Islam has to be the most insecure faith in the world. Ever since it’s invention, a strange mixture of religious plagiarism and local superstition, believers have had a murderous hatred of anyone that choose to abandon it. Christianity has long since abandoned the physical component of crusades, but Islam simply cannot transition away from this tradition. Any threat made against someone must be taken seriously. Salman Rushdie learned recently that one must always remain vigilant, as the murderous intent of the faithful never fades.

Rushdie is not the only target of Islamic ire. The perpetual and disturbing harassment of atheist blogger Asad Noor has forced the Bangladeshi man to flee to India after a number of threats to his life were made. He was being harassed not only by locals, but also by his own religious government, who appears to want to put him behind bars for blasphemy:

The local police raided the blogger’s house in Amtali village in the southern Barguna district in the dead of night on 14-15 July 2020, hounding his parents when they couldn’t find him. Police raided their house again on 16 July. On 18 July in the early morning, the police raided the house again and detained Asad’s father, Tofazzal Hossain, his mother, Rabeya Begum, two younger sisters (one was minor), and two other relatives, without any formal charge or warrant. The local police kept the family members in detention for 40 hours before releasing them in the night of 19 July.

Noor now lives anonymously in India, no doubt looking over his shoulder in fear every day, wondering when some brainwashed maniac will strike either him or one of his family members. Muslim believers are upset that he has not only abandoned the faith, but dares to encourage others to do so. Two of his fellow countrymen, Bijoy Hossain Tanil and Farhan Choudhury, living in comfort in both Paris and the UK, have gained notoriety after they released (and subsequently deleted) social media videos calling on his execution. Since both live in countries which allow freedom of expression, they have not been jailed, though I would not be surprised if authorities now have them in their sites.

Personally, I believe that religiously motivated threats should be taken as seriously as school shootings. In fact, I would not be opposed to the deportation of anyone who encourage the murder of others, especially if these threats are religiously motivated. Keep in mind that religions are often also political organizations, and a call to action is akin to a declaration of war. People take religion as seriously as they take their patriotic duty, and so, despite being a free speech purist, I believe an exception must be made in the case of religion, where words carry with them the power to activate the zealotry of their flock.

The West cannot afford to remain complacent on the threat to civilization that Islam poses. So long as Muslim fundamentalists continue to threaten people, or openly attack them at peaceful venues, they will continue to be a threat to the values and ideals of a free and open society.