Thank you, Dr Chakrabarty, for raising some of the very intractable questions. I will enlist your questions first and then try to answer them. You said:
(1) Although Indian subcontinent people always embraced religion, how come this faith virus has now become so infectious?
(2) Does religion violate Human Rights? You answered yourself by saying, definitely not.
(3) Does the use of hijab, burqa and niqab give rise to militancy? You commented that Islamic militancy is the product of politics.
It is true religions were always there in the subcontinent or, for that matter, all over the world for centuries. But what has changed during the last few decades is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, in the form of Wahhabism (aided and abetted by Saudi Arabia). This Wahhabism had infiltrated into Bangladesh since early 1980s in various guises - the number of madrassas had gone up from no more than a few dozens during the Pakistan time (1970) to well over 19,000 in 2012 (The Commonwealth Institute Report). These madrassas have now over 10 million attendees and are churning out more than 1.5 million virtually illiterate, only Quran-reciting block headed morons every year. When poor illiterate parents in the villages are given the opportunity to send their children to madrassas free of charge with free meal, free books etc., why shouldn't they avail of the opportunity. The government of the day had totally ignored them. On top of that, there are 275,000 mosques in the country! With a propaganda machinery as massive as this, it is no wonder that the vast majority of illiterate Muslims are falling prey to the ideology (Wahhabism/Salafism) these madrassas and mosques are spreading. So, the faith which was in existence for centuries in the subcontinent has now become mainstream educational platform for the vast majority of the population. To them nothing matters other than what mullahs told them about educational/religious matters - Allah, Creator, Satan, Heaven and Hell etc. These mono-directional bigoted educational instructions remain embedded in their minds and these people reinforce each other's conceited religious ideas and this is what Avijit called 'the virus of faith'.
To answer to your second question, I would say that religion definitely violates Human Rights. I myself had published a number of articles indicating how religion violates Human Rights - women must remain confined within the house, their education level cannot go beyond level 5 etc. These are religious violations which are in addition to what is practiced in Middle Eastern Muslim countries in the name of religion. Again I can forward my published paper, if you are interested.
The third question is bit of a conundrum. I would say that religious militancy gives rise to the use of hijab, burqa and niqab; not the other way round. These attires are explicit statements of religious superiority and virtuosity by bigoted minds; even though the people donning them are far from superior.
Lastly I would say that the religion had been hijacked by the Wahhabis to suit their political agenda. Of course, Islam had always been a political religion; but it had never been used so blatantly as a political tool.
I hope I have answered your questions.
- AR
(Dr A Rahman)
Thanks Dr. Rahman for giving us an opportunity to read the article by Lipika Pelham. I have not read Avijit Roy's "The Virus of Faith", and that's why I am not aware of the content and tone of the text. But I agree that faith (in a religion, nationalism, communism, etc.) is a virus as it can grow and spread fast. The people of the Indian subcontinent historically have always embraced a faith, which means that all encompassing virus has always been there. Now the question is how the viral 'infection' has affected the various aspects of a society. Has the effect of religion been always some sort of human rights violation? Definitely not. Religion tries to control one's life style which includes food pattern and clothes one needs to wear. Wearing hijab, burkha, keeping beard, and wearing Islamic cap, etc. are common among the Muslims. Lipika Pelham has noticed excessive use of the same during her recent visit to Bangladesh. Why is this excessive use of the same? The preachers obviously morally oblige the believers and even create fear in their minds. I wonder if this widespread use of cap, hijab, etc. has any correlation with Islamic militancy. My understanding is that there is no such correlation. I believe Islamic militancy is a product of politics.
What can I say? The points you raised here crossed my mind too, but I found no rational answer. I tried my best to raise consciousness among the Bangladeshi public and international concerned people - a bdnews24.com op-ed, mukto-mona article, international petitions through www.avaaz.org, British Humanist Association petition, FB posting, signing of the petition of the US Congress demanding FBI involvement etc etc. Let us see whether the murderer or murderers are apprehended or not.
Read the write-up by a Bangladeshi lady living in England - End of Secular Bangladesh? - the link is given below
Please write to your friends, colleagues, relations and, of course, to the local politicians. As the article above pointed out: "If Avijit is beaten, so is Bangladesh". So it is an existential struggle.
- A Rahman
Hasina's past record regarding her reaction to Islamist militants's attacks on freedom loving people was pretty good. Khaleda blamed AL for the brutal attack on Humayun Azad. Hasina was not allowed to visit wounded Azad in the hospital. Hasina met Malali and gave her an affectionate kiss on the forehead. But it is really intriguing what happened this time. Her complete silence is not only shocking, it is painful too. I expected her to visit Prof. Ajoy Roy who happens to be a recipient of Ekushey Padak. She visits burn units. She visits victims and close relatives of victims to solace them. Avijit was an atheist. And so was Humayun Azad. I don't know if there is any other politics or she has any personal grievance. It is noteworthy that Mamata expressed her condemnation. Any way, I am happy that Hasina has allowed FBI to investigate.
Sent from my iPhone
It is rather odd that PM has nothing to say about this gruesome murder of a great intellectual and freethinker. Her stance is very troubling. It looks like the progressive forces have to fight their own battle without the Awamis?
Pakistan goes through some kind of election every few years, and it has some king of government. But, the ultimate power is always with the military and the religious fanatics. How about Bangladesh?
Bangladesh has a government also, but ultimate power is with the military and the religious fanatics. As a result, Government officials and Politicians think many times before taking any step or saying anything against religious fanatics. As you can see - Prime Minister is mum on the gruesome murder of Avijit Roy. So, what can you say about country's academicians, when government appears to be powerless on this issue? The entire country appears to be under seize, and everyone's life is on lease from the religious fanatics.
Alas! This is the Sheikh Mujib's Sonar Bangla today.
Jiten Roy
Short, crisp and elegant writing! People like Abhijit was born in a wrong country where idiotic ideas and beliefs have more value than critical thinking. Shame on us!