Avijit Roy

**Avijit Roy** (; 12 September 1972 – 26 February 2015) was a
Bangladeshi-American engineer, writer, blogger and secular activist. He was killed by machete-wielding people in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 26 February 2015. A Muslim extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Avjit Roy was a U.S. citizen.  He was born in Bangladesh. His family is Hindu.  He studied microbiology at Dhaka University.  His father Ajoy was a professor of physics at the university.  Avjit Roy moved to the city of Atlanta in the United States.  He had a job there as an engineer.

## Activism

In May 2001, Roy started Mukto-Mona, meaning "free mind", as a Yahoo group.  In 2002 Mukto-Muno became a website. Mukto-Muno started the first Bengali Darwin Day, Rationalist Day, and International Women's Day on the internet. The group worked for freedom for religious minorities and secular writers. The group discussed religious questions and LGBT issues.

Avjit Roy wrote many articles, as well as books.  In 2014, Roy received death threats after he wrote a book.  One threat on Facebook said, "Avijit Roy lives in America and so it is not possible to kill him right now, but he will be murdered when he gets back."

In 2015, Avijit Roy returned to Dhaka and was killed after leaving a book fair with his wife.  Roy's wife, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, was also hurt in the attack.  On March 2, 2016, Farabi Shafiur Rahman was arrested for the attack. Farabi wrote on Facebook, “Avijit lives in America. It is not possible to kill him now. But he will be killed when he will be back in the country.” Rahman is a blogger from the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. Sheikh Ahmadullah claimed that, it is not logical to punnish someone like Farabi imprisonment for giving threat without proving that he is related to the assassination, and Farabi gave threat to Avijit because Avijit mocked Muhammad's wife Mary the Copt in extreme slang language.

## Selected writings

- _Obisshahser Dorshon_ (অবিশ্বাসের দর্শন) (The Philosophy of Disbelief)Text in Bengali.
- _Biswasher Virus_ (বিশ্বাসের ভাইরাস)(The Virus of Faith in Bengali) Text in Bengali.
- "The Virus of Faith", _Free Inquiry_ magazine, April/May 2015 Text in English.

## Other websites

- Profile on Mukto-Mona
- "Avijit Roy and His Legacy", Jahed Ahmed, _Free Inquiry_, vol 35 issue 4, May 19, 2015
- "Obituary: US-Bangladesh writer Avijit Roy", _BBC News_, 27 February 2015

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Avijit Roy
- **image size**: 260px
- **caption**: Avijit Roy
- **native name**: অভিজিৎ রায়
- **native name lang**: bn
- **birth place**: Bangladesh
- **death place**: Dhaka, Bangladesh
- **death cause**: Murder by Islamic extremist organisation Ansarullah Bangla Team
- **nationality**: American, Bangladeshi
- **education**: Bachelor of Science, BS in mechanical engineering; Master of Science, MS and PhD in biomedical engineering
- **alma mater**: BUET (Bachelor of Science, BS)
National University of Singapore (Master of Science, MS, PhD)
- **occupation**: Engineer, blogger, writer
- **years active**: 2001-2015
- **known for**: Blogging in Bangladesh
- **notable works**: New Atheism, science, anarchism and religion, homosexuality
- **spouse**: Rafida Ahmed Bonya
- **children**: Trisha Ahmed
- **parents**: Ajoy Roy (father)
Shefali Roy (mother)