Murder of Third Secular Blogger in Bangladesh by Stabbing

Masked men attacked a secular blogger in Bangladesh on Tuesday, May 22, killing him with repeated stabs from a machete and a dagger. The Bangladeshi police have not commented on the attackers' motives, but according to AFP, the blogger named 'Ananta Bijoy Das' had been threatened with death by Muslim extremists in recent months and was 'on their hit list.' His articles mainly focused on scientific topics and the issue of evolution, but he also criticized Islam and Hinduism in some of his writings. This is the third murder of a secular Bangladeshi blogger in recent months. According to the Bangladeshi police, Mr. 'Ananta Bijoy Das' was attacked by four masked individuals 'in broad daylight' while on his way to work in the city of Sylhet, Bangladesh, and was killed with repeated blows from a machete and dagger. Imran Sarker, head of the Bangladesh Bloggers Association, confirmed in an interview with AFP that Ananta Bijoy Das was an atheist and wrote for the blog 'Muktomona' (Free Spirit). Ananta Bijoy Das, 33, was also an editor of a publication called 'Jukti' (Logic) and chaired the Council of Science and Rationality in Sylhet. The blog 'Muktomona' was previously managed by 'Avijit Roy,' who was also murdered in February in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, by unknown assailants, and his wife was severely injured. The murder of 'Avijit Roy' was claimed by the organization 'Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent,' and one Islamist was arrested in connection with this case. In March, another atheist blogger named 'Wasiqur Rahman' was also killed in Dhaka by machete attacks, and two religious students were arrested by the police in connection with this murder. Bangladesh is officially considered a secular country, but over 90% of its 160 million population is Muslim. The country has witnessed an increase in Islamist attacks, and since 2003, at least five secular bloggers have been killed by a group called 'Islamic Protection,' which has called for the public execution of atheists. The 'Islamic Protection' group, formed by students from Islamic schools, held widespread protests against bloggers in May 2013, which turned violent and resulted in the deaths of around 50 people.