Tough times coming. From Ekklesia, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
An unprecedented series of simultaneous bomb blasts in Bangladesh is a "clear indication of a growing Islamic fundamentalism in our country," according to a Bangladeshi church leader. The bombs killed two people and injured about 100 two weeks ago."It's unbelievable that 63 of our 64 districts witnessed explosions without police and intelligence officials having a single clue," said Augustine Dipak Karmakar, general secretary of the Church of Bangladesh.
Speaking to Anto Akkara for Ecumenical News International during a visit to New Delhi for a South Asian church meeting, Karmakar said the bomb blasts showed that the fundamentalists "are getting stronger and stronger".
Hundreds of crudely made bombs exploded at government offices, courts and even press clubs across Bangladesh on 17 August, but no arrests had been made by 22 August. Police recovered from the blast sites leaflets with messages from the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group calling for Islamic rule in Bangladesh and warning the US and Britain against occupation of Muslim nations.
Though the blasts did not target any community, Karmakar noted the message was very clear: "The secular space is shrinking in my country". "This is a matter of serious concern to Christians and others," he said, while noting that the minuscule Christian community in Bangladesh was "safer compared to the Hindus whose condition is miserable"....
Karmakar said that apart from Islamic fundamentalist violence, the Hindu minority is victimised politically under Muslim-dominated government machinery. As a result, he said, Hindus are migrating to the bordering Indian state of West Bengal - which shares the Bengali language.
Since Bangladesh's breakaway from Pakistan, the non-Muslim population has shrunk, especially Hindus who accounted for 30 per cent of the population prior to the independence of Bangladesh, but were less than 10 per cent by 2000. If the pattern continues, Karmakar cautioned: "In a few years time, things will get worse and we too will be targeted."
For Bangladesh (or for couleur-locale Raj lovers and sticklers for accuracy: Bangla Desh)f igures: 35% non-Muslim at independence, 8% non-Muslims now. Hindus routinely attacked and murdered, if they do such terrible things as happen to be walking by a mosque when excited worshippers are leaving Friday Prayers. What better way to celebrate being a Muslim than beating to death a passing Hindu? (such things can be seen on line).
In 1971, it was the most fanatical Muslims who aided the army of West Pakistan to murder locals fighting for independence. They believed the Pakistani propaganda that insisted fighting Pakistan was like fighting Islam, for Pakistan was the very embodiment of Islam. Google "razakars" and "Bangadesh" and "Posted by Hugh" for more on what happened in 1971, and is happening still.
What would it take for those born into Islam in Bangladesh and Pakistan to begin to question, to begin to think about what it must have been like, for their ancestors, what conditions did they have to endure, before they "reverted" to Islam? There has been much written -- not enough has been distriubted inthe West, or even in India itself, where it is fashionable to minimize the horrors of Islamic conquest, and to emphasize in the BarbaraCartland/William Dalrymple (oh, sorry, he's a "serious" scholar, and wins prizes too boot -- doesn't that settle the matter?) manner the luxuries-and-love-intrigue of this or that Mughal court.
Not everyone born into Islam must condemn himself to the permanent stunting of moral and intellectual and artistic comprehension that is a direct product of both doctrine (and attitudes arising from doctrine) and of specific prohibitons (as on music, sculpture, paintings of living creatures). Not everyone need stick with it, out of filial piety, or embarrassment, or confusion, or the need, greatly exaggerated, to "have an identity." No you don't. You can fashion your own destiny. It is not your fault, and it is not your responsiblity -- you can slough off that skin anytime you want.
It is hard not to notice that among those who are born into Islam, and choose not to play the game of "Muslim-for-identificaton-purposes-only" Muslim (Fareed Zakaria, Fouad Ajami, etc.), but rather leave it openly (Ibn Warraq, Ali Sina, Irfan Khawaja), tend to be the most amusing, interesting, intelligent, cultivated of people. They are mentally and emotionally courageous. They have had to fight their way to the truth, often leaving family and background behind. Muslims.
But just look at those tempted by the Total Regulation of Life, the Total Explanation of the Universe, that is Islam. Who is tempted by that? What kinds of people? Even if not all are the John-Walker-Lindh-Richard-Reid-Jose-Padilla-David-Hicks types, they are often the former fanatical Marxists, casting about for a New God (Roger Garaudy), and of course among the fellow travellers of Islam, antisemites and Jewish-conspiracy-theorists (the same thing) can be counted to appear front and center, everyone from David Duke to Maurizio Blondet.
One never comes across a composed, intelligent, bemused individual raised outside Islam who converts (or "reverts" as Muslims have it) to Islam. The converts I have seen at the very least have something not quite right, something emotionally or intellectually funny,about them.
Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha.
Hugh, i believe Razakars were the followers of an Islamic group which wanted the Pricely stateof Hyderabad to remain independent from India, may b you could throw light on this topic. Hugh i'm just curious, how did you come to study the Islamic persecution of Hindus, not an intresting topic in the west even in Indian diaspora...
As for this Karmarkar guy this is funny. His name sounds pretty Marathi to me, i wonder what he is doing in Bangladesh... if he has an Indian passport, he better get out.
Hugh, your knowledge of the history of Islamic intolerance is mind-boggling. I wasn't even aware such a vicious assault against non-Muslims took place in Bangladesh. You should publish the list of books you've studied one day, so that your readers could attain at least a part of your knowledge.
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dolphin, CAGE co-founder.
http://www.acage.org
"[Muslim apostates] are mentally and emotionally courageous. They have had to fight their way to the truth, often leaving family and background behind. Muslims." - Hugh
Indeed, imagine a world, an entire world, where daring to think for oneself was a guarantee of banishment or death. And yet, the mind numbing intensity that is Islam, with all it's rules and regulations from sun-up to sundown, and the guilt, guilt, guilt used as a bludgeon on anyone who dares to raise his hand in class, at a tender age no less, once? For that first experience must attempt to guarantee it never happens again. The people who actually make it through that increasingly painful series of blows, delivered by the hand of their loved ones no less, must be the most courageous people on earth.
They must be honored and welcomed. They must never be ignored. It is a fact we ignore them at our own peril.
God Bless Ibn Warraq. God Bless Ali Sina. God Bless Hirsi Ali and all the unknown brave souls who may be trembling on the brink and who should be encouraged to go that extra mile and break openly with Islam.
Revive the Underground Railroad. We need to give the party, just to see how many would come.
Iraq has given us many answers we needed to know about the relative strength of Islam. Alas, there is no country brave enough or strong enough or wise enough to hold the door of Islam open, so that an undoubtedly tiny percentage, the fortunate few, might leave. Where is the brave President Bush on this one? Who has moral courage now?
Secularism alone, I'm afraid, is not strong enough to hold the door out of Islam open. Secularism simply allows Islam to filter into the unsuspecting Infidel lands. And I don't believe secularism alone can heal the sickness that stems from a spiritual source.
The fact is that the more we give the more cocky they will get. It ties in with the fact that as we give more money to muslim nations, they do not think it is our charity but the will of allah. Confident that this is a sign that they are doing right, as allah is soaking it to the West for islamic benefit, they get more cocky.
Stop all aid and all immigration, and the corollary starts to hold, ie muslims start to think that allah is displeased with them and they start to behave.
Hindus and Christians in Bangladesh are one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the world. It is bad enough that they are the pooorest of the poor in a poor country, but to be persecuted as well?
See Barnabus Fund for details on persecution of Christians. Ali Sena had quite a few articles about a year ago, on the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
This is the link to the Barnabas Fund website.
http://www.barnabasfund.org/
I recommend clicking the news button and reading about the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Violence In The Qur'an and The Islamization of Europe. That last article has been repeated, criticially, on some islamic websites, which I found while I was googling to find more information on one point in the article.
Islam bleeds into neighbouring Assam:
http://www.northeastvigil.com/news/index.php?itemid=5517
Illegal migration Disparity in growth may hit NE
Date: September 12, 2004 By: Correspondent Source: The Assam Tribune, Guwahati
NEW DELHI, Sept 11 – The problem of illegal infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh continues to haunt the North Eastern States (NES) as glaring disparity in growth pattern of Hindus and Muslims is likely to heat up the political atmosphere in the Region. Notwithstanding the adjusted figures released by the Department of Census under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) the situation in the North-east particularly Assam remains unchanged. The adjusted figures were released after deducting the data of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
The confusion had arisen because data of Assam, which had no census in 1981 and Jammu and Kashmir in 1991 were added leading to marked increase in Muslim population. J&K is Muslim majority State and Assam too has a sizeable Muslim population.
What is significant in case of Assam though is that growth of Hindu population has declined by 2.2 percent from 67.1 per cent in 1991 Census to 64.9 per cent in 2001. On the other hand, proportion of Muslim population in the State has marginally increased from 28.4 percent in 1991 to 30.9 percent.
However, only five out of 23 districts in Assam are Muslim majority. The Muslim majority districts are Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Hailakandi and Karimganj. The rest of 18 districts are Hindu majority.
The phenomenon of fall in Hindu population growth rate is not limited to Assam alone as several of neighbouring States, which are infiltration-prone too have witnessed similar shrinkages. Hindu population in States like Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland have shrunk, while Muslim, Christian and Buddhist population have increased.
In Meghalaya the percentage of Hindu population was 14.7, in 2001it came down to 13.3 percent. In Tripura, another infiltration prone state the percentage of Hindu population in 1991 was 86.5 percent, while in 2001it shrunk to 85.6 percent In Arunachal Pradesh for instance the Christian population has grown up to 18.7 percent of the total population. However, in Nagaland, which recorded the highest population growth rate of nearly 68 percent in 2001 Census the proportionate growth rate of Muslim population was marginal. The proportion of Hindu population has decreased by around three percent. The proportion of four main religious groups in the North-east as follows:
Meanwhile, the storm over demographic change in Assam is likely to rage for a while, with BJP and its allies fishing into the troubled waters. It was the same story in other neighbouring States.
On Wednesday, BJP national president, M. Venkahiah Naidu raising the issue said that the population of Hindus has declined to 80.5 percent. The rate of growth of population has come down by a significant 4.8 percent from 1991-2001 - from 25.1 percent to 20.3 percent. In contrast, Muslim population has gone up to 13.4 percent and their rate of growth has also gone up from 34.5 percent to 36 percent. The rate of growth of Sikhs and Buddhists has also come down whereas; the Christians’ growth rate has gone up.
Yesterday, BJP revived its demand for a National Population Policy pressing for a national debate on incentives and disincentives to check the population explosion. BJP Spokesman Arun Jaitley told newsmen that all political parties should join the ‘national debate’ as unbridled population growth would lead to increase in poverty, thereby causing misery to the nation.
Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has questioned the adjusted data that included Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, maintaining that the absolute Hindu population was 80.5 per cent, but was adjusted subsequently to 81.4 per cent within 24 hours after a hue and cry was raised over the ‘high growth’ figures of Muslim population in the ‘First Report on Religion’. ‘’How could this happen in 24 hours? How can Hindus produce 82 lakh children within 24 hours? And even if they produced so many children in 2004, how can these be adjusted in 2001?’’ wondered VHP leader Praveen Togadia.
Meanwhile, the fiasco has landed in the Centre particularly Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil in a tight spot. Yesterday, he was summoned by AICC president Sonia Gandhi and asked to explain. Senior Congress leader say that the release of the census data has given the rival BJP a potential issue, which would be exploited in Assembly elections in Maharastra.
© The Assam Tribune, Guwahati