Shakeel Bhat
Encyclopedia
Shakeel Ahmad Bhat (born around 1978), labeled as Islamic Rage Boy by bloggers around the world, is an Islamist
activist and a professional Kashmiri
Muslim
Protest
er who has been on photograph
s on the front pages of many newspaper
s and has become a cult figure on the Internet. He has been featured in newspapers such as the Times of India, Middle East Times, France 24
, and The Sunday Mail
family in Kashmir
, India
. At the age of ten he became a school dropout because he had problems learning to read and write. Around 1990, Bhat claims, during a raid on his home, Indian police threw his sister Shareefa out of an upstairs window; she broke her spine and died from her injuries four years later.
At the age of 13 he joined a pro-Pakistan jihadist group and was a militant from 1991 to 1994. He claims he was not a good militant and has never killed anybody.
He lives in Kashmir
, India, where he is often seen participating in Muslim demonstrations and has since became a professional protester. Due to his angry look, he is often photographed by journalists. He took part in protests against the Indian Army
, Israel
, Pope Benedict, Salman Rushdie, and the Muhammed cartoons
. After dropping out of school, he became a militant
fighting against India
n forces in Kashmir. He was captured and spent three years in prison. He claims that he has been detained almost 300 times since 1997.
Bhat has said, "I want to marry a Non-Muslim woman and convert her to Islam." When asked why, He replied, "I have been told that if I can convince a non-Muslim woman to marry me, but not convert her by force, then there will be a place for me in heaven."
ic Rage Boy" was first used in September 2006. Using Bhat as inspiration, The Nose On Your Face created an illustrated, prototypical Islamic Rage Boy who has sung in satirical videos, offered guidance to other Muslims via an advice column, and dispensed an exaggerated, extremist form of Islamic
justice where ever he goes.
Bhat, and Islamic Rage Boy, were discussed by members of The Nose On Your Face on the BBC
several times in July 2007.
He was featured in numerous blogs and articles by Christopher Hitchens
, Robert Spencer, Kathleen Parker
, Michelle Malkin
, and others. On various blogs, he was photoshopped
as Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler
or as an opera singer. His picture has also been printed on T-Shirts, posters, mouse-pads and beer mugs.
When he was shown a photo-shopped image that appeared in the internet, of his face superimposed on a pig, he reacted: "I surely get hurt when I see these pictures. This is terrorism for me. The people who do this are showing their own culture, so why do they tell us that we are uncivilized?"
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
activist and a professional Kashmiri
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
er who has been on photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s on the front pages of many newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and has become a cult figure on the Internet. He has been featured in newspapers such as the Times of India, Middle East Times, France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
, and The Sunday Mail
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
Biography
He was born into a SufiSufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
family in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. At the age of ten he became a school dropout because he had problems learning to read and write. Around 1990, Bhat claims, during a raid on his home, Indian police threw his sister Shareefa out of an upstairs window; she broke her spine and died from her injuries four years later.
At the age of 13 he joined a pro-Pakistan jihadist group and was a militant from 1991 to 1994. He claims he was not a good militant and has never killed anybody.
He lives in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, India, where he is often seen participating in Muslim demonstrations and has since became a professional protester. Due to his angry look, he is often photographed by journalists. He took part in protests against the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Pope Benedict, Salman Rushdie, and the Muhammed cartoons
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
. After dropping out of school, he became a militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
fighting against India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n forces in Kashmir. He was captured and spent three years in prison. He claims that he has been detained almost 300 times since 1997.
Bhat has said, "I want to marry a Non-Muslim woman and convert her to Islam." When asked why, He replied, "I have been told that if I can convince a non-Muslim woman to marry me, but not convert her by force, then there will be a place for me in heaven."
As icon
The term "IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic Rage Boy" was first used in September 2006. Using Bhat as inspiration, The Nose On Your Face created an illustrated, prototypical Islamic Rage Boy who has sung in satirical videos, offered guidance to other Muslims via an advice column, and dispensed an exaggerated, extremist form of Islamic
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
justice where ever he goes.
Bhat, and Islamic Rage Boy, were discussed by members of The Nose On Your Face on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
several times in July 2007.
He was featured in numerous blogs and articles by Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
, Robert Spencer, Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker is an American syndicated columnist. Her columns are syndicated nationally by The Washington Post. Parker is a consulting faculty member at the Buckley School of Public Speaking, and is a regular guest on television shows like The O'Reilly Factor and The Chris Matthews Show....
, Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
, and others. On various blogs, he was photoshopped
Photoshop contest
A Photoshop contest, or sometimes photochop contest, is an online game, in which a website or user of an Internet forum will post a starting image — usually a photograph — and ask others to manipulate the image using some kind of graphics editing software, such as Photoshop, Corel...
as Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
or as an opera singer. His picture has also been printed on T-Shirts, posters, mouse-pads and beer mugs.
When he was shown a photo-shopped image that appeared in the internet, of his face superimposed on a pig, he reacted: "I surely get hurt when I see these pictures. This is terrorism for me. The people who do this are showing their own culture, so why do they tell us that we are uncivilized?"