Bangladesh
Charisma News Service
A lay pastor/evangelist was recently beheaded after sharing his faith with several Muslim villagers who became Christians. On March 8, Sarkar, 35, who worked with a local branch of the Bangladesh Free Baptist Church in Jalalpur village, located in the southwest division of Khulna, was attacked and killed by 10 Muslim extremists, Compass Direct reported. His wife, Aruna, immediately filed a case against the killers, and three suspects were arrested. However, local Christians say the remaining seven, who have connections with the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, have tried to bribe the police to get the suspects out of jail. The extremists also threatened Aruna after she filed the police report, forcing her to move from house to house in an effort to protect herself and her three children. Sarkar's slaying was the second beheading in the last six months. On Sept. 18, a gang of assailants decapitated Dr. Abdul Gani, a prominent Christian, as he returned home from work. Bangladesh has suffered from religious disharmony since 1971, when the nation was partitioned from Pakistan. The country is approximately 83 percent Muslim and 16 percent Hindu. Buddhists and Christians make up the remaining 1 percent. Islam was declared the official state religion in 1998. www.charismanews.com