Nastiker Dharmakatha
After the recent killing of student Nazimuddin Samad (28), the Bangladesh government has once again taken to blaming the victim for his death — just like they did after all the other killings of atheist bloggers, writers, and publishers in Bangladesh.
On April 6, 2016, online activist Nazimuddin Samad was hacked with machetes and then shot to death due to apostasy. He is this year’s first target of Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh division of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS (as per their claim), after they had killed five atheist bloggers, writers, and publishers in the horrific year 2015 and a pro-secular activist in 2013.
The very next day, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the press that the government would begin its investigation by looking through Nazimuddin's writings, to determine whether there were any remarks that hurt religious sentiment. He also warned that in any country, such writings couldn’t be tolerated.
Such victim blaming is now very common in Bangladesh. Every time an atheist or secularist is killed, instead of finding and arresting the killers, the government and police try to blame the person who was assassinated.
Government takes no responsibility for killings
Even worse, on April 14, 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina openly said that the government would not take any responsibility for the killings of atheist bloggers. She said: “We perform our religious rituals. But, if anyone writes filthy words against our religion, why should we tolerate that? (..)... But, I consider such writings as not free thinking but filthy words. Why anyone would write such things? It’s not at all acceptable if anyone writes against our prophet or other religions. This is a characteristic fault, expression of a distorted or filthy mindset. I hope no one would write such filthy things.(..).. Why the government would take responsibility if such writings lead to any untoward incidents? Everyone should maintain decency. Or else the government wouldn’t take the responsibility for any uncivilized attitude. (..). But, if anyone doesn’t abide by the guidance of Almighty Allah and his prophet and thus kill people, it is ‘Shirk’. I hope no one would indulge in such act.”
We strongly believe that such statements are disrespectful to the rights of those killed, and directly encourage the killers by making clear that the government will not take any responsibility. It proves that the state has become a killers’ state.
IS soldiers sharpen their knives to slaughter the atheists
The latest issue (Issue 14, Rajab 1437/April 2016) of DABIQ, the official publication of the Islamic State, contains an interview with the Amir of the Khilafah’s solidiers in Bengal, Shaykh Abu Ibrahim Al-Hanif.
In reply to the question “Has the emergence of the Khilafah’s soldiers in Bengal had any effect in intimidating or silencing the apostates who insult the Prophet (SM) and those who call to secularism?”, SH. ABU IBRAHIM states: “Alhamdu lillah, the emergence of the soldiers of the Khilafah has terrified the kuffar in the region in general and in particular the atheists and secularists who mock Islam and our beloved Prophet (SM). This became evident when some of the leading atheists in the region claimed to have received death threats from the soldiers of the Khilafah in Bengal. But it is not the methodology of the Khilafah’s soldiers to send mere threats to the enemies of Allah. Rather, we let our actions do the talking. And our soldiers are presently sharpening their knives to slaughter the atheists, the mockers of the Prophet (SM), and every other apostate in the region, bi idnillāh. We say just as Shaykh Usamah Ibn Ladin said, “If there is no limit to the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions.”
And yet, our prime minister and governmental agencies continue to claim that there are no IS or al Qaeda extremists in Bangladesh!
Apostates
According to SH. ABU IBRAHIM, there are mainly four deviant and apostate sects in Bangladesh: first, a small number of Rafidah who are funded and supported by the Iranian government; second, a significant number of Qadiyaniyyah; third, a large number of apostates who have converted from Islam to Christianity due to the purportedly deceptive preaching carried out by local and foreign missionaries, and the relentless efforts of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Bengal; and, finally, many grave-worshiping Sufis and false “saints” who call people to blatant acts of shirk.
So, in our so-called secular and Islamic country (in our constitution we have both “secularism” and “Islam as state religion”), the government continues to hide the existence of Islamic extremists, and blame the victims for their writings critical of Islam, while continuously failing to find and arrest the killers — and now the prime minister openly is declaring that the government will not take any responsibility if “uncivilized” writings of atheists lead to any untoward incidents! This could only mean that , like the extremists, our prime minister also supports killing for apostasy. How could Sheikh Hasina remove the blood from her hands?
Op de foto: premier Sheikh Hasina (rechts)