02/19/2019 Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, a Christian, who has remained unnamed for security reasons, was arrested by police in Sri Lanka after he reported that he had been threatened by a mob of Buddhist radicals. The threat stems back to an incident in late January in which the radicals attempted to put an end to local Christian worship.
On January 26, a group of six Buddhists threatened to attack the Christian if he continued to invite a local pastor to his home in Nattandiya, located in northwestern Sri Lanka, to lead Bible studies. Morning Star News reported that the next day, January 27, the Christian filed a complaint in the Marawila police station.
Upset by this, the radicals formed a mob to attack the Christian on January 29 but were confronted by one of the Christian’s friends before they could attack. A fight broke out and one of the radicals were injured. This, according to Morning Star News, was used by the radicals to file a false assault charge against the Christian.
Christians in Sri Lanka continue to face harassment from the country’s Buddhist majority population. Radical Buddhist nationalists believe Sri Lanka should be a Buddhist country and that followers of other faiths should either convert to Buddhism, leave the country, or be removed by force.
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