The 28-year-long petition to remove the recognition of Islam as Bangladesh’s official religion came to a halt March 28 when the country’s Supreme Court rejected the petition and ruled the agency that filed it did not have the right to be heard in court.
Subrata Chowdhury, the lawyer for the Committee Against Autocracy and Communalism (CAAC) who introduced the petition, said he was “100 percent disappointed” with the court’s decision.
The petition was originally filed in 1988 after then President Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad declared Islam the official state religion in a constitutional amendment. It was submitted because “Bangladesh was founded as a secular state and having a state religion contradicts the basic structure of the constitution,” according to University of Dhaka Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, a CAAC leader.
Although the 1988 amendment states that religious minorities are to be free to practice their religion in “harmony,” Christians and other religious minorities have not been able to live in peace without the fear of extremist violence against them, The Christian Post reported.
Muslim protesters
During the court hearing those in support of Islam rallied against the proceedings and more than 7,000 Muslims protested and chanted anti-government slogans outside the national mosque in Dhaka.
One radical Muslim leader, Noor Hossain Quashemi, said during the protests, “If Islam gets scrapped as our official religion, we will unleash an all-out movement even if blood is needed to be shed.”
While Christians in many Muslim-majority countries continue to suffer for their faith, some believers are standing strong and encouraging others to do the same.
As house churches in Iran have blossomed, for example, many pastors have been imprisoned or harassed. But one Christian held in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, Iran, recently exhorted Iranian Christians to continue to proclaim Christ in the face of persecution.
“If you are courageous in God’s way, God’s grace will be with you,” said Ebrahim Firouzi, a 31-year-old pastor. “Do not fear what you are doing and raise the banner of Jesus.”
According to Middle East Concern, the Iranian government has closed nearly all Farsi-language churches and has forced Christians to meet in secret.
Firouzi was convicted of crimes commonly given to Christians — actions against national security, being present at an illegal gathering and collusion with foreign entities — and sentenced to five years in prison.
But he’s still hopeful.
“I ask you to pray for the reopening of the churches in Iran that the government has closed by force so that the sound of worship and the praise can be heard in the buildings again,” he said.
“We need to think especially about the suffering of new believers. If my being in prison stirs the international community to work to prevent such future persecution of new believers, then my choice is to remain in prison.”
Despite the crackdown on house churches in Iran, various groups have affirmed that the underground church is growing. More than 450,000 Christians are worshipping Christ within Iran’s borders, according to Open Doors, an organization focused on helping the global persecuted Church.
With many moderates being voted into the Iranian government in recent months, the new majority could help draw down persecution, Morning Star News reported.
According to Paul Robinson, Release International’s chief executive, “With Iran now voting for reform, now is the time to end the crackdown on the Church and set free prisoners who are behind bars for their religious beliefs.”
Share with others: