SHOAIB CHOUDHURY: SAINT OR SINNER
Who do you trust? Who can you trust? Is that person you’ve just met really who he says he is? Perhaps not. Most of us are politely cautious. We know that there are some who need to embellish their lives (or cover them). They rewrite their narrative. That’s why we have organizations exposing fake War Vets and prosecuting ‘doctors with no degrees.
That’s why we ask “Who is Shoaib Choudhury? Who is he really?”
An activist in need of support, or a fraudster?
Information has been sent to TSM by those who report that have been victims of Choudhury’s fraud.
They say, “Mr. Choudhury may be just an opportunist scam artist or he may be an Islamist agent posing as a friend of the West to get money to give to Islamist organizations. “
The Islamist hypothesis will be explored further down in this post.
First some background on Shoaib Choudhury.
“Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury has made a name for himself for himself as a peace activist and an advocate for Jews and Israel. His 2003 attempt to visit Israel broke a law of his native Bangladesh, resulting in a prison term – and he consequently developed a large following of supporters who saw him as a hero.”
In 2008, writer, Brenda West, introduced TSM to Shoaib in this passionate plea.
Must He Die? Meet A Muslim Dissident Who Loves Jews, Christians And Free Speech
An excerpt from Brenda West: “Choudhury had a chance to leave this nightmare behind him when he visited America and Europe to accept several awards for his outspoken journalism. Numerous Western countries offered him asylum, including the United States. He could have taken his family and remained abroad. But he chose to go back to Bangledesh, knowing he could be charged again, as he in fact was in October 2006, and that the trial would not be done according to standard rules of fairness. For example, his lawyer may not call any witnesses for his defense. Choudhury’s explanation for returning to the country that is persecuting him is, “Let the radicals leave. This is my country.” As he sees it, he needs to set an example of courage for the many other Muslims who share his sentiments, and for that he must return, even though he runs the risk of being hanged. Muslim dissidents are watching his case anxiously to see if international support will make it possible for then to remain in their native countries. I have become acquainted with Soaib Choudhury through a series of email conversations. His mission of living for a higher purpose – and perhaps even dying for it – comes across palpably yet with an amazing absence of anger or fear. He radiates good cheer, a kind and sensitive nature, and devotion to his country.”
TSM: After this , we were part of a small group that had the opportunity to meet with Shoaib while he was in NYC. This was in (2009)?? A pleasant man. We all looked forward to meeting with him and as journos to ask him some polite, but probing questions. However, the situation became complicated by some in this intimate group feeling overly protective of Shoaib regarding the most pressing of all of our questions, “Having professed his support of Israel and the Jews, how can he remain a Muslim?” Reading the Koran as so many of us had, we felt that Zionism and Islam were incompatible. Oddly, for us, Shoaib expressed his belief that remaining Muslim made his mission for peace more possible. He’s certainly not alone in that belief yet, some of us found fault with that position and wished explore what seemed to be incongruities.
Flash Forward to 2011.
TSM continues: We haven’t given Shoaib Choudhury much thought since then. His safety as a journalist and publisher in Bangladesh is not a current item news-wise. It seemed to have been resolved. Perhaps he was succeeding in some small way. Sadly, we’ve been made aware of some very serious accusations regarding Shoib and we understand a legal case of fraud against Shoaib Choudhury is pending.
So why do we revisit the man before charges are filed? Perhaps to remind us all that there are opportunists on all sides who prey upon our desire to help, to ‘do-good’ , and too often these people are often a mystery. Yet, so much of the ‘who and what’ of Shoaib Choudhury is in print. But, who wrote the copy? The author? Is the author who they claim to be? Who supports them? Is the trail of supporters a ponzi-scheme of “we know this person and can vouch for him’ when in fact, it’s a trust built on the good-will of people who know each other, not the opportunist.
With that in mind, we present the warnings and concerns of those who have written to TSM that they’ve been defrauded by Shoaib Choudhury. Formal charges are not yet filed. The case while soon be pending.
The following is a statement from one of the individuals who contacted TSM with background and charges.
“First he was an Islamist and then we was an anti-Islamist. Overnight.”
Continuing now from the opening statement, “Mr. Choudhury may be just an opportunist scam artist or he may be an Islamist agent posing as a friend of the West to get money to give to Islamist organizations. I will explore the Islamist hypothesis.”
From a Bangladeshi blogger (posted in 2007), “Mr. Choudhury was the managing director of Inqilab Television, a private television venture run by the leading Islamist party in Bangladesh, the Jamaat-e-Islami .
Mr. Choudhury was also (from 2001 to 2002) a correspondent for the Daily Inqilab, the mouth-piece of Jamaat-e-Islami and published by (until his death last year) well-known war criminal and leading Islamist Maulana Abdul Mannan.
(Mannan issued numerous statements in favour of the genocide committed by the Pakistan army. He was a well-known collaborator of the genocidal force.)
Yes, Mr. Choudhury was an Islamist. Mr. Choudhury was an Islamist before he re-invented himself, almost overnight, as an anti-Islamist.
He worked for a frankly Islamist media center called Inquilab.
His boss was Aziz Mohammed Bhai, 
known as a Mafia type criminal and the architect of the mass murders of Bangladeshi intellectuals who fought for the independence of their country from Islamist Pakistan.”
More about Mr.Choudhury’s stay at Inquilab can be found in this important blog post (from 2009) including hurling an anti-Semitic insult at someone he was angry with.
The writer says, “Like a meteorite, he rose to the limelight of world’s attention. In the global arena, he became the defender of freedom and human rights and a vocal champion of Bangladesh’s rapprochement with Israel.(snip)
While at Inquilab, Salah Uddin was sent to Singapore to purchase major equipments for Inquilab Television. Instead of purchasing the tools he pocketed the money. Sources say, after the management found out the grand theft, they were starting to take legal measures. (snip)
How Salah Uddin continues to fool a sizable portion of world’s influential people, is still a puzzle to me. His career in Bangladesh shows his checkered past. If you look into his resume, you will see his service for two notorious individuals.”
That Maulana Abdul Mannan, one of his bosses, was as bad as stated above is corroborated in this NY Times story from March 2011.
The Bangladesh writer goes on to state, from the docstrangelove article,
“Shoib was arrested in July 17, 1999 on charge of sending e-mail to the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her family members and some influential ministers threatening their lives. Charges were pressed against him on May 3 in 2000 and he was jailed for six months.
Police said Shoib used to introduce himself as an ultra Islamist. He was engaged in defrauding people. He often took money from foreign visa seekers.”
TSM: The amount of material exposing the probable fraudulent nature of Shoaib Choudhury is bordering on tedium.
The accusations are many: “Mr. Choudhury was used to doing jail time. It was not a new experience for him to do time …. he worked for a man with a gangster reputation and is himself alleged to have pulled gangster-type scams earlier on. His actual education as a journalist is unclear. He told one of those whom Shoaib victimized, that he received a Master’s degree in journalism from the London School of Economics in 1989. However, the administration responding to an email request for information, that they had no media programs at that time.
Purported statements from Mr. Choudhury, when asked how he could work for such people as the Islamists. He said. “The economy was bad and he simply needed a job.” This outfit was serious about their politics and they would have thoroughly vetted anyone who applied for a job. Why would they employ someone not in sympathy with their hardcore Islamist position? And, if the economy were really that bad, there would have been plenty of applicants. Only the most dedicated and trustworthy applicant would have been accepted.”
Mr. Choudhury’s financial needs ( or not) : Shoaib holds out that he’s not interested in money and never asks for it, yet there are reports that Choudhury was found with a ‘project profile seeking a fund of TK 12 crore from Jews in Israel,’ or US$170,000 when he was arrested for trying to go to Israel. The December 2003 Israeli news report also states, “Shoib used to introduce himself as an ultra Islamist. He was engaged in defrauding people. He often took money from foreign visa seekers.” (this was a news item first reported in a Bangladeshi paper)
The Claimant continues, “Fund-seeking as a motive was dropped from subsequent stories about the Bangladesh journalist once he came to be seen as an uncontested hero. And he himself boasted of not ‘holding out his hand for money’ yet apparently he has been doing that from the beginning of his career as an ‘anti-Islamist’ Whatever his other motives, Mr. Choudhury went to Israel looking for money.
In 2011, those who are pursuing legal recourse due to Choudhury’s fraud proved over and over that he’s been inconsistant ( at best) or is simply a liar due to his conflicting documented statements.
Example: In March, 2010 Choudhury expressed that he was sure he would never be taken into custody again by the Bangladesh court system. Yet in the fall of 2011 he sent around an email blast saying he had a court date coming up and this time he could not only be taken prisoner but executed.”
Mr. Choudhury’s Politics?
What are Choudhury’s political views? He has published more than one article that was strongly anti-American. He even published an article promoting the totalitarian government of China. When asked why, he said, “It was a paid commercial, such as the NY Times runs.” But it was not identified as such. Yet, in Bangladesh, to support a Maoist government is to ally oneself with Islamists, as is apparent in this related article
This next article, by a Bangladeshi writer, presents several cogent arguments for believing that Mr. Choudhury is working for Islamists.
Mr. Choudhury has created fictitious and provocative characters who not only plagiarize but are used to express his Islamist point of views.
“Through one of his fictitious identities, “Sunita Paul“, Mr. Choudhury expressed sympathy for the generals who murdered so many of the Bangladesh patriots; those who opposed being dominated by Pakistan and its stricter form of Islam.
According to a Bangladeshi writer there’s concern that Choudhury, by helping to agitate the political climate in the very fragile Bangladeshi government, may very well be helping the well organized Islamists to take over.
Quite similar to what is happening in Egypt and possibly in Libya, even now”
Our informant concludes, “The writer at the shadakalo blogspot (it means black and white) put forth a theory worth considering. He thinks Mr. Choudhury is an Islamist who assumes a cover of being for Jews and Westerners in order to take their money, which he then diverts to Islamist causes. The ultimate irony, I suppose.”
And now, September 24, 2011, we ask again:
“Who is Shoaib Choudhury? Who is he really?”
An activist in need of support? Or a fraudster?
There are reports that Shoaib Choudhury has swindled at least two of his female supporters out of large sums of money. He is alleged to have told these supporters about a business in which they could invest but as it turned out, the business didn’t exist.
He claimed to need financial help maintaining his Bengali printing press. However, his stories are contradictory.
He told one woman he would have to sell the press, which he owned, to an Islamist who had wanted to buy it for a long time. He told the other woman he needed money to buy it in installments.
What his is status with the printing press? This remains unclear at this point.
On his blog, Mr. Choudhury claims to be a representative for a company called Noca but Noca has an extensive list of representatives across the world and Mr. Choudhury is not one of them, nor is anybody in Bangladesh.
Further, Noca seems very shady itself. It does not list who its owners or key staff members are. It says it’s in Canada but the prefix for its phone number is in Nevada. A call to that number resulted in a recording from their telephone service, not from them, saying they were unavailable. The representatives they do list could be of interest
” There is a section of opportunists sitting in the West taking political refuge while pretending to be anti-Jihadists while actually running a mere corporate-type business. They scare the unsuspecting with self-made stories, extracting funds that instead of being donated by the millions of dollars to the needy, go into the pockets of these fraudsters. Instead of motivating people in their Muslim nations to work against Jihad or combating the rise of Islamist militancy they use these monies to buy their own luxury. Sitting comfortably in a Muslim country they use websites maintained by “so-called anti-Jihadist asylum seekers” as a promotional tool to popularize their own faces thus bringing in even more donations to their self-promoting business ventures.
While it’s not known just what is going on with Noca and Jethro Conglomerates, there are obvious irregularities. We know that Mr. Choudhury had strong Islamist connections before he became an anti-Islamist.
We also know that Islamist and terrorist organizations are often funded by shady business practices. For these reasons, it has been suggested that Mr. Choudhury and these businesses be looked at by law enforcement on the grounds of possibly funding terrorism.
The police have begun an investigation. The current charge against him is Grand Larceny via Fraud. Other aspects of Choudhury’s behavior are being looked into.”
What a story and to think that some have been supporting this man. Will continue to warn people. Simply speechless. Great job TSM
Please, to everyone, do NEVER trust this man and certainly, certainly never ‘ lend ‘ him any money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like Karzai of Afghanistan who was in “exile” claiming his life was in danger, I believe wholeheartedly that there are many wolves in sheeps’ clothing in the US. Karzai was and is an opportunist and a grand liar. Then again it is legal to lie in Islam. We have another wolf in the White House who should be taken out and arrested on grounds of treason and sedition. But this is only my opinion.
I couldn’t agree with you more.I’m well aware, of Taqqia–which gives them the green light to do alot of unexceptable things!
I understand that “treason and sedition charges” were the mantras used by Shoaib to play on people’s emotions and sense of justice. What I would like to know is how could a man who is on “death row” be travelling and moving freely as this man has?
This man has taken cruel advantage of an American and Israeli woman whom I respect and admire greatly. He has defrauded her of many thousands of dollars pretending to be a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. This is the lowest form of confidence racket-taking advantage of dedicated women, by pretending to be an admirer of their respective causes and countries, only to bilk them of their largesse and charity. A Moslem is forbidden to act in this desultory manner, to decieve and cheat women and should be shunned and prosecuted for this indescribably devious and fraudulent activity. I would be remiss if I didn’t post this as a warning to all women who are approached by this disreputable character to avoid any contact with him at all costs.
Women, I as well, respect very dearly!
Under false pretexts, this guy misled noble and honest people while abusing the trust they have vested in him. Too bad he has given his people and his religion a bad name. What a shame.
Some thing with this man does not make sense…
I think he is working for the “Muslim Brotherhood” or is a branch of a Jihadist group that “collects” money for them and their “endeavours” against the west and Israel…
If thete are 2 people that he has defrauded… how many more are there?
How much money has he “collected”… $100 000 by now and there will be more people that will fall for him…
From the moment I became “friends” with this banglatrash I had a badtaste in my muth about him.Not sure what it was,now I knoW!He sent stupid love poems-seemed to be “overly” sweet talking me–as if..he “WANTED SOMETHING”sure enough, I see he has…I don’t appreciate the nasty things i’v heard he’s done to lovely kind people!Then again, this is somthing most exceptable for him,as a muslim, to do.Maybe it’s related -maybe not,but, he sure can use “TAQQIA” anytime he pleases under his religion.I have no doubt -karma will see him…This is a step in a great direction…he needs to be exposed for the banglatrash he is!My comfort,support&love are with all,mostly lovely ladies,who he has managed to do very ugly things!
This man’s evil is almost beyond comprehension. Everything about him is the opposite of what it seems to be. He could very well be funnelling the stolen money to Islamists and terrorists. This should be fully investigated.
One way to do it – and there are many ways to do this – would be to tell the Bangladesh ambassador in Washington DC. His name is Shafiqul Islam, 202 244 0183 x 309, msislam86, @yahool.com, commercialwing@bdembassyusa.org. The current Prime Minister of Bangladesh is a lady, Sheikh Hasina, who is trying to lead her country in a direction that is secular and respectful of religions other than Islam. Protests to her or to her ambassador might actually make a difference.
I meant to write Sheikha Hasina.
Miriam, you are describing a monster, a sexual predator, not an altruistic human being. Reminds me of Mr. Bialistock of “The Producers”. Not a nice guy at all. You are right, there is justice for such vile, sick and perverted people!
This man is a real con and must not be trusted at all, many have fallen victim through his flattering lips, shame on him.
we do have permission to reproduce the email below
This is what Aryeh Gallin, an internationally acclaimed scholar who at one point respected Shoaib wrote to him after he learned about this sordid affair. Mr. Gallin allowed us to use it as we see fit!
Ther writer of this message has given permission to reproduce the e-mail below:
Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 4:55 AM
To: salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com
Dear Salah,
1. You will repay xxxxxxxxx the $35,000.00 (thirty five
thousand U.S. dollars) you “borrowed” from her, and you will repay xxxxxxxxxx
the $10,000.00 (ten thousand U.S. dollars) you “borrowed” from
her.
2. You will no longer be exploiting, abusing and taking advantage of
emotionally vulnerable single Jewish ladies by extorting from them large
“loans” you have no intention of repaying.
3. Real Men don’t do that. There are very few Real Men in the Arab world
in particular, the Muslim world in general and the world-at-large.
Certainly, you are not one of them.
4. xxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxx will be contacting Professor Irwin
Cotler, who is receiving a copy of this message, directly, to secure his
help in getting back from you the money you swindled out of them.
5. You are no longer a member of the Council of the Root and Branch
Association’s Islam-Israel Fellowship.
6. The chapter about you, and endorsement from you, that appears in my
new, first book, “Cracking the Qur’an Code” will be removed from the
upcoming second edition.
Aryeh Yosef Gallin
Founder and President
Root and Branch Association, Ltd.
lowellgallin@lowellgallin.com
http://lowellgallin.com/
I was foolish enough to write glowing things about this man. The chapter about Shaoib Choudhury referred to in the book Cracking the Qur’an Code, by Lowell (Aryeh) Gallin, is largely my work. I have to wonder where all the heroes have disappeared to. Could they have all disappeared into hero sandwiches, eaten up by greed?
What a taqiyya spewing scumbag he is… He used these women for his own despicable ends – and also “bilked” thousands of dollars from them in the process…There are a lot of people, including myself, who believed Choudhury’s story and felt deeply sad for his “plight”..I’m really sorry the kind and caring ladies in question had their trust betrayed in such a cold and calculating way. Be very careful who your give your trust (and your money) to online, people. And remember, behind a keyboard and screen, you can be anyone you “want” to be..Always go with your gut feeling, and if you are at all unsure about someone..GET RID!
Just received confirmation From Aryeh Gallin that Shoaib “is no
longer a member of the Council of our Islam-Israel Fellowship, of which
Dr. Eder and Sheikh Palazzi are Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen.”
A friend from New York sent this to me last night:
“Here is a true statement about Shoaib, at last. It is in the last paragraph. Better make a screen grab because this post might get taken down by other people.
Salah Choudhury
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Salah Choudhury
Born Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
12 January 1965
Sylhet
Residence Dhaka, Bangladesh
Website
Weekly Blitz
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (born 12 January 1965 in Sylhet, Bangladesh) is the editor of the Bangladeshi tabloid The Weekly Blitz[1][2] the most influential anti-Jihadist newspaper in Bangladesh, and editor-in-chief of vernacular weekly Jamjamat.
In 1996 he established the first private television channel in Bangladesh, A-21 TV[citation needed]. He has been physically assaulted three times and once kidnapped in Bangladesh for his anti-jihadist views and his willingness to work with Israeli group for intercultural understanding.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Career
2.1 Publications
2.2 Recognition
3 Assaults
4 Treason Charges
5 Weekly Blitz
6 Views on Islam
7 Arrest
8 Inqilab Television
9 Support for Choudhury
10 US House Resolution 64
11 Impact
12 Controversy
13 Notes
14 External links
[edit] Background
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury [known to his friends as Shoaib], is the eldest child of his parents.[citation needed]
[edit] Career
In 1989, Choudhury started his journalistic career as a correspondent for Soviet Union’s TASS News Agency. In 1991, he was promoted to the rank of chief correspondent of Itar-Tass News Agency in Bangladesh. He left Itar-TASS in 1996, as after the fall of Soviet Union: the news agency had to close down many of its offices in the world[citation needed].
In 1996, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury established the first private television channel in Bangladesh named A-21 TV[citation needed].
[edit] Publications
Choudhury has written a number of books in Bangla and English. His latest book, Injustice & Jihad, was published in October 2007. In May 2008, Italian publication house Neftasia published Choudhury’s book titled Non Sono Colpevole in Italian. This was the first book by any contemporary Bangladeshi journalist translated into Italian.[3]
Inside Madrassa was published in October 2009 in Bangladesh. In this book, Choudhury gave extensive information on madrassa education, including unknown facts, Jihadist orientation inside madrassa, hate speech and many other important thus interesting topics, mostly related to radical Islam.
Choudhury opened a branch of the Israel-based International Forum for Literature and Culture of Peace. He wrote about the rise of al-Qaeda in Bangladesh and has written articles critical of anti-Israeli and antisemitic attitudes in Muslim-majority countries.[4]
Choudhury is an Advisory Board Member of the Islam-Israel Fellowship,[5] a group co-founded by Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi.
[edit] Recognition
PEN USA gave their Freedom to Write Award to Choudhury in 2005 in recognition of his commitment to courageous journalism under extreme adversity.[6]
The American Jewish Committee presented its Moral Courage Award to him in May 2006, but the Bangladesh government prevented him from visiting the United States to receive the honor.[7]
HRH Prince Albert of Monaco awarded the 2007 Monaco Media Award to Choudhury for outstanding courage and commitment in confronting the culture of religious hatred.
Choudhury also received the Key to Englewood, (a city in New Jersey, United States), from Mayor Michael Wildes. Teaneck, New Jersey Mayor Elie Katz also gave him the certificate of moral courage in 2007 on behald of the City of Teaneck.
[edit] Assaults
In July 2006, a mob stormed the premises of Choudhury’s tabloid and beat him, fracturing his ankle.[8] In September, a judge ordered the case continued, in spite of the government’s reluctance to prosecute, as Choudhury had “spoiled” the “image of Bangladesh” and “hurt the sentiments of Muslims” by lauding Jews, Hindus and Christians. After the police detail that had been posted to the Blitz’s offices since the July bombing had vanished, the offices were ransacked and Choudhury was badly beaten by a mob. When he lodged a formal complaint with the police, an arrest warrant was issued for him. The U.S. Embassy in Dhaka sent an observer to his trial.[9]
Later, Choudhury lodged a case in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate against the attackers, mostly belonging to the Cultural Wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)[citation needed].
On 18 March 2008, members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) abducted Choudhury from his office at gun point. He was blind folded and taken to RAB office. In the late hours, Choudhury was released. Series of written complaints were sent with the military controlled interim government on this incident, but no action was ever taken by the Bangladesh authorities against the RAB men[citation needed].
On 22 February 2009, armed thugs belonging to ruling Bangladesh Awami League entered Choudhury’s office, ransacked the entire office and physically assaulted him and other members of the Weekly Blitz newspaper. Although a specific case was already lodged with the police station on the day of occurrence, there is no action yet by the law enforcing agencies against the culprits who are sheltered by the ruling party[citation needed].
The same month, the military-controlled interim government withdrew police protection from Choudhury’s residence.[citation needed].
[edit] Treason Charges
Choudhury is facing charges of sedition, treason, blasphemy and espionage since January 2004 for having tried to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writers’ Association in Tel Aviv. He violated the Passport Act, by attempting to travel to Israel in November 2003. The Act forbids citizens from visiting countries with which Bangladesh does not maintain diplomatic relations, usually punishable by a fine of $8. It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh currently does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and Israel. However, the travel ban on Taiwan was silently lifted while people started business with Taiwan in spite of the travel ban. On 29 November he was taken into police custody[10] and, as he tells it, blindfolded, beaten and interrogated for 10 days in an attempt to extract a confession that he was spying for Israel. He spent the next 17 months in solitary confinement, and was denied medical treatment for his glaucoma. On intervention of U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk, who spoke to Bangladesh’s ambassador to the U.S., Choudhury’s was released on bail, though the charges were not dropped.[9]
[edit] Weekly Blitz
He is the editor of Weekly Blitz http://www.weeklyblitz.net, the most influential anti-Jihadist newspaper in Bangladesh, and editor-in-chief of vernacular weekly Jamjamat.
Choudhury’s articles appear in various international press on a regular basis[citation needed]. He also is considered to be an expert on topics such as Islamist militancy and extensively works on finding root cause of Jihad[citation needed]. He is also invited by many reputed institutions around the world as a Speaker to give lecture on such topics as Islamist millitancy, jihad, and hate speech[citation needed].
[edit] Views on Islam
Choudhury rejects the assertion by Geert Wilders that there are moderate Muslims, but no moderate Islam. “My Islam derives from the Koran. This teaches that Muslims, Jews and Christians will all be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evil,” he has said.[11]
[edit] Arrest
Choudhury was arrested on November 29, 2003 at Dhaka airport. The following is the news report.[12] from The Daily Star, the leading English language daily in Bangladesh:
A man was arrested at Shahjalal International Airport yesterday morning on his way to Tel Aviv for his alleged Mossad connection. A leader of Bangladesh chapter of ‘Iflaq’, a Haifa-based organisation, Salauddin Shoib Chowdhury was carrying compact discs (CD’s) and papers containing write-ups on some sensitive issues including ‘minority repression and the al Qaeda network in Bangladesh’, police said. Shoaib was managing director of the planned Inquilab Television until he was sacked last year. Members of different law enforcement agencies and Shahjalal immigration officials apprehended him at the immigration counter minutes before he was to leave for Bangkok by the Biman flight, BG-084, at 10:30am. “He introduced himself as the editor of the ‘Blitz’, an entertainment magazine published from Dhaka, and said he was going to Bangkok,” a top police officer said yesterday on condition of anonymity. “Searching his luggage, we found a number of CD-formatted write-ups and papers that clearly proved his contact with Tel Aviv,” he said. “He was going to take part in a conference in Tel Aviv scheduled to begin on 1 December”, the police officer added. It was however learnt that Shoaib’s movements were being monitored for quite sometime on suspicion of his connection with the Israeli secret service ‘Mossad’. “He was going to Bangkok first and was scheduled to fly for Israel, a country Bangladeshi citizens are barred from travelling to,” he said.
After release from 17-months imprisonment, Choudhury wrote in an Israeli newspaper “I also stand before you perhaps as a living contradiction: a Zionist, a defender of Israel, and a devout, practicing Muslim, living in a Moslem country.” He said “I believe in the justice of the Zionist dream. I also acknowledge this historical reality: that the world has endeavored to crush that dream and, yes, even to destroy the viability of the Jewish people. At the same time, I live in an environment where people believe just as passionately in an opposing view—one that sees Israel as illegitimate; and the Jewish people as evil incarnate.”[13]
Choudhury’s father Ghulam Ather Choudhuri died on 29 March 2003, while his mother Sharifa Choudhury died on 9 August 2005. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was in prison when his mother died. The then government in Bangladesh refused petition by his family for him to attend his mother’s funeral[citation needed].
[edit] Inqilab Television
Choudhury was the managing director of Inqilab Television, a private television venture run by a major publication the Daily Inqilab. Choudhury was also a correspondent for the Daily Inqilab. Choudhury owned a 30% stake, worth approximately $1 million according to Choudhury, in Inqilab Television. Choudhury claims his ownership share in the television station was sold without his consent. In first court appearance, Choudhury claimed that his arrest was motivated by the financial dispute over his ownership stake in Inqilab Television.
[edit] Support for Choudhury
The campaign to get the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Choudhury is being led by Dr. Richard Benkin. Benkin, like Choudhury, is an Advisory Board Member of Islam-Israel Fellowship.[14] Dr. Benkin and Choudhury together formed Interfaith Strength to disseminate information about Choudhury’s case. On September 6, 2005 Dr. Richard Benkin registered[15] as a foreign agent with the US Department of Justice, under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).[16] According to the document filed with the US government, Dr. Benkin registered as a foreign agent with Lutfuzzaman Babar, former State Minister for Home Affairs of Bangladesh, as his principal, for a sum of $5000 per month to prepare and disseminate informational materials via radio or TV broadcasts, magazines or newspaper articles, letters or telegrams, press releases and the internet. He was hired to disseminate this information to public officials, civic groups or associations, legislators, newspapers and editors. Benkin’s decision was made in response to initially positive actions by the Bangladeshi government with respect to Choudhury as well as human rights issues. When it became clear to him, however, that these moves by the BNP government were only perfunctory, he ceased working with the government after only one month. Benkin refers to Babar as one of many sources of information about the Choudhury case in a few newspaper articles[17][18][19] of that period. Although those who have been trying to cover up the Bangladeshi government’s role in persecuting Choudhury (especially leftists related to the then-opposition Awami League, a left-center party) have tried to make much of Benkin’s former relationship with the Bangladeshi government, they have failed to convince anyone that it has any bearing on the case.[20]
In 2008, Kazi Aiz, a fundamentalist Muslim and an official of an Islamic organization, Khalefat Andolin Bangladesh [KAB], has publicly sided with Choudhury, calling the charges against him “false” and called on the Bangladeshi government to end its ban on travel to Israel.[21]
[edit] US House Resolution 64
On February 15, 2007, House Resolution 64 passed the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs without opposition. The resolution, introduced by Representatives Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Nita Lowey (D-NY), calls on the government of Bangladesh to drop all charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury charged with sedition for writing pro-Israel reports. The penalty for conviction could be death. The vote on the resolution was held on 13 March 2007 and the resolution passed by a vote of 409 to 1 with 4 members voting present.[22]
[edit] Impact
Choudhury and the Weekly Blitz have influenced government policy and popular opinion in Bangladesh. The articles have prompted the Bangladeshi government to ban the Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir and the antisemitic publication Dajjal, which is published by another notorious Islamist militancy group named Hizbut Towhid. A campaign against Muslim supremacist Zakir Naik led Britain and Canada to refuse him entry.[11]
[edit] Controversy
On March 21, 2011, the NYC Police Department issued a charge against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury of Grand Larceny via Fraud.[23] Complaints have also been made on March 25, 2011to the Manhattan District Attorney and the Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC.
[edit] Notes
^ About Us, The Weekly Blitz
^ Office of controversial magazine Weekly Blitz bombed, Centre for Independent Journalism, 11 July 2006
^ “Non sono colpevole Choudhury Salah U.” (in Italian). 2008-04-25. http://www.unilibro.it/find_buy/Scheda/libreria/autore-choudhury_salah_u_/sku-12844781/non_sono_colpevole_.htm.
^ Bangladesh: Journalist detained, The Committee to Protect Journalists, December 3, 2003
^ Bio of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Interfaith Strength
^ Honorary Member Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, PEN USA (with time table of events)
^ Wall Street Journal urges Bush Administration to protect Bangladesh journalist Choudhury from persecution, by Daya Gamage, Asian Tribune, 12 October 2006
^ Michael Freund, US slams trial of Bangladeshi newsman, Holiday International, 3 November 2006
^ a b Darkness in Dhaka – A gadfly Bangladeshi journalist runs for his life by Bret Stephens, The Wall Street Journal, 15 October 2006
^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 25 February 2004
^ a b Bangladesh’s Muslim Zionist on trial The JC, By Brian Sacks, September 2, 2010
^ Man with ‘Mosad links’ held at Shahjalal, The Daily Star, November 30, 2003
^ Shoaib Choudhury, Salah Uddin (June 13, 2005). “A letter from a friend of Israel”. Israel Insider.
^ Bio of Dr. Richard Benkin, Interfaith Strength
^ Registration Statement of Richard Benkin, US Department of Justice, 6 September 2005
^ US lobbyists hired for image building, ‘positive’ reporting, The Daily Star, 10 April 2006
^ Bangladesh to Frame Sedition Charge against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury by Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Asian Tribune, May 19, 2006
^ Bangladeshi Islamists Bomb Independent Newspaper by Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Asian Tribune, July 6, 2006
^ Appeasement of Islamists Adherence to Injustice Send US-Bangladesh Relations into Decline, by Dr. Richard L. Benkin, Asian Tribune, 3 November 2006
^ The papers noting Benkin’s ending the relationship with the Bangladeshi government, including the date, are on file with the United States Department of Justice.
^ Fundamentalist Muslim wants Bangladeshi Government to end its ban on travel to Israel
^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll139.xml
^ “Breaking: DISTURBING NEWS ABOUT SELF-STYLED ‘MUSLIM ZIONIST’ – SHOAIB CHOUDHURY” “silent” majority no more!March 24, 2011
[edit] External links
An Interview with Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury: Will America Act to Save One Courageous Man’s Life?, The New York Sun, November 10, 2006
Pro-Israeli editor beaten in Bangladesh by Michael Freund, The Jerusalem Post, October 17, 2006
Interfaith Strength, website run by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and Dr. Richard L. Benkin
Rendezvous With Israeli Peace Writer: Prof. Ada Aharoni by S. Choudhury, The Weekly Blitz, reprinted by the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace
President Iajuddin Ahmed: Restore Faith in Bangladesh Justice, Drop Choudhury Case by R. L. Benkin, “The Weekly Blitz”, October 31, 2006
BANGLADESHI SUFFERS FOR ADVOCATING ISRAEL TIES By Larry Luxner, JTA via Canadian Jewish News, January 2, 2007
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Persondata
Name Choudhury, Salah
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth 12 January 1965
Place of birth Sylhet
Date of death
Place of death
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah_Choudhury”
Categories: Living people | Bangladeshi journalists | 1965 births | Muslim Zionists | Human rights in Bangladesh
Hidden categories: Articles with hCards | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009
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I befriended this guy through a mutual friend and I had an eerie feeling that his Zionism is only to get involved with Jewish woman to try and con them out of their money….. when i figured this was the type of character we have as a friend who promised my dear Zionist Jewish friend all sorts of things like help her publish her book etc. I sincerely hope this effort will stop him in his tracks immediately and I hope he gets arrested for theft…… If I ever had to bump him in public I would certainly punch his lights out
I wrote to this character asking him if he wanted to explain or defend himself, and he has not responded. Just trying to be fair folks, :). Anyone can write to this ‘celebrity’ because he puts his email out all over the place looking for support and YOUR MONEY. If you want to tell him directly what you think of him, here is the email address: salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com.
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