Asia: Bangladesh Country Report Last Updated: July 2009 Code: Code: B-3 ( Click here for a code description .)
	(Click here for a list of ICC articles on Bangladesh.) List of Articles Last Updated: 2009-07-21

COUNTRY STATISTICS

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State Dept. Religious Freedom Reports:

2008, 2007, 2006, 2005

About Bangladesh:

• This South Asian country was earlier known as East Pakistan. However, a major civil war with West Pakistan (present day Pakistan) in 1971 gave birth to the new country of Bangladesh. Islam is the dominant religion. Bangladesh remains one of the few democracies in the Muslim world.

Religious atmosphere:

• The government publicly supports freedom of religion, but attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continue.
• Shari'a law is not formally implemented, but it heavily influences civil law and decisions.
• There is no reliable estimate of the number of missionaries, but several Christian denominations operate schools, orphanages, or other social programs throughout the country. A substantial number of missionaries, primarily based in Dhaka and Chittagong, are engaged in social development projects. Several faith-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including World Vision and Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) International, operate in the country.

Government:

• Bangladesh is a Parliamentary Democracy that promises its citizens the right "to profess, practice, or propagate any religion" in Article 41 of its constitution.
• Religious freedom exists but is steadily being eroded by Islamist pressure and a legal system which gives no safeguards to religious minorities.
• Strong social resistance to conversion from Islam means that most missionary efforts by Christian groups are aimed at serving communities that have been Christian for several generations or longer.
• Bangladesh National Party (BNP) is the ruling party and is accused of many atrocities against the religious minorities. Concern has grown about religious extremism in the traditionally moderate and tolerant country, which found apparent form in a string of bomb attacks in august 2005. The government which long denied that it had a problem with militants, has outlawed two fringe Islamic organizations. It includes two Islamic parties, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Against Christians:

• Missionaries often face delays of several months in obtaining or renewing visas. In the past, some missionaries who were perceived to be converting Muslims to other faiths were unable to renew their visas.
• Religious minorities reportedly have continued to be targeted for attacks, which has led to the requirement for guards to be present at churches. Incidents include killings, rape, torture, attacks on places of worship, destruction of homes, forced evictions and desecration of items of worship.
• Religious extremism has recently grown. There have been reports of abductions, forced conversion of minorities and reports of rape of young girls. Due to the increase in religious persecution across Bangladesh, several Christians have fled the country.

Year 2009 Update:

• Adhering to a religious belief has not incurred financial penalties, but religious minorities have been disadvantaged, having less access to military and government jobs.

Suggested Actions You Might Take:

• Pray for the Christians of Bangladesh that they may be better protected from harm and harassment and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all.
• Write a respectful letter to one or more government officials at the address listed below. Request information about what steps the government is doing to ensure their protection and freedom to practice their faith laid out in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Representatives, etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Bangladesh asking them to make an inquiry into the status.
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.

Official Contacts:

*We make every attempt to keep up with and reflect changes in the national government of each country and the current human rights situation. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact us by e-mail at ICC@PERSECUTION.ORG . Thanks.

POSTED:  May 27,2004