Over the past decade, Bangladeshi Islamists have murdered dozens of anti-Islamist activists and intellectuals. For years, they have also targeted Asad Noor, an atheist, former Muslim, and human rights activist who fled his native Bangladesh due to persecution following statements he made about Muhammad, Islam, and the oppression of religious minorities. This campaign recently escalated, as Islamists in France and the UK called for killing Noor. Does this mark a new confidence of Bangladeshi Islamism in the West? How should Westerners respond? And what does Asad Noor himself have to say back to them?

Asad Noor was imprisoned in Bangladesh on charges of blasphemy, causing him to flee the country in 2019 and live in hiding. He has written prolifically about the abuse of religious minorities in Bangladesh and has warned Westerners about the threat of Islamism. Mr. Noor holds a diploma in electronics technology from the Sylhet Polytechnic Institute in northeastern Bangladesh.