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Bangladesh

June 11, 2003  Bangladeshi Missionary Escapes From Terrorists

Since our posting yesterday, we have received great news that Moses has escaped on the night of June 9, after all eight men guarding him fell asleep!

The missionary was kidnapped by terrorists on May 19. According to Gospel for Asia, Moses' brother who went to negotiate with the terrorists before he escaped was severely beaten up. The kidnappers threatened to kill Moses if the ransom was not brought soon.

With his hands still tied behind his back, Moses reportedly ran through the jungle the entire night until he reached a town the following afternoon.  We give glory to God for this miracle! Please continue to pray for the protection of Moses. He is currently hiding in a safe place waiting for leaders from the Gospel for Asia to reach him. The journey will take at least a day and it is uncertain how the terrorist group will react to his escape. Pray also for his health. Moses is said to be suffering from a fever due to lack of food and being exposed to the elements while in captivity. In spite of this, he is in good spirit and is joyous at what God has done.

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June 10, 2003  Please Pray and Protest for Christians in Bangladesh

A missionary working for the Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been kidnapped by terrorists in Bangladesh.

The indigenous missionary, known as Moses, was reportedly taken into the jungles by terrorists at the end of May. 

The group, whose identity is not known, is said to have threatened to kill Moses unless they receive the requested ransom. 

A GFA spokesman said: "Moses is in real danger and GFA is trying all means possible to secure his release. Do earnestly pray for the Lord's intervention and protection of this dear and faithful brother. Pray also that God will grant wisdom to our leaders and staff as they deal with this critical situation. This incident comes in the midst of God moving mightily in this country."

GFA has two bible schools and 82 missionaries working in Bangladesh. 

This incident comes after the murder of a Christian as he returned home from a Christian film presentation in rural Bangladesh on April 24.

Hridoy Roy, a Bangladeshi evangelist who worked for a para-church organization, was reportedly stabbed to death by a mob of seven or eight Islamic extremists after they forcibly entered his house and tied him to his bed in "crucifixion style".

According to local sources, Hridoy Roy had previously on several occasions received warnings from local extremists to stop showing the 'Jesus' film, a presentation of the life of Christ.

Pray:

* Please pray for the safety, protection and early release of Moses. Please ask God to intervene in the matter. Pray also that God will grant wisdom to the leaders and staff of GFA as they deal with this critical situation.

* Please pray for comfort, love and support for Hridoy Roy's family at this devastating time. 

* Praise God for His work in Bangladesh. Pray for protection and encouragement for Christian workers and believers, particularly in the rural areas.

* Pray for those in authorities that they would continue to support secular politics, defend religious liberty and resist pressure from Islamic extremist groups to create an Islamic state and to implement Shair'a law. Pray that the government will take a further step to implement policies to protect non-Muslims' rights.

Protest:

* urge the American Government to take up the issue of religious intolerance at the highest policy levels and to lean on the government of Bangladesh to:

bring to justice those inciting and committing sectarian violence; regulate the country's madrassahs and bring them into the mainstream education system with a wide-ranging curriculum;  oversee the disarming of Islamic militant organizations; augment security measures for the non-Muslim communities.

Bangladesh Ambassador 
to the U.S.
Ambassador Syed Hasan Ahmad
Bangladesh Embassy
3510 International Drive NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: (202) 244-0183
Fax: (202) 244-5366
Email:
info@bangladoot.org
Web:
www.bangladoot.org


Country Background

Bangladesh came into existence in December 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan gained independence from West Pakistan after a bloody civil war. The initial promise of Bangladesh emerging as a secular democracy soon gave way to the rise of Islamic influences. Secularism was dropped and Islam was made the state religion in the 8th amendment to the Constitution. 

Islamization in the past years has reduced the non-Muslim population from 33% in 1941 to 17% in 2001. Now, around 83% of the 131 million populations are Muslims, 16% are Hindus, 0.6% are Buddhists and less than 1% are Christians.

There has been a marked escalation in sectarian violence committed against religious minorities since the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) in coalition with various radical Islamic militant groups, including the Jama'at-e-Islami (JI), won a landslide victory in the Parliamentary Elections in October 2001.

The scale of the post-elections attacks on minorities, particularly on the Hindu community, have also raised fears that the country could follow the footsteps of Pakistan. Islamic fundamentalists affiliated to the pro-Islamic coalition government reportedly harassed minority women and targeted Hindus and Christians for extortion. Christians in the Notore district of northern Bangladesh, for example, were reportedly harassed by provincial officials of the BNP in December 2001.

Religious minorities in Bangladesh are concerned that the BNP-led hardline government will move to turn the country into an Islamic republic and implement Shari'ah laws.

When the BNP was last in power between 1991-1996, there was considerable communal violence against the minorities. The JI also attempted to table the Blasphemy Bill which was eventually shelved as a result of domestic and international opposition. Now that the JI has gained a majority support in the Parliament, non-Muslims are concerned that they may succeed in reintroducing the Bill. 

Bangladesh has been used as a springboard by many Islamic terrorist organizations into south and south-east Asia. Many Islamic fundamentalist organizations linked with global terrorism, such as Pan Islamic, have a sizeable presence and training camps, particularly in rural areas. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), the largest and most militant of all, is based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southern Bangladesh. 

With over 15,000 members, HuJI claims it will turn the country into a second Afghanistan. According to the US State Department, HuJI runs at least six terrorist training camps in the southern hill region.

Like Pakistan, the madrassah (religious seminary) education system plays a crucial role in providing free education, board and lodging to the deprived grass root communities in Bangladesh. Many of the 64,000 madrassahs in the country, however, also offer an extremely narrow curriculum and are used by hardline clerics to instill radical Islamic ideology and religious intolerance among the poor and uneducated.

For more information on Bangladesh go to: www.cswusa.com/Countries/Bangladesh.htm

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December 13, 2001   Religious Minorities Victimized After New Party Elected 

Disturbing evidence of cases of sexual assaults and discrimination against religious minorities is emerging in Bangladesh since a new party took power.

According to conservative estimates by the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities, ten people have been killed, more than 1,000 women have been raped and several thousand families across the country have lost their land since the new government took over.

Following victory in the elections last October for the coalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), thousands of members of religious minorities have fled the country.

The pro-Islamic BNP formed a coalition with radical Islamic militant groups including the Jama'at-e-Islami (JI) which religious minorities believe hold Taliban sympathies.

Up to 50 Christian families in Chatiangacha village in the western district of Natore, have been targeted for extortion.

Reports in the daily 'Janakantha' newspaper of Bangladesh suggest that Islamist fundamentalists are behind a series of incidents during which men arrive on motorbikes and call out the family name of their victims.

The family is then usually given between a week and ten days to raise between $200 and $450 or the daughter is forced to sleep with the men.

The residents of Chatiangacha have complained to Boraignam Jubodol, a right-wing Islamist group, but to no avail. Jimmy Koraiya who lives in the village has been visited by the men on motorbikes calling for his high school-age daughter three times. He said: "What kind of country is this? If I can't give money, I have to give them my daughter."

In Bonparha Market area, also in Natore district, religious minorities are forced to pay huge fines to be released from false charges. The local BNP has also reportedly built a torture chamber to make victims confess to false charges.

Islamic fundamentalist groups have used false papers to drive thousands of Hindus and Christians off their land and in the south eastern Chittagong division, 30 Hindu families have been evicted and one Hindu killed.

In other districts, minorities are forced to convert to Islam at knifepoint. Dr Deb Lal Dakua, a Hindu from Nazirpur in the southern Pirojpur district, was forcibly circumcised on November 11 by a group of extremists. He was also told to pay over $1000 (INR 50,000) within seven days or face death.

Minorities are concerned by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh and when the BNP was last in power between 1991 and 1996, there was considerable violence against religious minorities.

During that time, the JI attempted to table a Blasphemy Bill which was discriminatory against religious minorities.

CSW is calling on the Bangladeshi Government to fully investigate these incidents as well as bringing those responsible to justice and providing those affected with full compensation.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "We are deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh and the reluctance of the government to investigate the incidents or offer adequate protection.

"We are calling on them to sign and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the two optional protocols as a sign of their commitment to fundamental human rights. 

"We urge the new government to implement legislation which will protect minorities and also to promote interfaith dialogue through education and public awareness campaigns."