The Indian Express
Tamil Nadu youth killed for being an atheist, father says he too will become one
Written by Arun Janardhanan | Chennai | Updated: March 27, 2017 12:50 pm
THE FATHER of H Farook, the atheist who was murdered in Coimbatore 10 days ago, allegedly by members of a Muslim radical group, has said that if his son was killed for his views, he too would become an atheist.
Speaking to The Indian Express, 54-year-old R Hameed said, “If the police version is true, that he was murdered by a radical Muslim group, then they killed my son using wrong interpretations of the Quran. The Quran is one holy book that insists on and allows the right of dissent since the time of the Prophet. If they killed him for being an atheist, I have decided to join his organisation and do what he did.” [. . .]
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/tamil-nadu-youth-h-farook-killed-for-being-an-atheist-father-says-he-too-will-become-one-4586999/
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Demand to shut WhatsApp group reason for atheist’s murder, say police
Three investigation teams are on the lookout for four persons believed to have hacked to death the 31-year-old atheist activist on Thursday night near Coimbatore.
Written by Arun Janardhanan | Chennai | March 20, 2017
Police officers investigating the murder of H Farook have said his killers wanted the atheist to shut down a WhatsApp group that had about 400 Muslims members, mostly inspired by rationalist Periyar ideology. Three investigation teams are on the lookout for four persons believed to have hacked to death the 31-year-old atheist activist on Thursday night near Coimbatore.
Tamil Nadu police have said the four accused were well within the limits of Coimbatore’s suburbs. Police said Farook’s refusal to shut down the atheist WhatsApp group he ran for like-minded Muslims across various districts of Tamil Nadu and his visible stand in the social media declaring his decision to raise his children as atheists had angered the suspects.
The WhatsApp group, called Allahu Murdhath, has about 400 members from different Tamil Nadu districts. Many of the members are Muslims. The accused had demanded that Farook shut down the group. On Sunday, The Indian Express reported that one of the reasons that could have led to Farook’s murder was a photo the rationalist had posted in the WhatsApp group 15 days ago, in which one of his children was seen holding a placard with the handwritten slogan “Kadavul illai, Kadavul illai, Kadavul illai (No God, No God, No God)”.
According to an investigator, the assailants “did meet him and requested him once to stay away from anti-religious activities”. “There were both personal meetings and multiple phone calls from them as a request and a warning. He (Farook) ignored them and went ahead. Still, they… threatened him. Finally, it was his public statement of raising his children as atheists had provoked them. More than his rational arguments, they felt that taking such public positions using children was a threat to Islam,” said the officer.
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http://indianexpress.com/article/india/demand-to-shut-whatsapp-group-reason-for-atheists-murder-say-police-4576680/
