Bangladesh_ After transitional government, Islamic extremists threaten Christians...display crosses on homes

In Bangladesh, after the prime minister was ousted,

knife-wielding Islamic extremists have been terrorizing Christians and marking their homes with crosses, persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity International (CSI) said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Aug. 5 and fled to India, where the military formed a transitional government after weeks of bloody protests demanding reforms over a quota system for civil servants and a heavy-handed crackdown by the government. Over the next week, riots erupted across Bangladesh, with Hindus, Christians and Buddhists attacked by mobs organized by Islamist groups.

Although Bangladesh has an overwhelmingly Muslim population, it had a “long history of secularism and tolerance,” but the overthrow of the government opened the door for Islamist and jihadist violence to spread more widely.

Extremists marked Christian homes with crosses to demarcate Christian neighborhoods for future attacks. People were attacked and killed in the streets, dozens of churches were bombed, and all Christian schools were closed. Hindu temples were also attacked across Bangladesh.

Muslims have threatened to force teachers to wear the hijab, which women are required to wear under Islamic law, and police and teachers are being replaced by members of Islamic extremist groups, further complicating the situation.

Psalm 74: 21-23

Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

🙏 Pray for

1. Destroy all the schemes of Islamic extremists to turn Bangladesh into a Muslim country by taking advantage of the political turmoil. Please take the head of the enemy and stop all violence and threats, and let all dark strategies be destroyed. May God arise and intervene so that the suffering of Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban will not be repeated in this land. Stretch out your hand to protect the vulnerable and reign over this land.

2. For the suffering church in Bangladesh, give them steadfast faith that they will not bow down in the face of threats to their lives, and that their worship and prayer will not cease. Comfort and speak to them in their time of need. May the church in Bangladesh be a channel of the life-giving power of the gospel with steadfast faith.

3. 90% of Bangladesh's population is Muslim. Please have compassion on these poor people who do not know and acknowledge You, and shine the light of the gospel in this dark land, that they may come to know the Savior Jesus Christ and be restored as a holy people who praise You. Raise up many workers for the salvation of Bangladesh from the global church to go out among this people.