MUSLIM HEROES (V): A BENGALI SAKHAROV
A VERY DANGEROUS MAN..."I've found a moderate Muslim, one who loves his religion and sincerely believes and steadfastly writes about his dreams for respect and understanding amongst all the great religions of the world. His name is Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. He may well be executed for those beliefs soon.
This Bangladeshi Muslim journalist dares to defy the party line of hatred towards Israel and contempt for all religions other than Islam. Not only does he write about the need for communication and understanding among Muslims, Christians and Jews in his newspaper The Weekly Blitz, but he dared to accept an invitation to attend and speak at a writers' conference in Israel. The topic of the conference was "Education Towards a Culture of Peace." On November 29, 2003, as he was about to board the plane in Dhaka on his way to that conference, Shoaib was dragged from the tarmac and arrested."
This Bangladeshi Muslim journalist dares to defy the party line of hatred towards Israel and contempt for all religions other than Islam. Not only does he write about the need for communication and understanding among Muslims, Christians and Jews in his newspaper The Weekly Blitz, but he dared to accept an invitation to attend and speak at a writers' conference in Israel. The topic of the conference was "Education Towards a Culture of Peace." On November 29, 2003, as he was about to board the plane in Dhaka on his way to that conference, Shoaib was dragged from the tarmac and arrested."
--Ruth Lowenthal Marcus, at AISH.com
I've been following with horror and admiration the story of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury for more than three years now. When I began, he was on the verge of being released from prison in his native Bangladesh, and it appeared the preposterous "spying for Israel" charges would be dropped against him.
Well, that just shows how dumb an optimist I was. The good Bengali Muslims are still pushing for Mr. Choudhoury's death, and his trial is on-going this week...And to call it a kangaroo court would be an insult to kangaroos.
There has been a small but stubborn movement of people trying to get attention for Mr. Choudhoury's plight. For those of us who used to support the "dissidents" within the USSR, Mr. Choudhoury resembles no-one so much as Andrei Sakharov or Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, risking his life in a very public struggle against barbarians who have repeatedly proven they have no problem murdering innocents.
This drama has been going on for three years, and now the man's life hangs in the balance. Not to mention the quite significant concept that a Muslim inside a large, quasi-democratic Muslim country can publicly and legally advocate for peace and normal relations with Israel and the Jews.
All human beings of goodwill owe Mr. Choudhoury a debt of thanks and a salute of the highest honor.
I've been following with horror and admiration the story of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury for more than three years now. When I began, he was on the verge of being released from prison in his native Bangladesh, and it appeared the preposterous "spying for Israel" charges would be dropped against him.
Well, that just shows how dumb an optimist I was. The good Bengali Muslims are still pushing for Mr. Choudhoury's death, and his trial is on-going this week...And to call it a kangaroo court would be an insult to kangaroos.
There has been a small but stubborn movement of people trying to get attention for Mr. Choudhoury's plight. For those of us who used to support the "dissidents" within the USSR, Mr. Choudhoury resembles no-one so much as Andrei Sakharov or Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, risking his life in a very public struggle against barbarians who have repeatedly proven they have no problem murdering innocents.
This drama has been going on for three years, and now the man's life hangs in the balance. Not to mention the quite significant concept that a Muslim inside a large, quasi-democratic Muslim country can publicly and legally advocate for peace and normal relations with Israel and the Jews.
All human beings of goodwill owe Mr. Choudhoury a debt of thanks and a salute of the highest honor.
2 comments:
The man deserves better than this. He is a small step of redemption for Islam, and they would cut him down as an apostate.
Religion of Peace?
I think not.
I salute this man and his efforts. If islam was led by people like him this world will be a better place.
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