Injustice and Jihad

About Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and Injustice & Jihad

Bangladesh may now be among the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. That makes Mr. Choudhury's courageous stand for Muslim-Jewish dialogue all the more admirable and vital to defend. - The New York Times

Mr. Choudhury has identified himself, at huge personal risk, as one such Muslim. Now that he is on the run, somewhere in the darkness of Dhaka, will someone in the administration pick up the phone and explain to the Bangladeshis just what America expects of its "moderate and tolerant" friends? - The Wall Street Journal

The United States must encourage people like Mr. Choudhury to speak out. But when they do, it must also do all it can to protect them. Freeing Mr. Choudhury will tell others like him that when you stand against Islamists, the United States will stand with you. - The Washington Times

This is why we ought to be taking notice of Choudhury. It's not just a question of saving one man's life. He is part of a threat that is facing all of us. And he is on the right side in a very long battle of ideas. - The Australian

Mr. Choudhury is a man in the mold of such heroes of freedom as Václav Havel and Lech Walesa. - The New York Sun

Despite the dire circumstances in which he finds himself, Choudhury remains strong, upbeat and determined. - The Jerusalem Post

In a world where radical Islam is on the march, threatening moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike, outspoken and fearless individuals like Mr. Choudhury deserve our full support. It is they, after all, who are on the front lines. - The Jewish Week

Would Choudhury consider it, if along with this acknowledgment the request also nevertheless came to give up his fight and to free the family from their state of siege? The family would have enough money to lead a calm life abroad, and they would have a good chance of leaving Bangladesh despite the current legal proceedings. But for Choudhury his struggle has long ago become his. "Who leaves the battleground, has lost", he says. "However, whoever struggles for the right cause always wins." - The Berliner Zeitung

Now that we've found a man willing to advocate for peace and denounce extremism, we must seize the opportunity. No one else will speak out if we allow those who already have spoken to die - Gabriel Oppenheim, The Daily Pennsylvanian

So there will be no marches on Bangladesh High Commissions, no boycott calls from humbugging academics, no impassioned leading articles or op-eds in the posh papers in solidarity with one of their own profession who is being persecuted for telling the truth. Shameful — and short-sighted. For the fate of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is our own ?- Melanie Phillip

While Taj al-Din al-Hilali is now an international star, having attracted worldwide headlines for his recent outpouring of Western hatred, another Muslim man has barely registered on the media's radar screen. This man is facing the death penalty charged with blasphemy, sedition and treason. He was in court on Monday. His crime? He has been advocating peace between Muslims and the West. You won't have heard of this man. But it's time you did. From a small country half a world away, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is fighting Islamic extremism the only way he can: with words and ideas - Janet Albrechisen, The Australian

In this tense atmosphere, Choudhury has paid a very heavy price for his beliefs. In November 2003, he was arrested at Dhaka's international airport just prior to boarding a flight on his way to Israel, where he had been scheduled to deliver an address on promoting understanding between Muslims and Jews. His visit to Israel would have been the first by a Bangladeshi journalist - Michael Freund, The Jerusalem Post

Shoaib is an outspoken supporter of Muslim-Jewish and Muslim-Christian dialogue, opposes anti-Israel maximalism and has exposed the agents and activities of Islamists who have been gaining in strength and influence in his country - Jeremy Jones, The Australian Israel Review

I am reminded of a Jewish proverb that teaches us to be wise not in words but in deeds. Choudhury’s deeds have brought wisdom and understanding to his country, paving the way for the peace we all desire. We could all learn from this example, and we can start by fighting Choudhury’s unfair persecution - Anthony Weiner, The Jewish Press

They are neither. They work alone, with no support, forging ahead to bring the truth into the open. The International Press Freedom Awards that recognizes courage in journalism is an important event that brings the plight of these journalist to light.  But it’s not enough. They deserve encouragement and support because in dangerous situations, they champion everything we hold dear, and often take for granted - The Suburbun, editorial 

Surprisingly, after years of being prevented from traveling abroad, he was allowed to come to the US for a week. But afterwards, he was to return to Dhaka and danger. Choudhury, the publisher and editor of a weekly English-language newspaper, has been charged with treason, sedition, and blasphemy. His alleged crimes? Advocating relations between Bangladesh and Israel, promoting interfaith respect and tolerance, and denouncing Islamic radicalism. For these transgressions, he could be sentenced to death. As it is, he’s already been imprisoned, placed in isolation and tortured, while his newspaper’s offices have been bombed twice - David Harris, The Jewish Week

"He is a person who, because of his beliefs, is willing to go to jail and face persecution like Jews in other countries who have endured hardship, jailed because of their beliefs," - Kenneth Peskin, President, AJC's Metro New Jersey

"He has obviously been tortured. He has overcome hardships like you and I have never seen," -  Larry Freundlich of Short Hills

The Talmud says that to save one person is to save a whole world. Know this: For every Shoaib Choudhury willing to risk his life to save his people from tyranny and ignorance, there is a world of others who want to speak out but are afraid. Their future ability to add their voices to his depends on the Western world’s response to him, and they are eagerly watching - JT News

Listening to the smiling, good-natured journalist from Bangladesh declare himself to be a “proud Muslim Zionist” the other day, one would never know that his views favoring Mideast peace could cost him his life in a court of law - Gary Rosenblatt, Editor and Publisher, The Jewish Week

The promise of 70 virgins in return for a suicidal act in which the perpetrator also kills innocent human beings is, Choudhury said, religion in bad taste. It is also a false reading of the Koran, and therefore not true Islam, he said, yet it is the form of Islam being taught to Muslim youth around the world - Seth Mandel, The Jewish State

He was asked about the madrassas -- could they produce educated professionals, like doctors, lawyers, and businessmen and women? They can produce lots of educated terrorists, Choudhury responded, and then asked: can a winery produce iron? -Seth Mandel, The Jewish State

Forty-two years old, Choudhury is that rarest of breed, a faithful Moslem who, in the belly of the beast, publicly dissents from the stifling orthodoxy of hatred and extremism that characterizes the Islamic world. There are a handful of other outspoken Moslem-born men and women (mainly the latter), but while their heroism is unquestionable, most live in the West where, although their lives remain in danger, their right to speak is at least upheld by the government. Choudhury lives in Bangladesh where he is currently on trial on spurious charges of sedition, treason and blasphemy before an Islamist judge and faces the death penalty Rael Jean Isaac, Mideast Outpost