das was the editor of the science magazine Jukti. [45]
