Another Blogger Killed, Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility

In the latest of a recent rash of killings, another secular blogger has been killed, reportedly by Ansar al Islam, an Islamist extremist group affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Niloy Chakrabati, whose blogger name was “Niloy Neel,” was known for writing posts critical of Islamism. Niloy was followed home by his attackers, who attempted to gain entry by posing as potential tenants. When they were refused entry, they forced their way in, confined him in a room and hacked him to death, the New York Times reports. According to The Times of India, Niloy’s wife and friend were in the apartment when he was killed. Neighborhood police officer Mostafizur Rahman described the killing.

“The assassins used machetes…it appears they hit him repeatedly until he was dead,” he told local media.

This is the fourth blogger killed this year in what appears to be a targeted campaign against secular bloggers. Niloy was a blogger for Mukto-Mona, which frequently criticised Islam and was involved in a protest movement aimed at securing the trial and execution of leaders of Islamist movements from Bangladesh’s war of independence.

In 1971, Bangladesh, aided by India, fought a bloody war for their independence from Pakistan. During the conflict, Pakistan formed and mobilized several militia, including a group called Razakan (volunteers). These groups committed various atrocities including the rape and murder of innocent civilians. Many militiamen went on to become leaders and members of the country’s largest political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which was banned in 2013.

Many bloggers and activists successfully agitated for the ban and for the prosecution of militia members. Niloy was an active member of several protest movements calling for this, as well as for justice for another blogger who had been killed under similar circumstances. Niloy claimed on Facebook that he had been subject to surveillance after one such rally. He attempted to report this to police, who dismissed the report. Many commentators and bloggers in Bangladesh suspect the police and government of being soft on members of the banned party, despite its known links to Al Qaeda-affiliated organizations, with one journalist and blogger claiming that the Bangladeshi government is content to simply “stand by and watch” these killings.

This speaks to a deeper problem in Bangladesh, and one that is being faced by many Muslim countries. It is a battle for the nation’s soul. In what is now a familiar pattern, bloggers, moderates, and secularists publicly denounce Islamist extremists and are killed. Getting justice for these bloggers is complicated by the very real appeal that such extremism has for opponents of secularisation.

[Image via Mukto-Mona]