Recent Christian converts forced to convert back to Islam - Political Forum

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · #1 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 05:52 PM

Muslims Force Converts in Bangladesh Back to Islam

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Recent Christian converts forced to convert back to Islam
Local Muslims in Nilphamari district and Islamist missionaries from abroad are hauling recently converted Christians to mosques and forcing them to return to Islam, area sources said.

Evangelist and pastor Sanjoy Roy said the Muslims have forced 27 recently baptized Christians to return to Islam. Another 14 recently converts are still facing incessant pressure to return to Islam from villagers and from Muslim missionaries called Tabligh Jamat. “The Muslims are still threatening us and saying that they will change our faith," Roy told Compass. "We wanted secrutiy and police protection, but the district commissioner did not accept our application."

Police provided eight officers to protect area Christians on July 28 but left on August 5. Muslims in Durbachari village then began capturing and hauling all male converts to a mosque to return to Islam, forcing them to sign or provide fingerprint signatures on written or blank papers. As nearly all the converts cannot read, area sources said, they did not understand they were signing or giving fingerprint signatures to return to Islam.

Earlier, on July 26, a local source said, local Muslims and Tabligh Jamat missionaries gathered in a schoolyard near the homes of some of the Christians who had been baptized in a river on June 12. Using a microphone, the Muslims threatened violence if the converts did not come out. Fearing for their lives, the Christians emerged and gathered. The source said the Muslims asked them why they had become Christians and, furious, told them that Bangladesh was a Muslim country “where you cannot change your faith by your own will.”

[...]

Abul Hossen, 38, a fruit seller, told Compass that Muslims in the mosque threatened to hang him in a tree upside down and lacerate his body with a blade. “Then he will understand what are the consequences of being a Christian,” the Muslims told him, Hossen said, adding that they always use “filthy language whenever they see the Christians.”

Hossen said the Muslims “do not allow us to net fish in the river” and offered him 5,000 taka (US$75) and a mobile phone handset if he returned to Islam. “But I did not give up my faith, because I found Christ in my heart,” Hossen told Compass. “They threatened me with severe consequences if I do not go back to Islam. I said I am ready to offer up my life to Christ, but I won’t renounce my faith in Him.”

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To be honest with you, I doubt the veracity of most right-wing sources, including this one. The story deserves to be discussed though. Do you think this happens in Bangladesh?

J.Locke777 · #2 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 06:37 PM

Even if this is over dramatized, I wouldn't be suprised if something like this did happen. In many of these theocratic nations, religious tolerance is nearly unheard of. It is a shame that people in these areas are unable to practice the religion they believe in without fear of persecution on many levels.

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · #3 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 06:56 PM

Bangladesh is not a theocracy. It is a democracy with a unique caretaker government system.

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · #4 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 07:02 PM

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Country profiles | Country profile: Bangladesh

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President: Iajuddin Ahmed

Head of interim government: Fakhruddin Ahmed

Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, a former head of the central bank, took over as head of the interim government in January 2007. The caretaker administration has the responsibility of preparing the country for elections, which it has said will take place at the end of 2008.

It has the backing of the military, but Dr Ahmed said it is his administration which is in charge. The interim government has promised to clean up corruption before the elections, and has set up fast-track courts to prosecute dozens of high profile political figures.

It has also tried to exclude the country's two leading women from politics arguing that the presence of the two party leaders was stopping it from carrying out constitutional reforms.

Widespread violence between supporters of the two women led to the cancellation of January's general election and the imposition of a state of emergency. The caretaker authority replaced Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia at the end of her five-year mandate in October 2006.

Bangladesh introduced the caretaker system in 1991 after military president Hossain Mohammad Ershad was toppled through a people's uprising led jointly by Khaleda and Sheikh Hasina, who now heads the main opposition party, the Awami League.

The system, designed to prevent ruling parties from rigging polls, is considered to have worked generally well in three elections.

J.Locke777 · #5 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 07:06 PM

Maybe, I didn't see a country name (I missed it if it was up there), so I just assumed it was either in the ME or in northern africa. I guess that's what I get for assuming. But still, I wouldn't be suprised if that happened somewhere in the world. It happens in Darfur on a daily basis, except the christians there arn't converting, so they're being killed.

AzraelsTear · #6 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 08:29 PM

Well, this happens all over the world in theocratic nations such as the Muslim world and United States.

Sure, a "western" nation like U.S cant "force" its population, but because of poor education, high indoctrination system (media and culture) they hold the strongest Christian nation in the world, whee leaders could not possible show any sign of ducation and intelligence such as atheism, and must abide by "believing in the Christian God".

Atheist could not be open about their disbelieve not to many years ago. And today the average american do not consider atheist to be "proper". Intelligence and education is frown upon in these kind of countries.

The Bangladesh story is nothing special really, like i said, it happens in your same backyard just in a different way, does not change what it is.

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · #7 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzraelsTear

Well, this happens all over the world in theocratic nations such as the Muslim world and United States.

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The Bangladesh story is nothing special really, like i said, it happens in your same backyard just in a different way, does not change what it is.

How old are you?

Brother Oz · #8 (**permalink**) 09-03-2007, 11:51 AM

You know, pro-Christian news is not the same as Right-wing news.

Anyway, I suspect this probably is true, though it may be exaggerated, as this sort of thing is very common in many of the poorer Muslim countries, of which Bangladesh is one.
Secondly, Bangladesh is not a democracy, Ahmed is completely unelected, and only holds power due to military backing. He cancelled the last scheduled elections, and has been cracking down on pro-democracy protestors, especially at Universities many of which he's closed "temporarily", in the last few weeks.

Lancer · #9 (**permalink**) 09-03-2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Oz

Anyway, I suspect this probably is true, though it may be exaggerated, as this sort of thing is very common in many of the poorer Muslim countries, of which Bangladesh is one.

I doubt very much that this is any exaggeration. Islamic fundamentalism is growing rapidly in Bangladesh and religious intolerance is rife. Not just against Christians, but Buddhists, Hindus and even more moderate muslim groups.

Many now liken Bangladesh to Afghanistan when it was controlled by the Taliban, including the leader of the main opposition party who has referred to "the Talibanisation of Bangladeshi society".

There is plenty of coverage you can find on the Internet, but the following article from India News Online provides a good summary of the situation:

Menacing growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has emerged as a sanctuary of terror and home to Islamic fundamentalists. In the past few years Bangladesh has undergone such fierce metamorphosis that global security experts feel it is on the way to becoming much like Afghanistan was in the hands of Taliban. No less a person than Sheikh Hasina, leader of the main Opposition party, Awami League, has called it Talibanisation of Bangladeshi society. India, the immediate neighbour, cannot remain a mute spectator as it will have to bear the brunt of terrorism in Bangladesh like none else. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia repeatedly denies that Dhaka supports anti-India militants or allows Islamic organizations like Al-Qaeda, to spread their wings on Bangladeshi territory, but there is irrefutable evidence to rubbish her claims. Both the US and the UK have started closely monitoring developments in Bangladesh and are getting worried. Pakistan, nursing a grudge against India for its role in 1971, is primarily responsible for the rapid growth of Islamic fanaticism in Bangladesh. Islamic groups regularly receive funds from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries and now, Intelligence reports suggest they become self-sufficient after being in power for five years. They have taken over banking and financial institutions and are in full control of investments from West Asia which run Bangladesh’s fragile economy. Wretched poverty has aided their operations with recruitment of foot soldiers coming easy and cheap. Rogue military officers, dismissed from the Bangladesh Army in the mid-70s, who were also self-proclaimed assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founder of Bangladesh, founded the Freedom Party to primarily establish an Islamic nation. They had recruited hundreds of educated youth and sent them to Libya in the 1980s for training so that they could aid their designs.

During the Afghan War against the Russian invasion, hundreds of Bangladeshi youngsters were smuggled into Pakistan to join the jehad. This happened with the full knowledge of Pakistan and Bangladesh military Intelligence.

A hardcore Islamic party like Jamaat-e-Islamia is an important ally in the Bangladesh coalition and hence fundamentalism is rising . In the last election also, Khaleda Zia used the religious card well, and her party’s manifesto explicitly mentioned that “it will follow Islamic rules and Koranic values”.

The Jamaat-e-Islamia has always had a communal agenda. It is the party of Islamic fascists who believe that Bangladesh should be ruled by Shariat. It never supported the Bangladeshi freedom movement and favoured the two-nation theory in 1947. It has always been pro-Pakistan and thrives on “anti-India, and anti-West bashing.” The Jamaat fought side-by-side with Pakistani forces against both fellow Bengalis and the Indian troops during the Bangladeshi freedom war.

One of the Jamaat’s main allies, the Harkat-ul-Jihad, may be a Bangladeshi entity but it is tellingly headquartered in Islamabad and maintains contact with the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Harkat chief Fazlul Rahman was one of the six signatories of Osama bin Laden’s first declaration of holy war against the US on February 23, 1998.

The Jamaat is the largest and the most influential party in Bangladesh. It systematically made deep inroads into national politics and won 18 out of the 300 seats in the last parliamentary elections and were rewarded with two Cabinet berths. As of now, the BNP-Jamaat coalition enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament with the Jamaat filling almost all sensitive civil service, police, Intelligence and military posts with its sympathizers. These , in turn, look the other way when Jamaat-sponsored guerilla squads patterned after the Taliban, strike in rural and urban areas. With some 15,000 hardcore fighters operating out of 19 unknown base camps, guerilla groups on August 17, 2005 paralysed the country by triggering 459 synchronized explosions in a day in one administrative district. When key leaders of these groups were captured, they were kept in a comfortable apartment where they were free to receive visitors.

Islamist extremists in Bangladesh have for long maintained operational linkages with foreign groups. Investigations into the January 22, 2002 terrorist attack on the American Center in Kolkata, brought these linkages to the fore. The Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF), which claimed responsibility for the attack, is essentially a criminal group allied to the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-e-Islam, the Bangladesh (HuJI BD) which has close links with the ISI.

The arrest of Aftab Ansari alias Farhan Malik, prime accused in the attack, led to further disclosures of global linkages between the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the HuJI. Reports from Asian and Western Intelligence services say shortly after the fall of Kandahar in late 2001, hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters escaped by ship from Karachi to Chittagong. They were then trucked down to a hidden campus south of Cox’s Bazaar, reportedly by Bangladesh military Intelligence. According to other reports, militants from Jemaah Islamia – which is connected to the Al Qaeda and seeks to set up a gigantic Islamic State encompassing Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Philippines- are also hiding in Bangladeshi terror camps.

Menacing growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh,Indian Subcontinent, News Analysis, India News Online

billwells99 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-24-2007, 08:35 PM

I am 100% convinced that "Religion is the Root of All Evil". Think about it