Abdul Khader Puthiyangadi, who made videos promoting secularism in India while living there, was arrested on blasphemy charges after working two years abroad in Dubai. Indian Islamists subtitled his videos in Arabic to frame him for blasphemy.
making YouTube videos promoting freethought and secularism
In April 2021, Abdul Khader Puthiyangadi, an Indian living in Dubai, was arrested on blasphemy charges. He is a freethinker who had been living and working in the UAE for two years. Prior to this, while he was still in India, he had made YouTube videos and written blogs from a “rationalist” perspective, advocating for secularism and against Islamism and violent religious extremism.
After arriving in the UAE, those he angered at home were still eager to punish him. He continued to receive threats, of which he notified the police; their response, however, was simply to suggest Abdul “move to a safer place.” Subtitles were added to his videos in Arabic as part of an effort to draw the authorities’ attention to him and charge him with blasphemy, an effort which ultimately worked.
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are a collection of individual Islamic entities that function essentially as monarchies, with a degree of collective decision-making at the national level. The nation is explicitly Islamic, with Islam being the state religion and Islamic religious law being the main source of legislation. There is codified freedom of religion, only with the vague exception that it does not extend to violations of "public morals." Legislation against blaspheming Islam exists, as well as against "condoning or encouraging sin," which would apply to both blasphemers and apostates.