Bangladesh (MNN) — Expats and businessmen have begun to return to Bangladesh, but there is still no guarantee of business as usual. An A3 Gospel worker we’ll call Paul* tells MNN, “The situation is a bit unstable right now. Safety and security [are] still not there.”
Religious minorities have suffered greatly under the recent unrest that drove Bangladesh’s former prime minister to India and brought in a new interim government. BBC News recently proved some Muslim-Hindu persecution claims on social media to be false.
However, many recent occasions of political or religious violence are all too true.
“Political parties who were opposite from the previous government are taking different kinds of opportunities. Anybody from the previous government’s party, they are being tortured,” Paul says.
“Even [everyday citizens,] if their address is from the same district [as] the last Prime Minister, they are also being harassed or tortured.”
The instability is affecting Gospel work. A3 recently decided to postpone travel and meetings between Bangladeshi leaders and international cohorts until the situation stabilizes.
“[The] police system is still not fully working, so attacks can happen at any time,” Paul says.
Ask the Lord to continue protecting believers. Pray that the political situation will stabilize further and that minority fears will decrease.
“Some people who are fundamental Islamists stated that [Bangladesh] is their country, and minority people should not be in this country,” Paul says. “Other Muslim people [are] saying, ‘No, no, the minority people should be safe, and [it] is our duty to protect them.’”
*Pseudonym
Header image depicts student protesters in Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of Rayhan9d/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
