Muslim fundamentalists issued fatwa against women’s football match in West Bengal. Now the match is cancelled by the authority. ‘Islam does not permit us to watch women playing in the field wearing short dresses.’ Fundamentalists said.

Authorities fulfill every demand of Muslim fundamentalists, no matter whether those demands are against laws. It seems fundamentalists are the authorities, and authorities are the slaves. Let me tell you my West Bengal experiences.
1. Authorities banned the book of my memoir in 2003 because Muslim fundamentalists asked authorities to ban that book.
2. Fundamentalists issued fatwas against me, they set prices on my head in 2004-2007. Authorities did not take any action against any of those fundamentalists even though setting price on people’s head was illegal.
3. Authorities wanted to make Muslim fundamentalists happy by throwing me out of West Bengal in 2007.
4. The inauguration of my book in Kolkata book fair 2012 was banned by the authorities, and
5. The telecast of my TV mega serial was cancelled in 2013 in order to appease Muslim fundamentalists.
Quite horrible experiences, indeed.

I was not really surprised when I heard that women’s football match was cancelled in West Bengal. West Bengal is officially not ruled by Muslim fundamentalists, but unofficially it is ruled by them. They take decision which books or serials should not be read or watched by people, who can stay in the state, who should not be allowed to enter the state, what game women should play, what they should wear etc. Fundamentalists claim that whatever is not Islamic hurts their religious sentiments. Politicians are keen to take very good care of people’s fucking bullshit sentiments.

A Kuwaiti Islamist preacher has called for the destruction of Egypt’s pyramids and Sphinx – one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world – claiming that just because early Muslims did not destroy the pharaohs’ legacy “does not mean that we shouldn’t”.

Ibrahim Al Kandari, the Islamist preacher, said, ”The ancient Egyptian monuments should be “destroyed”. The great buildings should be destroyed to put an end to the worship of images. The fact that early Muslims who were among prophet Mohammed’s followers did not destroy the pharaohs’ monuments upon entering the Egyptian soil, does not mean that we shouldn’t do it now.”

The Kuwaiti preacher Al Kandari’s call to erase the incredible legacy of ancient Egypt echoes ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who suggested the demolition of the historic monuments is a ‘religious duty’.

During the Iraq war, ancient libraries and museums were destroyed. Islamic State or ISIS now destroyed Hatra, the ancient Iraqi city, and Assyrian artefacts of Mosul museum. They are probably going to destroy Egypt’s pyramids and sphinx, one of the 7 wonders. It is actually the biggest wonder to me how the world is letting a group of insane people destroy human’s history and heritage, ancient arts and civilization, our culture and pride.

The most beautiful scenes in Afghanistan. The best way to celebrate Women’s Day in a country like Afghanistan. I salute those Afghan men who fight against women’s oppression.

The woman of a violent gang rape has been sentenced by a Saudi Arabian court to 200 lashes and six months in jail for the crimes of speaking to the press and indecency.

Under Islamic law, you can only prove rape if rapists agree that they rape or you have four male witnesses. But unfortunately men do not say that they rape and they do not rape in front of witnesses. Without witnesses a rape is considered to be adultery.

The Qur’an says,
Qur’an (2:282) – Establishes that a woman’s testimony is worth only half that of a man’s in court (there is no “he said/she said” gridlock in Islam).

Qur’an (24:4) – “And those who accuse free women then do not bring four witnesses (to adultery), flog them…” Strictly speaking, this verse addresses adultery (revealed at the very time that Muhammad’s favorite wife was being accused of adultery on the basis of only three witnesses coincidentally enough). However it is a part of the theological underpinning of the Sharia rule on rape, since if there are not four male witnesses, the rape “did not occur”.

Qur’an (24:13) – “Why did they not bring four witnesses of it? But as they have not brought witnesses they are liars before Allah.”

Qur’an (2:223) – “Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will…” There is no such thing as rape in marriage, as a man is permitted unrestricted sexual access to his wives.

And the Hadith says,

Bukhari (5:59:462) – The background for the Qur’anic requirement of four witnesses to adultery. Muhammad’s favorite wife, Aisha, was accused of cheating [on her polygamous husband]. Three witnesses corroborated the event, but Muhammad apparently did not want to believe it, and so established the arbitrary rule that four witnesses are required.

Saudi Arabia is doing exactly what Muhammad wanted to do. We are in the 21st century but we still are following 7th century’s laws! The woman could not find four witnesses, so she was seen as adulterous. She is now punished for adultery.

Egypt took a good decision. Mosques have always been breeding grounds for terrorists. More mosques mean more terrorism.
Other countries should learn from Egypt. Close all mosques. I can assure you Islamic terrorism will be reduced by fifty percent. The rest will be gone after madrasas get closed.

Prove am wrong.

I have never been a fan of Memri TV but I am still sharing this video posted originally by ISIS. This clip shows ISIS destroying beyond recognition 3,000-year-old precious artworks. Some of the vandalized pieces were pre-historic Assyrian sculptures dating back to the 9th century BCE. The ISIS indeed are true followers of Muhammad. Muhammad destroyed 360 idols inside the Ka’aba. His followers were deputed to destruct temples of pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses, al-lat and al-Uzza.

I received an award a few days ago. It was the Hedenius award from a Swedish human rights organisation. This award was named after the Swedish philosopher Ingemar Hedenius. He was a professor of philosophy at the famous University of Uppsala.

He fought against Christianity. He even wrote books on the subject of no healthy argument being possible between religion and science. The Hedenius award is given to those who relentlessly fight against fanaticism, superstitions, etc. I have received several awards from Europe and America. The recognition that I receive for writing in favour of humanity and human rights eliminates the pain of my exile.

Sometimes I wonder what will happen to all these awards after I die. I have no home, no country. They will probably be lost. I lost many awards already. I have been forced to lead a Bohemian life for 20 years now. Since my childhood, I wished to get a house of my own and decorate it in my own way.

My wish never came true. Now, I don’t dream about settling down anymore. The older I get, the less I dream of houses. The thought occurs to me that I have to leave everything behind one day. And I frequently remember that everything in life, even life itself, is temporary.

Only Swedish people are eligible for the Hedenius award. As I am a Swedish citizen, I didn’t face any difficulty in getting this award. A brown girl with black hair is Swedish! Even I can’t believe it. Swedish men and women are tall, broad, white-skinned with blonde hair, whereas I am a Bengali from head to toe.

As Bangladesh wouldn’t renew my passport, even though I am a citizen, I had to accept a Swedish passport. With that came citizenship. And with the citizenship came the Hedenius award. I have a love-hate relationship with Sweden. I love the country, and then I don’t – a lot like my feelings towards Bangladesh and France.

That night, I met another humanitarian and Hedenius award winner – the famous Björn Ulvaeus. He was one of the four singers of the famous Swedish band Abba. The band survived for only 10 years, from 1972 to 1982. Yet they were famous worldwide.

After the band broke up, Björn and Benny Andersson, another member of the band, continued their singing careers. They did well, but it was nothing compared to the popularity of Abba. Abba’s music became popular again after movies like Muriel’s Wedding, The Adventures of Priscilla – Queen of the Desert, and Mamma Mia. People started listening to their songs again.

I had dinner with Björn that night. American humanitarian writer Rebecca Goldstein and a few other British and Swedish humanists were also there with us. We discussed many things over dinner, but not a single word about Abba.

He is a free thinker and he doesn’t believe in religion. He has a publication house named Fri Tanke, that promotes free thinking. They published many books in Swedish, but I won’t say that the house is very profitable.

People don’t read books on atheism, humanitarianism, and science. If 85% of the people in a country are atheists, then the number of people who read books on science cannot be too small. When I was talking to Björn, I was thinking about how this very famous person never hesitated to declare that he is an atheist.

Usually, famous or popular upper-class people do not want to disturb the social structure. They want to be identified as the dedicated servants of religion and patriarchy. They want to avoid controversy. Not everyone can be John Lennon or a Monty Python. Not everyone can be Björn Ulvaeus.

Sweden is the best country in the world for human rights and women’s rights. There is no discrimination against anyone – woman, atheist, homosexual, transgender, black, or brown – in making their way to the top. I don’t live in Sweden, but I am proud of the country.

I wonder if Bangladesh can ever become a country like Sweden. Maybe it will, but I know it won’t be in your lifetime or mine. Even if it takes a thousand years, one day, the country will be civilised – this is my dream.