Muslims expel parents for Christian conversion

KATHULY, Bangladesh — Muslims in a village in western Bangladesh have forced two brothers to expel their parents from their home for converting to Christianity.

Ishmael Sheikh, 70, and his wife Rahima Khatun, 55, were baptized Nov. 9.

By the end of November, Sheikh said Muslim neighbors in Kathuly village, near Gangni town in Meherpur district, had compelled their two sons to expel them from their house. The Muslims threatened that the children of Sheikh’s sons would not be allowed to marry anyone from the village if the brothers allowed their parents to remain in their home.

“We are the first converted Christians in this village,” Sheikh said. “Neighbors told my sons, ‘Why should your parents live in this village? They do not have a right to live here because they are no longer Muslims.’”