Mukto-mona leads the way

 

Abul Kasem

 

 

If you are a Banglaseshi/Bangalee settled in a Western society like USA, Canada, UK, Australia etc., it is most likely that you are a very religious person; be it Islam, Hinduism or Christianity. Yeah, that is what most people will think.

 

But surprisingly, there is a good number of Bangladeshis/Bangalees who do think to the contrary. I always thought that I was the only soul from Bangladesh who is opposed to religion in general. Being born in a Muslim family and being forced to undergo unpalatable religious rituals I was very sceptical of all those things that one was supposed to believe in his faith (in this case Islam). I kept all those ‘kufur’ ideas deep inside me. I always longed for someone who thinks like me and with whom I could exchange those ‘unIslamic’ ideas. In other words, I was looking for ‘murtaads’ like me. It was almost an impossible task to accomplish this desire. It became more difficult after the Rushdi affair.

 

But there was good news. Internet and e-mail changed the scene completely. I could not believe myself when I found out that there are many “murtaads” like me who are equally desperate to reach each other. It was a great experience to meet these brave souls who took great risks to express their mind in public domain even if it were a cyber world.  During the two years or so that I am logging on to Internet I met countless “murtaads” who, I thought, never existed. It is not an exaggeration and neither a joke. Even a decade ago I could never think of  questioning publicly the very foundation of my birth religion (that is, Islam).  It was unthinkable that someone could speak that there are serious problems with the fundamental doctrine of this faith. It is now abundantly clear that those dark days of fear and helplessness are slowly but surely giving way to a new era of bright light and co-operation.

 

During those initial days of contact most of the communications were via private e-mails. Soon these “traitors” realised the immense potential of reaching out to a wider audience, if only they could form some kind of a loose web group. This was how a site like Mukto-mona was conceived. The most energetic, efficient, innovative and erudite “murtaad” Avijit Roy (later with Lopa Tasneem) and his equally efficient team of moderators launched it. To my mind it was one of the first (if not the only) website where I could openly express my ‘heretic’ views without being censored savagely. I fondly remember those early days of MM when we had heated exchange of arguments with the pious adherents of religion and their ‘kafir” counterparts like me. I still have great respect for those Muslims who engaged in debate with me in a very civilized and decent manner. Although we differed on each other’s perception on matters of religion, each party upheld the right of the other party to express dissenting views. It was good to learn that a ‘murtaad’ could, in fact, engage in a meaningful discussion with an ‘Alim’ without the fear of being beheaded. It was good to learn that it is possible to dig the core of a religion and question everything and anything. All these were possible because of the revolution in information technology and because there are sites like MM.

 

It is now one year since MM was created. During this one- year period MM has done a lot. MM fought on behalf of the freethinking Banglaees to save the life of Dr. Yunis Sheikh (under death sentence from Islamic law in Pakistan), for the release of Shahriar Kabir of Bangladesh, to alert the Bangladshi Government on the atrocities on the Bangladesh minorities. Besides, MM has also expressed concern for the 10 prisoners of conscience in danger of execution in Iran, appeal for the Palestinians and on many other contemporary events.

 

During the last one-year the membership in MM has soared. I do not have the current exact membership number but surely it would be near six hundred. During this one year, I saw many Bangalees who were not so sure about MM have since become its member. They are invaluable in nurturing a culture of freethinking, democracy, tolerance and respect. MM has shown what Bangladesh/India/Pakistan should nurture. It is an exemplary institution from which our Governments should learn.

 

Finally, MM has contributed immensely to the intellectual emancipation of our women. MM has shown to the Bangalees that it is all right for a Bangalee woman to think independently; that it is OK for a Bangalee lady to be an atheist and/or a ‘murtaad’. I only wished that MM had more lady writers and contributors.

 

I could not find any serious fault/problem with MM. My contribution to MM is almost zilch. I wished I could contribute more, time permitted.