Bangladesh

Muslim militants raided and destroyed a ‘house church’ in Bangladesh as part of an operation to expel Christians from the region, a group representing the believers said Tuesday, August 5.

Muslim fundamentalists in a village 192 kilometers (119 miles) north of the capital have threatened to kill a pastor as part of an effort to keep his church from constructing a church building, according to the head of the Isha-e-Jamat Bangladesh (Jesus’ Church) denomination.

Muslim villagers in Mymensingh district eager to rid the area of the Christian work of a local pastor have gang-raped his 13-year-old daughter, the girl’s father said.

Some fourteen Indian Christians remained detained in Bangladesh Saturday, March 22, weeks after completing a three-month sentence for unwittingly crossing the border while evangelizing, because India has not request their repatriation, news reports said.

A 70-year-old woman convert from Islam died on Friday (February 1) from burns she suffered when unknown assailants in a Muslim-majority area about 150 miles northwest of the capital set her home on fire last month.

Unknown attackers tried to burn a 70-year-old woman to death on January 7 after learning that she would be baptized as a Christian next month.

As Christianity spreads in this Muslim-majority country, an increasingly frequent refrain is heard in various quarters: “People become Christians after getting huge amounts of money as a reward for conversion.”

Local Muslims in Nilphamari district and Islamist missionaries from abroad are hauling recently converted Christians to mosques and forcing them to return to Islam, area sources said.

Islamic radicals in a Bangladesh village have meted out more beatings and death threats to Christians after a special police force meant to offer protection for three months withdrew after only a week.

Intervention from high-ranking police officers and government officials has ensured temporary security for a group of Christian converts beaten last week in Nilphamari district, Bangladesh.

Muslim villagers armed with bricks and wooden clubs savagely beat 10 Christian converts in Nilphamari district, Bangladesh, on Tuesday (June 26) and threatened to burn down their homes if they did not leave by today.