21st-century-in-bangladesh

"Blogging has become a dangerous profession in Bangladesh... [Avijit Roy] and Mr. Rahman were the victims of murderous thugs, but they were also the victims of a poisonous political climate, in which secularists and Islamists, observant Muslims and atheists, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Awami League are pitted against one another. They battle for votes, for power, for the ideological upper hand. There seems to be no common ground."

"[The death] is a spine-chilling warning to us all that we all can be targets. All that needs to happen for any of us to be killed is that some fanatic somewhere in the country, decides that someone or anyone, needs to be killed.... We believe that diversity, tolerance and freedom of conscience – fundamental to our existence – are being challenged here... What is being destroyed is an integral part of the values of our freedom struggle and the democratic struggle that we have waged so far."

"....How many more Avijit Roys, Washiqur Rahmans and Ananta Bijoy Das are required before the world accepts the issues with Islam? How much more should the body of proof weigh before society admits Islam is in need of reform in the most desperate way?"

"The news was confirmed at around 10.30 p.m. and I was live on air for hours. It was clear from the beginning that this attack was on the lines of 26/11... It was ironical that the ISIS struck on the same day Owaisi had declared to help its operatives in India."

"The exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen lambasted hardline Islamists on Twitter for the Bangladesh attack. ‘For humanity’s sake please do not say Islam is a religion of peace. Not anymore,’ stated one of her posts."

"It was the holy month of Ramazan, the auspicious day of Jumma. The Holey Artisan Bakery in the affluent Gulshan Thana area of Dhaka was teeming with foreign guests when five militants barged in, chanting ‘Allah Hu Akbar’. Dozens of people were taken hostages on gunpoint and asked to recite the verses of Quran. Those who could recite from memory were spared in an effort to only kill non-Muslims. According to eyewitnesses, the assailants clearly stated they would not harm Muslims. Those who did not fit their criteria were slain with sharp weapons. People across religions and nationalities were aghast alike. How could the minds of these educated young men from well-to-do backgrounds be poisoned to such an extent? What was the motive behind the attack? These questions have bothered me after every such incident. I have been covering terror incidents in India for some years now and the Bangladesh attack brought back all those unhappy memories. Bangladesh is too close a neighbour to ignore such an attack occurring there."

"Two days after the Dhaka attack, the Minister of Information & Broadcasting of Bangladesh, Hasanul Haq Inu, alleged that ISI was the mastermind of this conspiracy. The notorious spy agency is known to have fomented trouble in what was East Pakistan until 1971. The Pakistani authorities are especially miffed at the Bangladeshi government’s decision to bring pro-Pakistani war criminals to justice. From Osama Bin Laden to the recent killing of Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor Akhtar in a drone attack; it is no more a secret that Pakistan is the nursery of global terrorism. It has diverted money received from the US in the name of counter-insurgency to fund terrorists of its choice. Leave apart India, Pakistani connection is now found in almost every other terror strike across the world."