Even though he does not personally believe in the existence of God, prominent atheist Richard Dawkins says he believes the attacks being made by the terrorist Islamic State (ISIS) on Christians are all about religion.
Following the attack in Pakistan that killed 70 Christians, Dawkins took to Twitter to criticise how the media is turning a blind eye on how differences in faith are central to these terrorist activities.
"Pakistan bomb kills 72," he wrote on his Twitter page, then proceeded to quote the perpetrators of the attack as stating, "We have carried out this attack to target Christians who were celebrating Easter."
"Ah, nothing to do with religion, then," the well-known atheist quipped, as quoted by The Gospel Herald.
The Islamic extremist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which cut ties with the Taliban and then pledged allegiance to the ISIS, has already claimed responsibility for the bombing in Pakistan, which killed mostly innocent women and children.
The ISIS affiliate's spokesperson, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said a suicide bomber particularly targeted a Christian community. He further warned that more attacks will be launched by his group throughout the year.
"We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter. It was part of our annual martyrdom attacks we have started this year," Ehsan said.
"We had been waiting for this occasion ... We want to convey to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the prime minister that we have arrived in Punjab and we will reach you," he added.
This is not the first time that Dawkins defended Christians for being victims of terrorist attacks by Muslim extremist groups. In December, he also called out the media for ignoring shocking human rights abuses being committed by Muslim extremists in different parts of the world.
"Regressive left turns treacherous, blind eye on misogyny and homophobia because they absurdly think Islam must be 'respected' as a 'race,'" he wrote.
During his guesting on HBO's "Real Time," the popular atheist meanwhile said that it is "ridiculous" how some Muslim groups are being treated by society as "protected species."
