Persecution of Converted Christians in Bangladesh

Christian Group Reveals Persecution of Converted Christians in BangladeshPosted: Monday, May 23 , 2005, 13:11 (UK)

President of Christian Freedom International (CFI), Jim Jacobson has found increasing evidence of persecutions against Christians that are converted from Islam, during his visit to Bangladesh. He urged Bangladeshi authorities to stop such practices.

The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam, with approximately 88%, 11% Hindu and the 1% remaining is Buddhism and Christianity. In 1988 Islam became the state religion, but the constitution guarantees all citizens to "to profess, practice or propagate any religion," according to Article 41.

However, the pressure of Islamic fundamentalists has caused the government to make certain restrictions applied to the Christian community. Even when proselyting is not restricted by the law, the social atmosphere allows only Hindus to evangelise openly. As a result, the Christian community is divided into two: visible ones, and invisible ones with converted Muslim members.

Jacobson, during his visit to Bangladesh reported about the cases of two women - Kumkum Roy and Shahanaz Alam, now in hiding, since they converted to Christianity. They cannot go back home, as they face threats from neighbours and pressure of forced marriage and conversion back to Islam.

The cases of these women are not the only ones and as reality has shown, converted Muslims face threats of violence and even death. Jacobson commented on the situation of one of the women: "Kumkum Roy’s situation is all too common in Bangladesh, where women who have converted to Christianity are abducted, beat, raped, and forced to marry and reconvert to Islam."

The police fail when it comes to help people in this kind of situation. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Bangladesh to its Watch list this year as the Bangladeshi government has not taken any steps to change the situation.

Christian Today > Christian Group Reveals Persecution of Converted Christians in Bangladesh