Both Bangladesh and Pakistan have voiced strong criticisms of India, bringing them closer politically. The two nations also share Islam as the majority religion.

(Graphic courtesy FMI) Bangladesh Flag

This new connection could have significant consequences — not just for politics on the Indian subcontinent, but also for everyday people in Bangladesh.

Patrick Anthony with FMI says, “The interim government is more of a Muslim fundamentalist government [and] they’re trying to build ties with Pakistan instead of India.

“One concern that our partners have is that this may lead to civil war down the road, especially if the former prime minister gets more and more involved.”

As Bangladesh reshapes its global relationships, the question remains — What does this mean for religious freedom?

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council recently called out the government for failing to protect religious minorities, saying officials are even using their power to silence them.

One group feeling the impact is the country’s small Christian community, which makes up just 0.4% of the population. In early August alone, there were over 2,000 incidents of communal violence, leaving many religious minorities feeling unsafe.

Bangladesh (Photo courtesy of FMI)

“People around the country are seeing they haven’t liked Christians to begin with, and they’re seeing more of an opportunity to loot, steal, and burn houses and properties of Christians, and that’s what our partners are feeling,” says Anthony.

“Just last month, our partner said that Muslims attacked a church and broke the boundary of a mission school and they occupied the place.”

Anthony says FMI-supported pastor Rajiv has described how other pastors in Bangladesh are being intimidated by Muslims in their communities to stop preaching.

Yet, “Rajiv believes that the Lord’s using this to make them stronger and more courageous so that they can witness more effectively to the larger community, particularly to Muslims.”

Please join Bangladeshi believers in prayer for their nation. Anthony asks, “One prayer target could be that Christians would be creative and find ways to increase security because if they are attacked by a mob, there may not be a whole lot that they can do.

“Pray for faithfulness, that whether they’re FMI partners or other Christians in the country, that they really would find that this is now an opportune time even more to stand for their churches, to stand for the Gospel — that attackers may see something different and may see that they have a strength that comes from not this world.”

Learn more about FMI’s ministry in Bangladesh.

Header photo: Bangladesh National Parliament House in Dhaka. (Photo by Ashraful997 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154337869)

Even so, the interim government is seeking more power, and Bangladesh’s future is uncertain as the international community questions if it could become the next failed state.

A crowded street in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city. (Photo courtesy of Niloy Biswas/Unsplash)

“Chaos has continued,” emphasizes Bruce Allen with FMI. “Initially, people thought there would be elections held with new candidates put forth by the political parties within three months. But then the interim government was saying, ‘No, we might want to hang on to power for three to five years.’”

Violence and social unrest have continued as political factions clash. With so much anger boiling over, minorities become an easy punching bag. “You know, it’s kind of like kicking the lowest rung on the social ladder,” Allen says.

Bangladesh’s interim government has made at least 100 arrests in connection to attacks on religious and indigenous groups, according to a UN fact-finding team.

Pastors in Bangladesh are telling FMI about attacks targeting Christians who make up less than 1% of the population.

Allen reports, “Pastor Rajiv – one of our partners and, in fact, one of the members of our leadership team in Bangladesh – was attacked and his property set on fire.

“A few weeks prior to that, his two dogs were poisoned and killed. He had these dogs on the premises to protect his family and his property.”

Please pray for Christians in Bangladesh, even amidst the chaos, to win over their neighbors and persecutors with Gospel truth.

Header photo courtesy of FMI.

Other nations have taken one step closer to the fray. Since Sunday, Israel has launched more than 300 airstrikes on weapons stockpiles and military infrastructure in Syria. It also has seized “temporary” control of a buffer zone between the two nations.

“There’s a power vacuum right now,” says Mark* with Global Catalytic Ministries. “They (Israel) don’t want to see whoever grab these stockpiles of [chemical] weapons, of munitions that will eventually be used by someone hostile to Israel.”

He says that although Israel is denying reports that their troops are advancing into Syria, “a lot of people on the ground are saying they see armor vehicles from Israel 15 miles out from Damascus, which is a really significant thing. We haven’t seen anything like this [before], which is provoking a strong response from its (Syria’s) neighbors, [including] Turkey.”

Türkiye and other nations have denounced Israel’s actions, while the UK and US are more supportive of Israel’s security concerns. Türkiye’s precise involvement in the events of the past two weeks is unclear, but it’s of course deeply interested in what happens in Syria. It has also had troops in northern Syria since 2016. Meanwhile the US has itself carried out strikes this week on more than 75 Islamic State targets in Syria.

It’s complicated, to say the least. 

“We’re in a time that’s uncharted territory. We’re seeing a radical shift on the ground almost comparable to the Arab Spring,” Mark says.

“It could increase into a serious escalation in the region. This (Israel’s actions) could pull Turkey in, which would cause a lot of issues, because they’re a NATO member.”

Syria’s new interim prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, is closely tied with the leading Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Despite their promises of moderation, HTS still has an Islamic agenda. The UN, UK and United States all designate HTS as a terrorist group, though there is talk of whether to change that. We’ll see what happens. 

“It’s really a time for the underground church to hold the ground and start to multiply disciples in the midst of that, because this is where we hold the ground and demonstrate the gospel,” Mark says, “Because there’s going to be a lot of people that are suddenly shocked at how radical this group is. Even though it’s a different change of pace from Assad’s regime, it’s still going to be a very, very difficult situation for both the Muslims and the Christians.

(Image courtesy Global Catalytic Ministries)

“There’s not going to be a democratic government installed by any means,” he adds.  

If you take only one thing away from this story, pray for Syria and for boldness for the underground church! 

“There’s a significant population of Christians, even though it’s dwindled in Aleppo from 250,000 at the beginning of the civil war to now down to 25,000. With stricter Islamic rule coming into place, the persecution is going to increase even more,” Mark says. 

Pray for Jesus to make Himself known in the midst of the unfolding chaos. Connect with Global Catalytic Ministries to support their work in Syria and beyond.  

“We have strategically placed disciple-makers within the region that I believe this is going to be an hour for them to reveal Jesus,” says Mark. “There will be a lot of people really feeling hopeless that are going to grab hold of that hope.”

*Name withheld for security

Header photo: Syrians in Germany celebrate Fall of Assad Regime, 8 December 2024 (Photo courtesy of Shark1989z via Wikimedia Commons – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

More than a thousand people were killed and hundreds injured during a crackdown on student-led protests against Hasina’s government in July and August. Religious minorities quickly became a target. More about that here.

“When the government collapsed, the police pulled back from their areas, and the streets were like the Wild West,” FMI’s Patrick Anthony says.

Things have since calmed in the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, but violence continues in remote communities. Anthony says, “Hindus and Christians are feeling very vulnerable right now. People see these minorities as cooperatives to the former government.”

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

Although the population of Muslim-majority Bangladesh is only eight percent Hindu and less than one percent Christian, these small percentages don’t offer protection. Attackers recently targeted a Hindu family living near one of FMI’s national leaders.

“A group of 10 attacked their house and raped the wife and mother, which ended up putting her in the hospital,” Anthony says. “There’s a great pressure to ‘hunker down’ and do what you can to protect your family. At the same time, there is tremendous (Gospel) opportunity.”

FMI supports national leaders and church planters in Bangladesh. Learn how you can come alongside their work here. Ask the Lord to supernaturally protect believers and other targeted minorities.

“They’re scared. They’re feeling very vulnerable. Pastor Rajeeb [has] been robbed a couple of times, and he said it would not take much for people to do it again,” Anthony says.

“We’re praying that the Lord’s protection when there is no police would be a testimony to the reality of the God that Christians are following: Jesus Christ.”

Pray for the banking system to resume normal operations and for the police to increase patrols in vulnerable areas. Pray the interim government holds elections on schedule and can establish a permanent government.

“The caretaker government is supposed to hold elections within 90 days to put a permanent government in place. [Our partner] has heard talk that this caretaker government may want to hold power for a number of years,” Anthony says.

“He said if they try to do that, he anticipates the situation in Bangladesh getting worse.”

Header image depicts student protestors in Bangladesh. Students launched the “Bangla Blockade” following a one-point demand for scrapping all illogical and discriminatory quotas in public service through enactment of a law and keeping a minimum quota for marginalized citizens in line with the constitution. (Wikimedia Commons)

Please continue to pray for Ukraine.
(Image courtesy Sergey Rakhuba via Facebook)

Ukraine (MNN) — The battle for Ukraine has shifted from Kiev to southern Crimea. Protestors took to the streets of the regional capital yesterday as officials met to discuss their options and Russia flexed its military muscle.

As interim president Oleksandr Turchynov prepares to build a new government, Ukraine’s unrest shows no signs of stopping.

Christian Aid Mission, your link to indigenous missions, helps six ministries in Ukraine. They’re still planning to move forward with a major outreach project, despite the unrest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered some 150,000 troops to test their combat-readiness in tests scheduled to run through the weekend. While Russian defense officials denied a link between Ukraine’s unrest and their military developments, some analysts were skeptical.

“By holding up the prospect of intervention…it’s a way for Moscow to signal to the Ukrainian elite that it should be cautious in terms of how it moves forward,” a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Russian expert told Deutsche Welle.

At the same time, Russian state media says the Foreign Ministry is calling on Orthodox clerics in Ukraine to prevent religious conflict. Officials issued a statement yesterday calling on “all sober-minded forces in the country to avoid further escalation of tensions and prevent the country from plunging into a religious confrontation.”

Meanwhile, Christian Aid-contacts share the effect Ukraine’s unrest is having on students studying at their Bible Institute.

“The young people we are training for ministry are watching the news and seeing other young people die on the streets…. It is motivating them to go and preach the Gospel,” shares a ministry leader.

Christian Aid is supporting a major initiative to distribute New Testaments in thousands of villages and small towns where there are no churches. Called the “Summertime for Jesus” project, hundreds of Christian youth and college students plan to hand out New Testaments from May through September. They will receive training in how to share their faith and serve as effective witnesses for Christ.

“Just pray for Ukraine, pray for peace,” implored one Christian leader. “What is happening in Ukraine is like a sign from God of the urgency to share the Gospel. We will keep preaching.”

Pray that this upheaval can be used to share the hope of Christ. Pray that violence will not escalate.