Christians and other religious minority groups in Bangladesh have been experiencing persecution “almost daily” from different fronts—from terrorists to their own Muslim neighbours — for the past three years, a new report revealed.
The non-governmental organisation “Minority Rights Group International” based in the United Kingdom released a report this week entitled “Under Threat: The challenges facing religious minorities in Bangladesh.”
The document collated daily attacks suffered by Christians and other minority groups—including Buddhists, Hindus, Shi’a Muslims and Ahmadiyya —from January to September this year, and noted a rising trend, Sight Magazine reported. “Violence against Christians has continued, enabled in part by their marginalised position within Bangladeshi society,” the report stated.
Bangladesh is a majority Sunni Muslim nation with Hindus making up about 8.5 per cent of the population, Buddhist 0.6 per cent and Christians 0.3 per cent. Some indigenous people practice animism and other religious minority groups include Shia Muslims, members of the Ahmadiyya community and Sufi Muslims. The nation also has a growing number of atheists who, the report notes, have become increasingly vocal in recent years in expressing their beliefs despite the risks they face.
Overall, religious minorities and non-religious people represent just 9.6 per cent of the population today, down from 23.1 per cent in 1971, a contraction which it says has largely been due to mass migration among the Hindu population. “Christians are attacked for their land and property, and the attackers are backed by all political parties, including nevertheless the ruling party Awami League. They think Christians are a minuscule minority, weak and unable to protest and resist,” the report elaborated.
It further said that Christians have been increasingly targeted by extremist groups including the outlawed Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has sent death threats to targeted believers.
Carl Soderbergh, the “Minority Rights Group International” director of policy and communications, said the increasing attacks on Christians and other religious minorities in the Muslim-dominated country “have highlighted how vulnerable minorities are to attacks, but their situation is also informed by wider structural issues within Bangladeshi society.”
Worse, the Bangladeshi government has “singularly failed” in addressing the attacks on Christians. “Whether authored by domestic militant groups or by international armed extremist organisations such as Islamic State (IS), who have claimed responsibility for many of these incidents, the authorities have failed to protect its Ahmadiyya, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Shi’a Muslim communities from these attacks, as well as regular incidents of communal violence,” the report, released by UK-based “Minority Rights Group International” last week, says.
The report says the recent violence is the “latest chapter in a long history of discrimination” which has “sidelined Bangladesh’s minorities as second-class citizens within their own country”. It says abuses inflicted upon religious minority groups – which range from forced abduction and sexual assault to land seizures and arson, “have occurred within a broader climate of impunity”.
It says better protection of minorities by law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities is “essential”, noting that this is particularly important given that many previous abuses “appear to have been carried out with their involvement”. The report also calls for a “wider process of social transformation…to challenge stereotypes and champion respect for all beliefs”.
Source: Christian Today