Shakeel Ahmad Bhat (Kashmiri: शकील अहमद भट (Devanagari, Śakīl Ahamad Bhaţ), شکیل احمد بھٹ (Nastaleeq))[1] (born around 1978[1]), labeled as Islamic Rage Boy by bloggers around the world, is an Islamist activist[2] and a professional Kashmiri Muslim Protester who has been on photographs on the front pages of many newspapers and has become a cult figure on the Internet. He has been featured in newspapers such as the Times of India,[3] Middle East Times,[4] France 24,[5] and The Sunday Mail[1]
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He was born into a Sufi family in Kashmir,[1] India. At the age of ten he became a school dropout because he had problems learning to read and write.[1] 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.[1]
At the age of 13 he joined a pro-Pakistan jihadist group and was a militant from 1991 to 1994.[2] He claims he was not a good militant and has never killed anybody.[1]
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.[3] After dropping out of school, he became a militant fighting against Indian forces in Kashmir. He was captured and spent three years in prison.[2] He claims that he has been detained almost 300 times since 1997.[2]
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."[1]
The term "Islamic 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,[6] Robert Spencer,[7] Kathleen Parker,[8] Michelle Malkin,[9] and others. On various blogs, he was photoshopped as Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler or as an opera singer.[10][11] His picture has also been printed on T-Shirts, posters, mouse-pads and beer mugs.[2][3]
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?"[1]