Bangladesh: Pastor arrested for distributing Christian literature

A Christian pastor has been beaten and accused of misleading Muslims.

LONDON (Religious Intelleigence) - A Christian pastor, who has endured a year-long campaign of persecution in Bangladesh, has now been accused of misleading Muslims.

According to the Compass Direct news agency, Jhontu Biswas, 31, a pastor in the Meherpur district of Bangladesh, saw a crowd of over 4,000 Muslims marking Eid, condemn him for distributing Christian booklets.

For over a year the pastor has reportedly been subject to a program of torture and harassment for his faith.

Biswas denied the accusations against him, and the Muslims threatened to harm him and other converts to Christianity if a new government came to power following Dec 29 elections, he said. "They said, 'You will be in great trouble at that time,'" Biswas said.

The election was won by the Awami League-led Grand Alliance, which does not include Islamist parties. However, he was still arrested by police, but instead of facing charges he was taken to a mosque and told that he would be released if he converted to Islam.

When he refused, he was beaten with sticks, he told Compass.

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This article first appeared in the Religious Intelligencer and is used with permission.