All the rage - victim of US bloggers' cartoon hits back ('Islamic Rage Boy')

Guardian (UK) ^ | July 23, 2007 | Riazat Butt

[2ndDivisionVet]

With his clenched fists, wild eyes and gnashing teeth he has become the face of Muslim fury, protesting against the enemies of Islam. Shakeel Ahmad Bhat has been on the frontline of political activism in Srinagar, India, for more than a decade. His constant presence, captured by photographers and beamed across the world, has caught the imagination of rightwing bloggers who have dubbed him Islamic Rage Boy and turned him into an internet phenomenon.

Typing his nickname into a search engine yields more than 75,000 results. He has inspired a cartoon character and merchandise.

But the 30-year-old Kashmiri activist is puzzled, not angered, by his overseas fame. In his first interview with a British newspaper, he says he is carrying out Allah's wishes.

From his home in Fateh Kadal, Malik Angan, he says: "I am not happy with people joking about me or making me into a cartoon, but I have more important things to think about. My protests are for those Muslims who cannot go out onto the streets to cry out against injustice. This is my duty and I believe Allah has decided this for me."

Mr Bhat, a school dropout and former militant with a pro-Pakistan rebel group, has been arrested more than 300 times.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Hilarious!

[martin_fierro]

Hit *this*, Islamic Rage Fag.

[SevenofNine]

MONK HONEY get in here Muslum rage boy don’t like you LOL!

[lndrvr1972]

Arrested 300 times I rest my case.

[Theresawithanh]

"Someone is trying to link Islam with violence and anger and profiting from it."

Angry, violent muslims? Never seen 'em and never heard of 'em. /s

[martin_fierro]

You can't make this sh*t up.

[indcons]

You might love this article. Apparently, Islamic Rage Boy - a big favorite of FReepers and Photoshoppers worldwide, is upset with the way his image is being portrayed in the West. He wants to focus on more “useful things tough like fighting for Muslims.” LMAO

[BykrBayb]

Is that his “NJ rest area pose”?

[indcons]

Al Pinga to Islamic Rage Boy special edition

[DancesWithBolsheviks]

“My protests are for those Muslims who cannot go out onto the streets to cry out against injustice.”
And who might they be?

[inkling]

The Islamic Rage Dispenser:

[monkapotamus]

[yldstrk]

Do they know how ridiculous they seem to us?

[indcons]

Mr Bhat, unaware of the row he has fuelled, vows to carry on protesting. Undeterred by being locked away or being laughed at, he says: "I do not like being called Islamic Rage Boy, it is not nice; but why should I care what people think of me in this life? The afterlife will decide my fate, not a mousemat."

[potlatch]

Lol, that’s great Martin!!

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[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Empty cans make the most noise.

[NeoCaveman]

Looter guy, John Kerry, Islamic rage baby seal, and Teddy K’s Cadillac.

That picture has it all.