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Bangladeshis arrest suspect in killing of American atheist blogger

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Bangladeshi security officials arrested a suspect Monday in the killing of an American writer who was a prominent critic of extremist Islam and was hacked to death last week as he walked with his wife in Dhaka, a government spokesman said.

The arrest of Farabi Shafiur Rahman came four days after attackers wielding meat cleavers killed Avijit Roy, an outspoken atheist and critic of the intertwining of religion and politics, on a crowded sidewalk in the capital, said Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

Roy, a Bangladesh-born engineer with American citizenship, was killed on a visit from Georgia in the United States to attend Dhakas main book fair. He and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, were attacked after leaving the fair. Ahmed was seriously injured.

Rahman, a Muslim blogger who denounced atheism, had threatened Roy in Facebook postings, Khan said, quoting him as writing: Avijit Roy lives in America, so its not possible to kill him right now. But he will be killed when he comes back.

Rahman had been arrested previously for threatening an imam who performed funeral prayers for another atheist Bangladeshi blogger killed in 2013. He was released on bail after six months in jail.

While Rahman acknowledged making the threats, Khan said, authorities refused to say if they believed he was one of the attackers.

He has admitted that he threatened Avijit but we are not sharing more information with you for the sake of the investigation. We need to ask him more, Khan said.

The Bangladesh government has accepted a U.S. offer of FBI help in the investigation of the killing, according to Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali.

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Bangladeshis arrest suspect in killing of American atheist blogger

Wavering faith? New hotline 1-800-DOUBTS could help

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Story highlights A new helpline is believed to be the first for people suffering from a loss of faith Founded by the group Recovering From Religion, 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT launched on Friday.

He's been a Christian for 20 years but can't believe in the Bible anymore. He hasn't told his friends or family and still sits, uneasy, in church each Sunday.

"I feel like I'm lying," he tells the woman on the other end of the phone. "I'm pretending to be a person that I'm not.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asks. "Will I go to hell?"

"Hmmm..." the woman says, after stumbling through an awkward answer. "I thought you weren't going to make this hard."

If this call had been real, the woman says, she would have dissuaded the man from falling for Pascal's Wager, the argument that it's better to believe in God because -- well, hell is an awfully hot place to spend eternity.

But the call wasn't real. The man and woman are volunteers training for 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT, believed to be the country's first helpline for people wrestling with religion, suffering from a loss of faith, or confused about why their son or wife seems to have suddenly embraced atheism.

Founded by the group Recovering From Religion and cobbled together with a small budget, the helpline launched on Friday. Nearly 100 volunteers are ready to field calls 24/7 on the weekends and from 6-12 Central Time on weeknights.

Calls will be kept confidential and the callers can remain anonymous, said Sarah Morehead, Recovering From Religion's executive director. There's no physical call center; instead volunteers and callers are connected through a virtual private network

The volunteer agents, who are not licensed counselors or therapists, will not steer callers toward atheism, Morehead said. Rather, they will offer a sympathetic ear and practical tips for finding secular or religious communities. One script they can use, for example, asks callers about their beliefs and matches them with local congregations. Other guidelines direct callers with serious problems to secular therapists or, if necessary, a suicide hotline.

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Wavering faith? New hotline 1-800-DOUBTS could help

Losing my religion: Hotline helps would-be atheists

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Story highlights A new helpline is believed to be the first for people suffering from a loss of faith Founded by the group Recovering From Religion, 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT launched on Friday.

He's been a Christian for 20 years but can't believe in the Bible anymore. He hasn't told his friends or family and still sits, uneasy, in church each Sunday.

"I feel like I'm lying," he tells the woman on the other end of the phone. "I'm pretending to be a person that I'm not.

"But what if I'm wrong?" he asks. "Will I go to hell?"

"Hmmm..." the woman says, after stumbling through an awkward answer. "I thought you weren't going to make this hard."

If this call had been real, the woman says, she would have dissuaded the man from falling for Pascal's Wager, the argument that it's better to believe in God because -- well, hell is an awfully hot place to spend eternity.

But the call wasn't real. The man and woman are volunteers training for 1-84-I-DOUBT-IT, believed to be the country's first helpline for people wrestling with religion, suffering from a loss of faith, or confused about why their son or wife seems to have suddenly embraced atheism.

Founded by the group Recovering From Religion and cobbled together with a small budget, the helpline launched on Friday. Nearly 100 volunteers are ready to field calls 24/7 on the weekends and from 6-12 Central Time on weeknights.

Calls will be kept confidential and the callers can remain anonymous, said Sarah Morehead, Recovering From Religion's executive director. There's no physical call center; instead volunteers and callers are connected through a virtual private network

The volunteer agents, who are not licensed counselors or therapists, will not steer callers toward atheism, Morehead said. Rather, they will offer a sympathetic ear and practical tips for finding secular or religious communities. One script they can use, for example, asks callers about their beliefs and matches them with local congregations. Other guidelines direct callers with serious problems to secular therapists or, if necessary, a suicide hotline.

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Losing my religion: Hotline helps would-be atheists

Chinese Communist Officials Turn to Monks for Advice

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Not content with the Communist Partys Marxist atheism, many officials in the Chinese regime seek out the friendship and services of Buddhist monks and Daoist mystics to help them through their tumultuous careers. The officials are in it for advice, good fortune, and even clemency for misdeeds.

While monks and Daoist cultivators of antiquity may have kept away from the chaos of the secular world, their modern counterparts, branded by official Communist ideology as superstitious, have turned the position into a profitable line of work.

According to the Hong Kong-based Phoenix magazine, Yang Weize, the ousted municipal Communist Party secretary in eastern Chinas city of Nanjing, maintained a close relationship with Buddhist abbot Shi Chuanzhen. Following Yangs downfall at the hands of the regimes disciplinary agency, Phoenix released a number of photos showing the party boss and Buddhist monk together.

Shi told the Southern Weekly, a Chinese newspaper, that officials would come to him for consultation about their troubled careers or lives, or seek advice for the auspicious scheduling of events such as weddings.

Other communist officials donated large sums of money to Xuanzang Temple, which Shi Chuanzhen heads, hoping to gain clemency for committing sinful deeds.

In Shis reception room at the Xuanzang Temple, photographs showing the abbot with local and central high-ranking Communist Party officials were hung up all over the walls, according to the Southern Weekly report. Yang Weize had also visited the temple.

Other officials who had made friends with Shi were also sacked, including former Nanjing Mayor Ji Jiangye and Feng Yajun, a member of a municipal committee.

Shi Chuanzhen is not just an abbot. He also serves as the deupty president of the regime-approved Nanjing Buddhist Association and is a member of the citys Political Consultative Conference.

Some famous Chinese monks have become key networkers among high officials, according to overseas Chinese language online media Duowei on Feb. 18. Many officials seek those famous monks to make connections with other high officials, seeking opportunities of promotion and wealth, the report said.

Qigong master Wang Lin, known for his magic power of producing snakes from empty washbasins, has been active in business and entertainment circles, according to mainland Chinese media.

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Chinese Communist Officials Turn to Monks for Advice

Schools are teaching our children atheism

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Evolution is a religion for atheists. Their bible is "Origin of the Species" and their atheistic messiah is Charles Darwin. Their pastors are atheistic professors and school teachers. Their congregations are the children and young adults in our public schools and universities. Their evangelists are atheistic scientists. Our tax dollars are the tithes and offerings.

Their doctrine is to get your children and grandchildren to reject the Creator. For almost 200 years of our history, Christianity was taught in our schools. Un-elected Supreme Court judges removed the Holy Bible (1963) and prayer (1962) from our classrooms and replaced it with atheism.

Today, only the religion of atheism is allowed to be taught in our schools. Do not be naive, religion is being taught in our schools. Evolution is a religion masquerading as science.

BILL DENNY

Urbana

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Schools are teaching our children atheism


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