A lynching in Bangladesh, terrorism charges in Canada, and the human cost of blasphemy laws.

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This week we examine the real-world consequences of blasphemy accusations and Islamist violence across different contexts. In Bangladesh, a young Hindu factory worker was lynched by a mob after a baseless rumor spread among coworkers — an act later confirmed to have no factual basis. In Canada, authorities have charged a Toronto man with terrorism-related offenses connected to attempted kidnappings targeting women and members of the Jewish community. We also share the story of a Pakistani man released after more than a decade in prison on false blasphemy charges, illustrating the enduring psychological and human toll of laws rooted in religious offense.

Unbelief Brief

A Bangladeshi Hindu in his twenties, Dipu Chandra Das, has been lynched [[link removed]] on blasphemy accusations. A factory worker, Das was accused of uttering "derogatory remarks" about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. An angry mob subsequently beat him and hanged him from a tree before setting his body aflame on the side of a highway. Video of the incident circulated widely [[link removed]] on social media.

Now, days after the incident, investigations have revealed that there is no evidence Das had actually said anything blasphemous. A Bangladeshi counterterrorism official has stated [[link removed]] on record that “no one has been found who claims to have heard or seen anything themselves hurting religion.” Rather, a rumor seems to have spread on the floor of the factory where Das worked, leading his coworkers to demand his firing; Das’s family seem to believe the rumor was created in response to an unrelated dispute [[link removed]] between coworkers. The supervisor acquiesced to this demand in an attempt to keep the situation from spiraling out of control, but this failed, and Das was lynched the same night.

Bangladesh's interim government has condemned the murder, but lynchings and assaults of this kind are disturbingly commonplace in the country, and arrests and imprisonments for blasphemy are also a regular occurrence. So far, at least 12 people have been arrested [[link removed]] in connection with the murder. Hopefully, that number will rise, but it seems sadly unlikely that every member of the mob who killed Das can be apprehended.

Second: Canadian authorities have charged [[link removed]] a Toronto man with terrorism-related offenses. Investigations established 26-year-old Waleed Khan as one of three suspects in two attempted kidnappings in Ontario; while the other two men are not facing terrorism charges, Waleed is. Specifically, he is accused of conspiracy to commit murder “for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group.” Police say the kidnappings and the conspiracies targeted “women and members of the Jewish community.” It is fortunate that the efforts of these men were stopped, but there could be no better reminder of militant Islamism’s endemic antisemitism in the wake of the Bondi beach shooting.

Also, read about the experience of Bilal Muneer, a recently-released Pakistani man who spent 11 years in prison on false blasphemy charges: he describes [[link removed]] being kept in solitary confinement for four months and developing schizophrenia as a result, as well as difficulties readjusting to civilian life. His story is a reminder of blasphemy laws’ needless cruelty.

From the Community

If you haven’t yet, take a moment to explore exmuslim.me — the first global map of Ex-Muslim stories, shared anonymously by people who’ve left Islam. Created by Ex-Muslims themselves, including Haram Doodles [[link removed]], the project brings together voices from around the world in one place, making visible a community that is often forced to remain unseen.

You can explore stories by location, use Shuffle to encounter a single account at random, or leave Reactions to acknowledge and support individual experiences. Together, these features turn the map into a shared, human space for visibility, recognition, and solidarity.

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Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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