"He is suspected of having blasphemed against Islam." Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Indonesia: "Indonesian atheist faces jail after Facebook post," from AFP, January 20 (thanks to Kenneth):
PADANG, Indonesia — An Indonesian civil servant who declared himself an atheist on Facebook was arrested and is now facing jail for blasphemy after being attacked by an angry mob, police said Friday.Alexander An, 30, who wrote "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page, was beaten by a mob of dozens on Wednesday in his hometown in Pulau Punjung, West Sumatra province.
"He is suspected of having blasphemed against Islam," local police chief Chairul Aziz told AFP.
"The man told police investigators that if God really exists and has absolute power, why didn't he prevent bad things from happening in this world."
An said on his Facebook page that he was brought up as a Muslim, like the vast majority in Indonesia, where blasphemy is a punishable crime carrying a maximum five-year prison term.
Dozens of locals stormed into his office after a heated debate with them on Facebook over religion, police said.
An was also an administrator of a Facebook group promoting atheism with 1,243 followers. His postings no longer appeared online following his arrest.
If you place yourself between a Mahoundian and his god...Expect mob action, even if it only a mob of one...
Facebook is a mistake, it is an enabler of stupidity, and sometimes violence...It is too late for Alexander to take back his mistake of being too honest on Facebook...The fault finders have him, and they will find fault, Allah willing, and he always is...
"The man told police investigators that if God really exists and has absolute power, why didn't he prevent bad things from happening in this world."
This is a good argument against Judaism and Christianity, but Islam serves a god with a completely different nature. Allah, the butthead god of Islam, is full of hatred and evil and can easily be used to explain why bad things happen in the world. The Moslems are merely trying to point this out by showing what hateful, good-for-nothing, pieces of trash, both they and their god are.
You have to admit, they have countered his argument effectively.
If God gives you a car, and YOU wrap it around a tree, who is at fault?
Otherwise, everything is just a accident, nothing matters in the current, past, or future. Without God, nothing matters.
Thanks for pointing out this story. Sometimes it does seem like Jihad Watch does focus on Christian persecution at Muslim hands, but it's good to see the perception bucked now and again. Very much appreciated, Mr. Spencer.
Indonesia: Atheist attacked by angry mob, faces jail time for writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page
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Oddly, you don't see Indonesia trotted out quite as frequently as a supposed model of Islamic moderation. I wonder why...sarc/off
More:
"The man told police investigators that if God really exists and has absolute power, why didn't he prevent bad things from happening in this world."
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As poster Stash points out, this is *not* an argument against the existence of "Allah"...
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Dozens of locals stormed into his office after a heated debate with them on Facebook over religion, police said.
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Odd how most "heated debates on Facebook" in the civilized world remain just that. In Dar-al-Islam, they are likely to result in a real-time assault...
Duh Swami wrote:
Facebook is a mistake, it is an enabler of stupidity, and sometimes violence...It is too late for Alexander to take back his mistake of being too honest on Facebook...
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With all respect, Swami, the problem here is not really Facebook. The attacking Muslim mob is a time-honored Muslim tradition which much predates any sort of social media. The *only* bad thing about Facebook here is that it gave An a false sense of security when it came to freely voicing his views.
Remember, Facebook also hosted "Everybody Draw Muhammed Day".
Really, most of these technologies, like Facebook or the internet itself—are neutral. It can be used to spread the most vile Jihad propaganda, or it can be used to host Jihad Watch.
Secular Transhumanist wrote:
Thanks for pointing out this story. Sometimes it does seem like Jihad Watch does focus on Christian persecution at Muslim hands, but it's good to see the perception bucked now and again. Very much appreciated, Mr. Spencer.
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Actually, Jihad Watch—while it does, rightly, feature many stories about Muslim persecution of Christians—also features stories on the same sort of Muslim threat to Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, animists, and atheists.
Apostates like Mr. An—whether converts to another faith or atheists—are especially at risk.
We are *all* threatened by violent supremacist Islam.
This story—and others like it—are very important.
Glad to see you posting here, Secular Transhumanist.