Just saw email from Dr. Sukhamaya Bain and he was expressing opposing view as well. Just to clarify, the event was planned at a restaurant but it was not for raising any fund.
Sincerely,
Prodip
From: bmaglobal@googlegroups.com [mailto:bmaglobal@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Prodip K Saha
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2015 8:55 PM
To: Basu Bose; 'Dipen Bhattacharya'
Cc: bmaglobal@googlegroups.com; Mukto-Mona
Subject: RE: Tribute to Avijit @ Spicy Cuisine at 7 PM
Dear Basu da and Dipen Babu,
I was the one who personally engaged Mike couple of weeks back and requested him to do something to protest the gruesome killing of Dr. Avijit Roy. This is not the first time we have asked him to speak at a function like this. He was one of the speakers at HRCB event held on April, 2013. It was at the height when 100's of temples were burned, broken or desecrated in Bangladesh. He was/is vocal against the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh. I don't know why a good intention fell victim and how people are misinformed about the event!
So, I would be personally responsible for inviting him and organization of the event. I was surprised to learn that a lot of people were expressing negative view of the event but I learned it little late as I was not reading feed from Mukto-Mona. I had brief phone conversation with Hasan Mahmud (Mukto-Mona moderator) yesterday and that's how I came to know more. He was involved from the beginning of our plan. So, I promised him we are not going to do anything that may hurt the feelings of well-wishers of Avijit Roy. Accordingly, I called Mike immediately and cancelled the program- a novel effort was killed. L
Differing opinion is healthy but one should be prejudge without knowing the facts. You may read the press release from Mike at- http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-tribute-to-avijit-roy-man-for-freedom.html?m=1.
Anyway, we are planning for a bigger event to pay tribute to Dr. Avijit Roy and more information would be shared as we make progress.
Feel free to respond to me personally should you have further question.
Sincerely,
Prodip Saha
From: bmaglobal@googlegroups.com [mailto:bmaglobal@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Basu Bose
Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2015 6:47 PM
To: bmaglobal@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Tribute to Avijit @ Spicy Cuisine at 7 PM
Sorry, I wasn't aware of who this gentleman is but after reading his brief intro In the invite, I felt a little uncomfortable (even more so, after reading this article which isn't able to relate to the universality or pluralism of any non-Abrahamic faith, the most extreme & violent utterings in the Koran towards the Infidels etc. which should all be expunged if a new Koran were to emerge) and, his connections with CAIR etc.
There are many progressive Muslims in North America -e.g. Tarek Fatah who openly raises questions about what sections of the Koran says and, abhors what Muslim invaders to India did with the spoils of war etc.
For me, it doesn't really matter how closely associated he was with Mukto Mona, I wouldn't have attended this tribute, if I were living in Texas.
But that's my personal view- some of you may know him better.
From: bmaglobal@googlegroups.com [mailto:bmaglobal@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Dipen Bhattacharya
Sent: March-14-15 2:29 AM
To: Bmaglobal Googlegroups
Cc: RHYTHM-GROUP@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Tribute to Avijit @ Spicy Cuisine at 7 PM
I am bit surprised that Mike Ghouse World Muslim Congress is a cosponsor of this event. I have already heard from some Muktomona writers about this event and they were anxious about Mike Ghouse being a co-sponsor. A Muktomona organizer joked that he might not be able to return with his head intact if he attends the event. Prodip Babu might be able to throw some light on this issue.
Avijit Roy and the Muktomona society have fought against the virus of entrenched extremist and supremacist belief systems. I wonder if Mike Ghouse is the right person to honor Avijit's memory.
Prodipda, I am not prejudging his intentions, but I cannot make a judgement call based on his participation in various news media and writings over the past decade.
Here is one of his articles in Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/quran-is-not-for-muslims_b_6174940.html
Best, DB
On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 6:32 PM, Prodip K Saha <prodip.kumar@verizon.net> wrote:
Dear,
Please plan to attend to pay tribute to Dr Avijit Roy. Some of us will take care of the payment tab and we love to see you tomorrow.
Dinner Event: A Tribute Avijit Roy, the freedom fighter
Date and time: 7:00 PM on Saturday, March 14, 2015
Place: Spicy Cuisine, 1800 Valley View Ln, Irving, TX 75061
Avijit Roy was a software engineer by career, but writing and blogging were his calling. And he did not speak alone. Roy founded the religion-critical blog Mukto Mona, which served multiple writers. He called it "an Internet congregation of freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists and humanists mainly of Bengali and South Asian descent who are scattered across the globe."
"Avijit Roy known for his critique of religious extremism was hacked to death in the university area (Dhaka, Bangladesh) by machete-wielding assailants, who attacked the Bangladeshi-origin writer as he was returning from the book fair with his wife on Thursday." Times of India. "Free thinking in Bangladesh has become a great danger, all the free thinkers are at great risk," writer-journalist Shahriar Kabir said.
Mike Ghouse, president of world Muslim congress adds, "Bangladesh has ratified the United Nations Humans rights and must take the responsibility to hunt down the criminals who violated the treaty and punish them accordingly to restore trust and safety of her citizens. The criminals have also violated Islamic values of freedom of speech laid down in Quran, and Muslim have an obligation to record straight and punish the criminals.
Hasan Mahmud is a co-founder and advisor of Mukto Mona. "I am witness of how a positive change in young generation of a nation can be initiated if led by a talented person like Avi." Mahmud is also an advisor with World Muslim Congress, a Dallas based think tank committed to pluralism in Islam.
We are pleased to invite those who love freedom to join us to pay a tribute to Avi.
Dinner Event: A Tribute Avijit Roy, the freedom fighter
Date and time: 7:00 PM on Saturday, March 14, 2015
Place: Spicy Cuisine, 1800 Valley View Ln, Irving, TX 75061
Dinner: $15/person to defray the cost – Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian
Contact:
Prodip Saha (214) 783 2456
Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916
Supporting Organizations: Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress, Human Rights Center for Bangladesh, SADeW, SouthAsian Democracy Watch and other organizations.
World Muslim Congress, 2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206, Dallas, TX 75234 – www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
Thanks,
Prodip
--
This is a global email group to highlight the Human Right violation of
Bangladesh Minorities. This group is created to communicate and bring a long
term strategy to deal against the continuous persecution of Bangladesh
Minorities. We want to campaign on a single point to raise our voice against
all Human Rights violation of Bangladesh Minorities.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bmaglobal" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bmaglobal+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to bmaglobal@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bmaglobal.
--
This is a global email group to highlight the Human Right violation of
Bangladesh Minorities. This group is created to communicate and bring a long
term strategy to deal against the continuous persecution of Bangladesh
Minorities. We want to campaign on a single point to raise our voice against
all Human Rights violation of Bangladesh Minorities.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bmaglobal" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bmaglobal+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to bmaglobal@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bmaglobal.
--
This is a global email group to highlight the Human Right violation of
Bangladesh Minorities. This group is created to communicate and bring a long
term strategy to deal against the continuous persecution of Bangladesh
Minorities. We want to campaign on a single point to raise our voice against
all Human Rights violation of Bangladesh Minorities.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bmaglobal" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bmaglobal+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to bmaglobal@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bmaglobal.
--
This is a global email group to highlight the Human Right violation of
Bangladesh Minorities. This group is created to communicate and bring a long
term strategy to deal against the continuous persecution of Bangladesh
Minorities. We want to campaign on a single point to raise our voice against
all Human Rights violation of Bangladesh Minorities.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bmaglobal" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bmaglobal+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to bmaglobal@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bmaglobal.
__._,_.___
