Bangladesh widens crackdown on atheist bloggers

[Bosonic]

Source: AFP

DHAKA — Bangladesh has widened a crackdown on allegedly blasphemous blogs after a threat by Islamists to march to the capital demanding the prosecution of atheist bloggers, an official said Wednesday.

The telecommunications regulator ordered two leading Internet sites to remove hundreds of posts by seven bloggers whose writings it said offended Muslims, according to its assistant director Rahman Khan.

"These writings have defamed Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. The two sites -- Somewhereinblog.net and Amarblog.com -- have removed most of the posts," Khan told AFP. Khan said the regulator was scrutinising other sites to identify and erase "blasphemous blogs" in an attempt to ensure religious harmony in the mainly Muslim nation.

The move comes after Islamic groups and clerics, who have staged a series of deadly protests against atheist bloggers in recent weeks, threatened to march en masse to Dhaka on April 6 unless the bloggers are prosecuted.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtQXkbf0owXrPc7yxGOAgZfCbtBw?docId=CNG.050a0b0564c620ba5c22d568a1119301.2e1

[RKP5637]

1. Ain't religion just so F'en wonderful. n/t

[geek tragedy]

2. What a bunch of whiny children.

"Waaa waaaa somebody said something about our religion. Put them in jail daddy waa waaa."

[DetlefK]

3. I love the smell of mob-rule in the morning.

[JCMach1]

4. yet somehow Islam has survived more than 1000 years...

idiots!

[firenewt]

6. Does their local YMIA give swimming lessons? Sea level increase will flood half of the country.

Alienating large groups of people will be a bad move when the waters start rising. Unless they are counting on aid from the Islamic countries. Better hold your breath.

[JCMach1]

10. idiotic and repressive ideas will always be that...

and I think Bangladesh will be swimming long before the rest of the world...

I lived in an Islamic country where I had to constantly self-censor, or face any number of sanctions... It is oppressive...

[caseymoz]

5. You would think the Almighty

could defend His honor without the help of his puny, pissy followers if He were really offended. I mean, He's supposed to be the Creator of the this universe, that has not only lightning, but black holes that swallow whole solar systems. Does it seem like such a Being would need or care if His followers defended Him? Does it seem like a blogger is doing something significant against Him?

No and No. Let Allah show his displeasure without His followers help. He has no problem doing that in the scriptures. If it's really against His will, it just wouldn't happen.

[LeftishBrit]

12. Agreed. This is what is so ridiculous about blasphemy laws...

if there really is an all-powerful God, and if he really minds what people say to or about him, surely he can punish them; why should he need people defending him against a blogger?

[Alamuti Lotus]

17. the enforcement of "blasphemy" is never about a belief in God (or god, or gods, or whatever)

but rather, an enforcement of the power that believes itself to be God's representative--the power need not even honestly believe (in fact, rarely will it), just enforce the perception. God and the State always seem to be fist in glove.

In this case, the beards are the opposition in Bangladesh (a seriously threatened opposition, at that) and the pseudo-secular state is a powerful force arrayed against them. Much of the leadership of the strongest Islamist party are facing a threat of execution for their alleged war crimes during the war of independence. Sheikha Hasina (again, one of the only female world leaders) is enforcing a fairly strict pseudo-secular constitution at this moment, and the more conservative forces are threatened. The hardline taken by the beards on matters such as this is their way of attacking, and presumably becoming, the state power.

[and-justice-for-all]

7. This means that islam needs to be critized even harder...

religion sucks!

[RussBLib]

8. Aha! Another reason never to travel to Bangladesh

But they are not alone in their hatred/fear/persecution of atheists.

http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Laws-Penalizing-Blasphemy,-Apostasy-and-Defamation-of-Religion-are-Widespread.aspx

[truebrit71]

9. Man oh man, these invisible deities sure are sensitive...

[PassingFair]

11. Islamists probably didn't like their "tone".

Seems reasonable.

[Alamuti Lotus]

13. the Bangladeshi gov't is also cracking down on the Islamists

Sheikha Hasina (one of the world's only female heads of state) is also taking a hard line against these Islamist movements in other respects: much of the current leadership of the Saudi-sponsored Jamaat-i-Islami party is facing possible execution for war crimes charges in the coming weeks.

[WeekendWarrior]

14. Way to have faith in your faith

Your beliefs are so fragile that you're threatened by a handful of atheist bloggers? Really?

[daleo]

15. They should leave this in God's capable hands

God can magically scrub websites without help from mere mortals. it is blasphemy to usurp God's prerogative in this regard.

[xtraxritical]

16. It sounds just like the Tparty to me.