#38 in Christian persecution, Bangladesh

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Some groups are doubly vulnerable
Christians who convert away from Islamic or tribal religions must gather in small house churches or secret groups due to fear of attack. Protestant and Catholic groups are targeted with attacks and death threats. Christians who belong to ethnic minority groups like the Rohingya are doubly vulnerable, as they are harassed because of both their religion and their ethnicity.

Threats of violence and rising danger
The government struggles to counter the growing strength of radical Islamic groups, adding to a general sense of insecurity. Until recently Bangladesh had managed to stay clear of the kind of radicalism that has plagued other parts of the world. That’s changing.

Christians are a tiny minority and, if they belong to ethnic minorities, face a double vulnerability. Christian converts come under pressure from either radical Islamic groups or the Islamic culture in their neighborhoods and often face significant threats. Churches and all minority religions strive to stay clear of politics.

Converts from a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or an ethnic/tribal background suffer the most severe persecution in Bangladesh. Evangelistic churches, many of them Pentecostal, working among the Muslim majority face persecution, but even historical churches such as the Roman Catholic Church are increasingly faced with attacks and death threats.

Tribal Christians endure pressure on both ethnic and religious grounds, and struggle with land-grabbing issues and violence. Christians among the Muslim Rohingya, who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, face harassment and strong pressure from their community as well.

Examples
There have been no killings of Christians in the 2020 World Watch List (WWL) reporting period, but several death-threats were made against members of historical churches and converts alike.

Fourteen churches—or places where Christians gather—were attacked. Examples: 1) In March 2019, a makeshift church and school in a Rohingya refugee camp was destroyed. 2) In April 2019, the Mohandi Assemblies of God church in the Satkhira district was burnt down. 3) Other churches in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been destroyed as well.

Several Christians were detained by the police in the WWL 2020 reporting period, many under the allegation of “unlawful conversion.”

Population and number of Christian statistics: Johnson T M and Zurlo G A, eds., World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, accessed April 2019).




Pray for Bangladesh
  • Pray for God to give strength to all believers to stand strong in their faith, especially secret believers, so they might endure persecution and not compromise their faith. Pray also for the ongoing projects to reach believers in need and assist them with timely help.
  • Pray for Christians who have left their communities out of pressure to renounce their faith. Pray that the Lord would provide for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
  • Pray that Christians who are mentally and physically abused would be granted steadfast faith.
  • Converts from a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or an ethnic/tribal background suffer the most severe persecution in Bangladesh. They often gather in small house churches or secret groups due to fear of attack. Pray their hearts are filled with courage and peace.

Bangladesh Photo Gallery


Stories from Bangladesh
March 11, 2020
Church leader still missing after attack in Bangladesh—pray with Rohingya believers
More than a month after Rohingya believers were attacked in Bangladesh by a mob of Muslim extremists, a church leader is still missing. Read More

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March 6, 2020
A ‘living death’: How Christian women experience persecution
A new 2020 Open Doors in-depth report focusing on gendered persecution surfaces some disturbing realities for Christian women and girls in the top 50 countries where women are highly persecuted for their decision to follow Jesus. Read More

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January 30, 2020
Rohingya believers attacked, facing torture for choosing Jesus


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