| Total Area: |
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144,000 sq. km
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Population:
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144,319,628 (est. July 2005)
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Ethnicity:
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Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)
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| Language: |
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Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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| Religion: |
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Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
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| Government Type: |
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Parliamentary Democracy
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| Capital: |
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Dhaka
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| Population Below Poverty Line: |
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45% (2004)
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 Bangladesh is a country consistently plagued by disaster. Almost half of this country consists of low-lying islands, most of them less than nine feet above sea level. This geography causes a huge loss of life during the country's frequent floods and cyclones and contributes to serious poverty, since almost one-third of the country floods annually, hampering any economic development.
With the partition of British India in 1947, what is now Bangladesh became part of the newly formed state of Pakistan. In 1971, Bangladesh won independence with the assistance of Indian troops. From 1975 until 1990, the country was under military rule. Democratic elections in 1991 brought the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power.
Islam is the official religion of Bangladesh. Other religious minorities, such as Hindus and Christians, may worship, but face societal discrimination. This has been particularly intense against the Hindu minority for their perceived support of the rival political party, the Awami League. Discrimination against Christians has primarily come from militant Islamic mobs who have threatened Christian work, denied Christians access to public water wells, beaten them, threatened them in exchange for money or destroyed their rickshaws, thus eliminating their only source of income. While the law has not passed through legislation, the proposal of an anti-conversion law in May, 2004 resulted in yet more persecution of Christians. The Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has placed Bangladesh on its Watch List, indicating that if religious persecution becomes more intense, it could be placed on the United States’ list of CPC’s (Country of Particular Concern). In Spring 2005, two incidences came to light that indicate the severity of persecution facing Christians in Bangladesh. On March 8 a lay pastor was beheaded for sharing his faith with some Muslims, several of whom had come to Christ a week earlier. He left his wife to care for five children, three of whom were placed in a Christian orphanage so that she could work in the fields. Later that month, on March 31, a church leader was attacked as he was returning home. When his wife sought to intervene, she was brutally raped with a soft drink bottle.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for protection for Christians from those who oppose them.
- Pray for the ability of the church to minister to people in their physical and emotional needs, as well as spiritually.
- Pray for peace and stability in Bangladesh.
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