Christians in Bangladesh Beaten; Mob Threatens to Burn Homes
http://www.christiansincrisis.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=467
Source:
www.compassdirect.org
Date: June 28, 2007
Muslim neighbors strike converts from Islam with bricks, clubs; extremists say they will kill
by Sarah Page
DUBLIN, June 28 (Compass Direct News) – 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.
The mob gave the Christians an ultimatum on Wednesday (June 27) to leave the village within 24 hours, threatening
more beatings along with home burnings; that deadline expired today without incident. Muslim extremists also
threatened to kill two Christians.
A human rights advocate working on behalf of the Christians who requested anonymity said he had contacted local
police and government officials, including the district commissioner, but “they are very slow to respond.”
Police rejected the Christians’ attempt to file a complaint, instead threatening to arrest them for “converting
Muslims.”
After receiving news of the beating, the advocate traveled to Durbachari Bhatiapara and Laksmirdanga villages to find
that the mob had bound both male and female converts with ropes in their homes and “seriously
wounded” them. Several victims required hospital treatment, and one house was destroyed in the attack.
During the beating, one of the believers picked up a phone and called a Christian leader in a nearby town, saying,
“They are beating my wife. Why should they beat her? And now they are coming for me!”
Muslim villagers had told the Christians, referring to local authorities, “Nobody will come to save you. We are
stronger than they are!” the advocate told Compass.
“Now these believers feel helpless,” he added. “I just visited one of them in hospital, but he was not
getting good treatment so I checked him out and tried to admit him to a private clinic, but the clinic is expensive. These
people also have no food to eat, so I’m trying to buy rice and lentils for them, but in the current situation
it’s dangerous even to carry sacks of rice to their homes.”
Conversions from Islam
The attack came after 42 men and women from Muslim backgrounds were baptized at a local river on June 12.
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Within days, authorities at the mosque in Durbachari banned Christians from using the village tube-well, a serious
deprivation as it is the area’s only source of potable water. The Christians have since resorted to carrying water
from a river 600 meters from their homes.
Muslim extremists also issued death threats against Abul Hossain and Barek Ali, two villagers appointed as leaders of
the new converts.
Kamal Hossain, a cousin of Abul Hossain’s and the principal of a local madrassa (Islamic school), has
repeatedly summoned Hossain to his home, demanding that he give up his Christian faith. On Sunday (June 24), he
argued with Hossain for several hours before writing a statement claiming that the Christian had forcibly converted local
Muslims.
At the same time, a local Muslim cleric has questioned and threatened Barek Ali repeatedly, asking how much money
he received for his conversion and demanding that he abandon his Christian faith.
Ali denied receiving monetary incentives. He pulls a rickshaw, a form of local transport, for a living, while his wife works
in a neighbor’s field to supplement the family income. Last week Muslim extremists damaged his rickshaw
beyond repair, leaving him without work or funds to replace the vehicle.
No Protection
As the 24-hour deadline expired today, the advocate, who said police had not yet come forward to assist the believers,
told Compass, “We have applied to the district commissioner, to no avail. It seems the extremists have strong
links with local government.”
He appealed to the international community to intervene.
“Now these Christians are panicking,” he added. “They can’t get drinking water. None of
them can go out to work for fear of attack. Some are still in hospital. They need food, medicine and protection.”
The Christians don’t know where they will stay if they are forced to leave, he said, adding, “But incredibly,
in spite of this pressure, they have not denied their faith.”
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