Bangladesh

Pastor Dulal had received threats because of his Christian witness in his village. But when political upheaval in the summer of 2024 left the area without police or army protection, Muslim extremists took the opportunity to fulfill those threats. Attackers destroyed his home, gouging large holes in the walls and ripping out windows and doors while carrying away anything of value. Dulal said he was thankful that he and his family were not home at the time because he believes the attackers would have killed them.

When protests forced the resignation of the prime minister in August 2024, Islamist groups took advantage of the lack of police presence across the country to attack the Christian minority. Attackers have looted and destroyed churches and targeted Christians’ homes. Monoara, 75; her daughter, Salma, and her granddaughter, 14, were among those who were attacked. On Aug. 5, they escaped from their home and watched from the nearby jungle as their belongings were carried away or destroyed by an extremist mob. “I thought that was my last day,” Monoara recalled.

Since a coup last summer that created chaos across Bangladesh and increased violence against Christians, an Islamic extremist group called Hefazat-e-Islam has been rising in power. Several Christian leaders from different parts of Bangladesh reported that they received threatening letters from Hefazat leaders, warning them that any celebration of Christmas this year “will be the last celebration they do in this life.”

Political violence has escalated in Bangladesh, resulting in the resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina and at least 95 deaths on a single day (Aug. 4) in the capital city, Dhaka. Front-line workers report increased targeted attacks against Christians as a result. In one case, a church was attacked by an armed crowd that damaged vehicles and tried to set fire to the building early one morning.

During an Islamist gathering denouncing Christianity and encouraging anti-Christian activity, Juhel stood up and shared his testimony about his faith in Christ. Some in the crowd listened with interest because of his reasonable and gentle approach, while others expressed opposition and anger. Some in the group invited Juhel to speak again in the mosque, planning to attack him there. When he turned them down, they planned an ambush instead.

When Raissa was a teen, she was kidnapped and raped by a group of Muslim men who wanted to punish her father, a Christian pastor. For years, Raissa felt trapped in her home, unable to leave without being taunted, threatened and retraumatized by her attackers, who had faced no consequences. Raissa asked for help relocating to a larger city where she could be free of her attackers and pursue education and a career.

For generations, Shebona and her family have lived on and worked land for tea plantations. They age without dreams or aspirations, expecting to lead the same life as their parents and grandparents. But one girl who worked with Shebona on the plantation was different, more joyful; Shebona learned that she was a Christian. This girl shared some literature with Shebona and connected her to two front-line workers who led her to Christ.

After worshiping peacefully together in a tin hut for more than 10 years, a church of more than 20 families from the Chakma people group recently began constructing a church building in their village. Shortly after building began, a mostly-Buddhist organization known as the Underground Army destroyed the church building’s windows and threatened to torture or kill the men of the church, who fled into the jungle for several weeks.

Believers in a particular community in Bangladesh are requesting prayer after assailants destroyed their homes and attacked the women in the community. A local contact wrote that the aggressors had struck just the night before.