India: Muslim vigilantes punish professor for 'blasphemy' by severing his arm
July 05, 2010
Muslim extremists abducted a professor who had been accused of insulting Muhammad and cut off his arm in India’s southern Kerala state.
The brutal assault on T. J. Joseph occurred on Sunday, July 4, as the professor and his family were leaving a church service. The assailants, who have not been identified, forced the professor into a van and maimed him. Police have found the van, which was operating with a false registration.
Joseph had previously been suspended from his teaching post at Newman’s College and forced to make a public apology after giving students a test in which one question referred to a fictional character named Mohammed; some Muslim students took the question as an offense against their faith.
The shocking attack on the professor has drawn attention to the rise in Islamic extremism in Kerala, the state where Christians have their strongest representation in India.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
-
Posted by: samuel.doucette1787 -
Jul. 06, 2010 9:11 AM ET USA
I'm surprised the practitioners of the death cult known as Islam only stopped with his arm. I thought they would have cut off his head.
-
Posted by: -
Jul. 05, 2010 5:07 PM ET USA
How horrible this story of religious zelots gone to the extream.
