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Buddhist radicals attack church in Bangladesh

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Enraged that members of their community turned to Christ from Buddhism, Buddhist radicals in Suandrapara, Bangladesh recently destroyed a church building after weeks of threatening the congregation, International Christian Concern reports.

Suandrapara is home to around 50 Christians who worship in the church that was destroyed, ICC said. These believers have been harassed by members of the surrounding Buddhist community who are opposed to their conversion and who want them to return to Buddhism.

“We were Buddhists and we met Jesus Christ in 2005,” Pastor Tubel Chakma Poran Adetion told Asia News. “In January of this year we built the church. Every day we gathered and prayed, but the local Buddhist majority didn’t like it. They attacked us and demolished our church twice.”

On July 12, Buddhist radicals arrived at the church and ordered the Christians to demolish their own church within three days, ICC said. When the congregation refused, the Buddhists attacked and damaged the building on July 15. The Buddhists then demanded that the Christians cease all their worship of Jesus and return to Buddhism. They were given seven days to comply.

When the believers refused to give in to the intimidation, the Buddhists returned on July 22 and demolished the church, ICC said. “The radicals told us to destroy the church, but we will not,” Pastor Adetion affirmed. “If we have to sacrifice our lives, we will. They threatened us to return to our old religion, but we will not return. Jesus Christ is our savior. We will die for him.”