Beyond the Headlines: ‘Ever-Present’ Persecution in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

01/23/2025 South Asia (International Christian Concern) – In countries like Myanmar and Nigeria, acts of persecution against Christians are more likely to make news reports because of their extreme violence. But in many other locations, persecution typically takes on a more subtle form. It likely won’t make the media news and might lack documentation. But it’s still an ever-present issue that diminishes the quality of life for many Christians.

One place where such persecution occurs is Bangladesh, a South Asian nation with an overall population of 170 million, where more than 90% of the people are Muslim and most of the remaining portion are Hindu.

In August 2024, the nation’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled the country amid violent protests against her regime. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people, died as Bangladesh fell into further turmoil. Religious minorities were often attacked or intimidated during this period of lawlessness.

Thomas, a Christian in Bangladesh, said that many people “express their desire for conversion” to Christianity, but they don’t follow through with it due to the real threats of persecution and even death.

Many children in Bangladesh “grow up with a nasty mentality to hate other faiths,” Thomas added. In villages, these children often target Christian families “to steal and destroy farms and gardens.” He added that things become more aggressive when Christians protest such behavior.

In the cities, Thomas said, anti-Christian sentiment can surface through harassment from non-Christian employees or having non-Christian employees refuse to cooperate with the Christian employee. The Christian employee might also get stuck with job duties on a Sunday, so they might have to choose between attending church or keeping their job.

Thomas isn’t sure exactly what percent of Bangladeshi Muslims support acts of persecution against Christians.

However, he said, it doesn’t take much to spoil the “full bucket of milk.”

As an example, Thomas said there could be just one member of a large Muslim family conducting anti-Christian activities. Maybe the other family members “silently support it,” or they are afraid of their hostile family member. It can be difficult for an outsider to determine which case is the reality. But either way, nobody discourages the person from acting on his hostility.

Thomas said that “anti-Christian mentality is present throughout” the country among Muslims who are either uneducated or who study in fundamentalist madrassas that teach that Bengali is not a Muslim language, and that Islam is the only legitimate religion. “It’s enough to make a soft brainchild into a violent fanatic,” Thomas said.

Rates of Christianity are much higher among indigenous ethnic minorities in Bangladesh. Thomas said these indigenous Christians are typically “very humble and hospitable,” especially to a wandering laborer “who comes very helplessly to work in the area.”

Thomas shared a scenario in which a Muslim might come to a Christian household to do agricultural work. The Christian family might give the Muslim some land to live on. Then, the Muslim “calls other relatives and builds a mosque with bamboo.”

At this point, the guest might start to act like he’s the owner. Thomas said, “They become a threat to local people … they take away crops, steal fruits and vegetables, make chaos without any cause.” At this point, the host family will have “lost their inner silence,” he added.

As for legal recourse, Thomas said, “Without a complaint, the police have no responsibilities. And if you go to complain, you have to pay an official fee with a big bundle.” Then, the police want evidence. “How do you show bullying and tricking?” Thomas asked.

People tend to view filing a criminal complaint as a major source of harassment.

“If the police call you to the station, you lose your daily wage and maybe even your job,” Thomas said. “If the police come to your home, you need to make them happy with some external hospitality; otherwise, the report will be against you.”

Randall, a pastor from Northern Bangladesh, has seen similar situations unfold.

“Sometimes, the village chief or higher authority supports people against the Christians,” Randall said, adding that Christian converts from Muslim backgrounds have a slim chance of receiving fair treatment.

Bangladesh’s secular federal government has expressed its concern about Islamic extremism, but Randall said he feels that the effort they make regarding persecution is “not fruitful action.”

In Randall’s view, “above 90% of Bangladeshi Muslims support acts of persecution against Christians.” He estimated that about half of Bangladeshi Hindus support such acts.

Another South Asian nation, Sri Lanka, has unusual religious diversity, with four major religions comprising considerable percentages of the population. Buddhists account for 70% of the population. Hindus make up more than 10%. Christians and Muslims each make up less than 10%.

Aside from the catastrophic 2019 Easter bombings that struck multiple churches and luxury resorts, persecution of Sri Lanka’s Christians typically isn’t of the sort that makes headlines. And yet, it can be a constant issue.

Elias, a Catholic in northern Sri Lanka, said he doesn’t know of any cases of Sri Lankans having their land taken specifically because of their Christian faith.

“But when it comes to the workplace, [Sri Lankan] Christians face a lot of challenges,” he said. “They need to work harder than the other laborers to survive in that workplace.” And in many cases, “They’re unable to reach the top positions even if they have talents to lead,” he added.

Persecution against Christians in Sri Lanka is often linked to Buddhist nationalism that is prominent among the majority ethnic group known as the Sinhalese.

The NCEASL (National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka) reported 80 cases of intimidation or violence directed against Christians in 2022. The U.S. Department of State 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom stated that “Christians were the most targeted ethnoreligious minority.”

Sri Lankan Christian groups have contended that police and other local authorities continually harass religious minorities. Authorities also use a series of onerous building regulations to discourage people from establishing new churches.

Though Buddhist nationalism and the government’s abuse of power remain ongoing issues, Elias also noted that Sri Lanka’s Muslims persecute Christians as if Muslims are the dominant population. This type of persecution, he said, is more pronounced on the country’s eastern coast, which has a larger Muslim population.

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, with its overwhelming Muslim majority, some Christians are compelled to “depend on Muslim lawyers to fight against [other] Muslims” who have taken their land by coercion or with fake documents, Thomas said. These lawyers “are very clever,” he added. They “take away money from the Christians” and then work on behalf of the Muslims.

Thomas said he feels that Christians are powerless to solve this problem either legally or illegally. “So, it stays as is.”

Making their way to Christian households are the next round of itinerant laborers. As Thomas described, “They come as a humble cat and then become a tiger.”

*Certain names have been changed for security purposes