Thousands of Muslims converting to Christianity in Bangladesh amid intense persecution

Imelda Patino Monday, July 25, 2016

Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim nation with a population of more than 160 million people, has a rising population of Christian converts.

According to Christianfreedom.org, recent estimates indicate that about 91,000 Muslims across the country have converted to Christianity over the past six years. Even though comprising only one percent of the country's population, the number of Christians in Bangladesh is rising. Amid persecution thousands of Bangladeshi still choose to follow Jesus.

Army soldiers take their positions near the Holey Artisan restaurant after Islamist militants attacked the upscale cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 2, 2016. | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Handout via Reuters

Christianity was first introduced in 1400s by Portugues navigator Vasco de Gama who brought with him Catholic priests and missionaries to share about Christianity. Howewver, it was during the British colonial rule in the late 1700s, that the Bible was shared to Bengalis. According to Britannica.com, British missionary William Carey, with the help of Bengali scholars, translated the bible into Bengali language.

Based on the 1975 book "Religions of the World" by Barton George, there were 600,000 Christians living in Bangladesh, of which 221,000 were Roman Catholics, and 379,000 were Orthodox and Protestants, comprising in total 0.4% of the total Bangladeshi population back then.

However, even with this minority, Christians have suffered from violent attacks from Islamic militants. Christian Freedom reports that since last year, there have been at least 20 deaths related to religious persecution. Since February this year, Muslim assailants have killed two local USAID workers, a tailor, and a priest. No arrests have been made.

According to Express, 22 people were killed in a cafe in Dhaka, making Christians and other minorities fear for their lives. According to a member of Open Doors, a Christian advocacy group, "Survivors of the attack said the killers made their hostages recite verses from the Koran."

Pastor Faruk al Ahmed, a former Muslim who is now a Christian, said that he witnessed similar persecutions in the 1990s, during the rise of the Christian population in Kurigram in northern Bangladesh, Express reported. According to the pastor, there were only a few Christians when he started his ministry in the said town. "Now, almost 1,500 believers from Muslim backgrounds are glorifying God in this area," said Ahmed.