Defying Fear: Secular Rescue Story
Secular Rescue is a program of the Center for Inquiry that identifies those writers, activists, and everyday citizens in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Iraq who live under the threat of violence and death and provides financial and diplomatic assistance to help these them escape to safety. Nur E Emroz Alam “Tonoy” is known in Bangladesh for his columns at major news outlets such as the Dhaka Tribune, where he has taken on controversial issues, championed equality and free inquiry, and aimed a critical eye at extremist religious beliefs and political ideologies. But as has become sadly predictable in Bangladesh, his work has made him a target for those very extremists. Overwhelmed by threats to his life, Tonoy fled Bangladesh and began to seek the help he needed to keep himself alive and to keep writing. Tonoy reached out to Secular Rescue and told us in no uncertain terms, “I’ll certainly be killed if returned to Bangladesh.” He feared murder at the hands of Islamist militants, such as those who slaughtered Avijit Roy and several …