Loss of Privacy

Protesters in Bangladesh have demanded a new blasphemy law that would the death penalty for any blogger who insults Islam.

Supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam, an Islamist group which draws support from tens of thousands of religious seminaries, converged on Dhaka’s main commercial hub to protest against what they said were blasphemous writings by atheist bloggers, shouting “God is great – hang the atheist bloggers”.

“I’ve come here to fight for Islam. We won’t allow any bloggers to blaspheme our religion and our beloved Prophet Mohammed,” said Shahidul Islam, an imam at a mosque outside Dhaka who walked 20km.

The religious group, which has the backing of country’s largest party Jamaat-e-Islami, organised the rally in support of its 13-point demand including enactment of a blasphemy law to prosecute and hang what they call atheist bloggers.

The bloggers, who deny they are atheists, have sought capital punishment for those found guilty of war crimes during the nation’s liberation war.

Muhiuddin Khan, Bangladesh home minister, said on Wednesday the government had identified 11 bloggers, including the four detainees, who had hurt the religious sentiments of the nation’s majority Muslim population.

The government has blocked about a dozen websites and blogs to stem the unrest. It has also set up a panel, which includes intelligence chiefs, to monitor blasphemy on social media.

Under the country’s cyber laws, a blogger or Internet writer can face up to ten years in jail for defaming a religion.

In a democracy, no group should be off limits.

France will temporarily close its embassies and schools in 20 countries on Friday after a French magazine published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, a move it fears will further inflame tensions after the recent release of an anti-Islam video. Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland reports.

“I swear, he’s dead,” one Libyan says, peering in.
“Bring him out, man! Bring him out,” another says.
“The man is alive. Move out of the way,” others shout. “Just bring him out, man.”
“Move, move, he is still alive!”
“Alive, Alive! God is great,” the crowd erupts, while someone calls to bring…

From Al Jazeera:

An amateur video appears to show Libyans trying to rescue US ambassador Christopher Stevens from a room filled with smoke at the US mission where he was found unconscious after last week’s attack by a mob protesting against a film that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.

The video, which appeared on the internet and a copy of which was obtained by Reuters in Benghazi, confirms reports that suggested the US envoy died of asphyxiation after the building caught fire.

The footage also sheds new light on the circumstances of the ambassador’s death, apparently showing for the first time that some of the people who forced their way into the US compound later tried to rescue Stevens after they found him lying alone, with no security detail, in one of the rooms in the building.

The video shows a group of young men who had earlier stormed the compound telling other protesters by the light of torches and mobile phones that they had found someone who appeared to be a foreigner lying on the floor.

“There is someone inside … He is a foreigner, he is a foreigner. Take him out,” said one man, shouting for help. “Bring him out, man! Bring him out,” another said. “The man is alive. Bring him out, man. Bring him out,” said a third.

“Alive, Alive! God is Greatest,” the crowd cried. Someone called for a car. “Make space, is there someone who is a medic around? Anyone who can get a car quickly?” another man can be heard saying.

The footage shows Stevens lying on the floor in a smoke-filled room after protesters had stormed the compound and set fire to its buildings.
Minutes later he was pulled out of the room through a window, and then placed on the courtyard’s stone tile floor. A young man is seen putting his hand on his neck to check if he was breathing.

Much more detail at the Associated Press, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and reddit.

Source.

EDIT: 16 September 2012: I woke up this morning and discovered many more photos on imgur.

The White House asked Google to censor the recent film trailer for, possibly the worst film ever made, about Islam and its prophet Mohammad. Google naturally refused, but it did put a little warning page up that you have to click through first before you can see the video. If only Muslims would have watched the video before protesting, rioting, and killing people, they would have laughed and called American film making a joke instead of turning to violence and death.

WARNING: Painfully bad acting, horrible green-screening, and, quite possibly, the most awful film trailer ever made.

Reddit has two links to the story with many comments for you to read and ponder.