Mahmudul Haque Munshi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mahmudul Haque Munshi (born 1987) is a Bangladeshi blogger in exile, atheist humanist, and human rights activist.[1][2] After getting asylum, he moved to Germany.[3][4] He is a board member of the Atheist Refugee Relief.[5][6] He writes on his own blog, Swapnokothok.[7]
Munshi was born in 1987 in Jessore District, Bangladesh.[8]
Career
Munshi was one of the activists of the 2013 Shahbag protests and Gonojagoran Mancha.[9][10] He was a member of the Bloggers and Online Activist Network.[11] In May 2015, after Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, son of convicted war criminal Ghulam Azam, questioned the number of dead Indian soldiers in the Bangladesh Liberation War, Munshi said "It is our misfortune that the son of a Razakar should be teaching us the history of the Liberation War even 43 years after independence!".[12] Ansarullah Bangla Team issued a list of death threat in June included him.[13]
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the Bangladeshi government did not protect bloggers and activists but instead accused them of blasphemy.[14] During this time, Munshi received support from Reporters Without Borders, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Center for Inquiry, and Amnesty International.[15] His name appeared on a "Global Hit List", which included exiled Bangladeshis targeted for assassination.[15] Deutsche Welle quoted him in an article titled "Atheism is Life-Threatening", where he stated: "Recently, I received 4,500 death threats on my Facebook page in a single day."[16][15]
In autumn 2015, Munshi and his wife—who previously worked for Terre des Hommes in Bangladesh—arrived in Germany.[17] In an interview with The Times of India, he stated that although he was on an Islamist assassination list and had to leave Bangladesh, he would never remain silent, as doing so would mean victory for fundamentalists.[6]
In Germany, Munshi has spoken about human rights, freedom of speech, and Islam at panel discussions,[18] Re:publica,[19] Deutsche Welle,[20] Materialien und Informationen zur Zeit (MIZ),[21] StadtRevue,[22] and Aethervox Ehrenfeld Podcast.[23] He also has a personal interest in poetry.[24]
In May 2020, Munshi was elected to the board of Atheist Refugee Relief.[5] He stated that it was in Germany's long-term interest to take a stand against countries like Bangladesh and Mauritania, where strong religious oppression forces people like him to flee. He warned that Germany should not empower religious fundamentalists, who aim to abolish democracy and impose Sharia law, but instead support secular democrats advocating for freedom of expression and universal human rights.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Madrasa headmaster beaten up in Kolkata for insulting religion". Hindustan Times. 2015-04-02. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Germany's atheist refugees: When not believing is life-threatening". InfoMigrants (in French). 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Uncertainty looms large over Bangladeshi bloggers seeking asylum in Germany". The Times of India. 2016-12-21. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Secularist Mahmudul Haque Munshi placed on "global hit list" after escaping Islamists in Bangladesh". persecution.exmuslims.org. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- 1 2 3 "Mahmudul Haque Munshi on the board of Atheist Refugee Relief". Atheist Refugee Relief (Press release). 28 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- 1 2 Priyanka Dasgupta (2015-08-08). "I Was the Target, but They Killed Niloy: Blogger". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ "A Year of Violence in Bangladesh". Global Voices. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Press Release: Mahmudul Haque Munshi on the Board of Directors of Secular Refugee Aid – Atheist Refugee Relief". 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com). "Shahbagh's Spirit Still Burns in the Hearts of Millions of Bengalis". Deutsche Welle (in Bengali). Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ "Attack on Mancha activists, 10 hurt". banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Spontaneous support boosts rally organisers". The Daily Star. 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Ghulam Azam's son Abdullahil Amaan Azmi triggers a new controversy". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ "Ansarullah threatens citizens again". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ Till Fähnders, Dhaka (2016-10-12). "Violence Against Bloggers: Fearful Waiting for the Next Murder". FAZ.NET. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- 1 2 3 Astrid Prange De Oliveira (2018-12-19). "Atheism is Life-Threatening". Deutsche Welle (in German). Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ "Fleeing Dhaka: Refugee Munshi's new life in Germany – DW – 08/31/2020". dw.com. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ↑ Daniela Wakonigg (2016-11-14). "Secular Bloggers from Bangladesh: "It Was a Nightmare"". hpd.de. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Gisa Bodenstein (2018-11-19). "Does It Have Something to Do with Islam?". hpd.de. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Mahmudul Haque Munshi (2016). "Freedom of Expression on Religion: The Center-point of Tension Between Radical Islamist Groups and Their Oppositions in Bangladesh". re:publica. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Peter Hille (2018-12-19). "Mahmudul Haque Munshi in Interview". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Mahmudul Haque Munshi. "Mahmudul Haque Munshi, Author at Materialien und Informationen zur Zeit". Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Karin Clark (2016-07-27). "The Sculpture of Lalon, the Singer: The Movement of Bangla Culture". Stadtrevue Verlag. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ "AVE #291: Mahmudul Haque Munshi". Aethervox Ehrenfeld Podcast. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ↑ Aachener Zeitung (July 2018). "Poetry as a Language to Process Experiences". Retrieved 2020-05-29.