Freedom of religion in Bangladesh

The Constitution of Bangladesh includes secularism as one of the four fundamental principles,{{Cite news |last=Ahmad |first=Ahrar |date=16 December 2020 |title=Secularism in Bangladesh: The troubled biography of a constitutional pillar |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/news/secularism-bangladesh-the-troubled-biography-constitutional-pillar-2011933 |work=The Daily Star}} despite having Islam as the state religion by 2A.{{Cite web |title=The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh: 2A. The state religion |url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367/section-24549.html |website=bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd}} Islam is referred to twice in the introduction and Part I of the constitution and the document begins with the Islamic phrase Basmala ({{lang|ar|بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ}}) which in English is translated as “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful” and article (2A) declares that :"Islam is the state religion of the republic". Bangladesh is mostly governed by secular laws, set up during the times when the region was ruled by the British Crown.{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/bangladesh/background/other-features/206e80da-f8fe-4953-a7a3-0848b9f51900/a/nar/206e80da-f8fe-4953-a7a3-0848b9f51900/355768 |title=People & Culture in Bangladesh |website=Lonely Planet}}

The constitution also states that "the State shall ensure equal status and equal right in the practice of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other religions".{{cite web |url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/sections_detail.php?id=367§ions_id=24549 |title=The state religion |website=bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd |access-date=2015-07-17}}

"Freedom of religion" is its basic structure guaranteed by the Bangladeshi constitution in which it calls for equal rights to all its citizens irrespective of their religious differences and it also bans discrimination on the grounds of religion on various platforms. Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim-majority nations where "proselytizing" i.e. conversions from one religion to another are generally accepted and is legalized by law under article 41 of the constitution, subject to law, public order, and morality.{{Cite web |url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367/section-24589.html |title=The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh: 41. Freedom of religion |website=bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd}}

Bangladesh was founded as a secular state, but Islam was made the state religion in the 1980s. But in 2010, the High Court held up the secular principles of the 1972 constitution.{{cite news |title=Verdict paves way for secular democracy |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=148678 |work=The Daily Star |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=22 August 2010}} The High Court also strengthened its stance against punishments by Islamic edict (fatwa), following complaints of brutal sentences carried out against women by extra-legal village courts.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangladeshi-court-outlaws-fatwa-punishments-2024229.html |title=Bangladeshi court outlaws fatwa punishments |author=Andrew Buncombe |work=The Independent |location=London |date=11 July 2010 |access-date=11 July 2010}}

Status of religious freedom

=Legal and policy framework=

The Constitution establishes Islam as the state religion but also states that other religions can be practised in harmony.{{cite web |title=Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh |url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/bangladesh-constitution.pdf |website=University of Minnesota |access-date=26 May 2016}} Islamic law plays a role in civil matters pertaining to the Muslim community; however, there is no formal implementation of Islamic law, and it is not imposed on non-Muslims. Family law has separate provisions for Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. Family laws concerning marriage, divorce, and adoption differ depending on the religious beliefs of the people involved. For example, under the Muslim family ordinance women inherit less and have fewer divorce rights than men.{{cite web |title=Bangladesh |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper |website=US State Department Report on Religion Freedom |access-date=26 May 2016}} The jail code makes allowances for the observance of religious festivals by prisoners, including access to extra food for feast days or permission for religious fasting. In 2010, the High Court held up the secular principles of the 1972 constitution.{{cite news |title=Bangladesh SC declares illegal amendment allowing religion in politics |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bangladesh-sc-declares-illegal-amendment-allowing-religion-in-politics/article99101.ece |work=The Hindu}} The High Court also strengthened its stance against punishments by Islamic edict (fatwa), following complaints of brutal sentences carried out against women by extra-legal village courts.

In 2011, the government passed the Religious Welfare Trust (Amendment) Act, which provides funding for the newly formed Christian Religious Welfare Trust as per the Christian Religious Welfare Trust Ordinance of 1983.{{cite news |title=Christian welfare trust fund raised |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2011/03/13/christian-welfare-trust-fund-raised |work=bdnews24.com}} In 2011 the government also passed the Vested Property Return Act, which enables the potential return for property seized from the country's Hindu population.{{cite web |title=Bangladesh |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper |website=US State Department Religious Freedom Report 2011}} In 2012, the government passed the Hindu Marriage Registration Act, which provides the option for Hindus to register their marriages with the government. The aim of this bill was to protect the rights of Hindu women, whose rights are not protected under religious marriage.{{cite news |title=Hindu marriage registration law passed |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2012/09/18/hindu-marriage-registration-law-passed |newspaper=bdnews24.com}} In 2013, Supreme Court deregistered the Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist political party, for violating the constitution, thereby banning it from participating in elections. However, the ban was not enforced in practice.{{cite web |title=Bangladesh |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2013religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper |website=US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2013}} Ensuring non-discrimination is a foundational principle enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh. Article 27 explicitly states that every citizen is equal before the law and has the right to receive equal protection under the law.{{Cite news |place=Bangladesh |publisher=Civic Space and Minority Rights |title=Minority Rights |pages=1–24 |work=Zakir Hossain, S.M. Masum Billah & Monjurul Islam |url=https://thesouthasiacollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SASM2020-Bangladesh.pdf}}

=Education=

Religious studies are compulsory and part of the curriculum in all government schools. Students attend classes in which their own religious beliefs are taught. Schools with few students from minority religious groups are generally allowed to make arrangements with local churches or temples to hold religious studies classes outside of school hours.{{cite web |title=Bangladesh |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper |website=US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2013}}

The government operates training academies for imams, and monitors the content of religious education in Islamic religious schools, or madrassahs, and announced its intention to make changes to the curriculum, including modernising and mainstreaming the content of religious education.

There are tens of thousands of madrassahs, some of which are funded by the Government. However, there were two types of madrassahs in the country: Qaumi and Alia. Qaumi madrassahs operated outside of the government's purview. Therefore, Alia madrassahs received support and curriculum oversight from the government whereas Qaumi madrassahs did not.

However, in most cases, the teachers in the religious and moral education classes in Bangladeshi schools specifically place more emphasis on subject Islam than universal religious education, and the non-Muslim students hardly or even don't receive formal education from their institutions and thus have to study on their own. Semi-governmental educational institutions often appoint mawlanas to conduct religious classes who are reluctant to teach non-Muslim students their own textbooks. In the country's national curriculum, as part of the subject Bengali, Prophet Muhammad's Farewell Sermon is taught to all students regardless of religion and caste in 5th grade; the continuity of study on Muhammad's life-related topics can be seen in the later classes as well and is obligatory for students from all creeds. Islamic History and Heritage is also included in humanities at college level.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Persecution

=Persecution of Hindus=

{{Main | 1971 Bangladesh genocide | Operation Searchlight | Persecution_of_Hindus#Bangladesh | l3= Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh }}

Malaun ({{langx|bn|মালাউন}}) is an derogatory Islamic religious term, derived from the Arabic "ملعون" (laa'nat), meaning "accursed" or "deprived of God's Mercy",{{cite book |title=The Torture of Tasneem Khalil: How the Bangladesh Military Abuses Its Power Under the State of Emergency |last1=Watch |first1=Human Rights |last2=Ganguly |first2=Meenakshi |last3=Alffram |first3=Henrik |year=2008 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |page=28 |access-date=30 May 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFS95bbQR7wC}}{{Cite report |author=House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee |date=25 March 2005 |title=Human Rights Annual Report 2004: Fourth Report of Session 2004-05 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmfaff/109/109.pdf |publisher=House of Commons, United Kingdom |page=88 |access-date=31 May 2012 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.jugantor.com/window/2014/01/02/55251 |script-title=bn:সংখ্যালঘুরা কাকে ভোট দেবে? |last=Roy |first=Palash Kumar |date=2 January 2014 |work=The Daily Jugantor |language=bn |access-date=7 February 2015 |location=Dhaka}} directed at Hindus in Bangladesh,{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Tathagata |title=My People, Uprooted |year=2002 |publisher=Ratna Prakashan |location=Kolkata |isbn=81-85709-67-X |page=18}}{{cite web |url=http://www.uscirf.gov/component/content/article/290/2318.html |title=Bangladesh: The Upcoming National Elections, Pluralism, Tolerance and the Plight of Hindu and Non-Muslim Minority - Need a New Direction |last=Dastidar |first=Sachi |date=12 April 2008 |work=Bangladesh: Religious Freedom, Extremism, Security, and the Upcoming National Elections |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828234152/http://uscirf.gov/component/content/article/290/2318.html |archive-date=28 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://hrcbm.org/news/HRCBM_UA_091202.pdf |title=Minorities Fear for Life and Security |date=12 September 2002 |publisher=HRCBM |access-date=16 October 2013}}{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-the-unholy-killings-of-avijit-roy-and-govind-pansare-2065974 |title=The unholy killings of Avijit Roy and Govind Pansare |last=Chatterjee |first=Garga |date=4 March 2015 |work=Daily News and Analysis |access-date=9 March 2015}} who are often persecuted by Islamists in Bangladesh and have been subjected to numerous genocides,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/world/asia/hindu-muslim-bangladesh.html |title=Hindu Temples and Homes in Bangladesh Are Attacked by Muslim Crowds |date=2 November 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 May 2018}}{{cite news |title=BJHM: 107 Hindus killed, 31 forcibly disappeared in 2017 |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2018/01/06/bjhm-107-hindus-killed-31-forcibly-disappeared-2017 |work=Dhaka Tribune |agency=UNB |date=6 January 2018}}{{cite news |title=Hindu houses under 'arson' attack ahead of Bangladesh elections |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/world/hindu-houses-under-arson-attack-ahead-of-bangladesh-elections-1502720217.html |work=The Statesman |date=28 December 2018}} with 15.1% reduction of Hindu population in Bangladesh during last more than 70 years since partition of India while during the same period Muslim population increased by exactly by the same 15.1% (76% to 91.1%). Percentage of Hindus declined more than two third (over 67% drop) in 71 years, i.e. from 22% of total population of Bangladesh in 1951 to 13.5% in 1974 (8.5% decrease in 20 years),{{cite web |url=http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/population_data/entry489.aspx |title=Bangladesh- Population census 1991: Religious Composition 1901–1991 |date=2 August 2016 |website=Bangladeshgov.org |access-date=2 August 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818162638/http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/population_data/entry489.aspx |url-status=dead }} and then drop again to 6.9% in 2022 (further 1.6% decrease).{{Cite web |date=August 2022 |title=Population and Housing Census 2022 Preliminary Report |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0uDswlsJxK3RuBbFZrdecFLIkjCT4UA/view?usp=embed_facebook |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008215051/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0uDswlsJxK3RuBbFZrdecFLIkjCT4UA/view?usp=embed_facebook |url-status=live }}

List of massacres targeted at Hindus and Buddhists minorities, mainly by radical Islamists and Razakar:

In 2016 violence over blasphemy accusations lead to the destruction of 15 temples and 100 homes though authorities suggest only 8 temples and 22 houses were damaged.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/world/asia/hindu-muslim-bangladesh.html |title=Hindu Temples and Homes in Bangladesh Are Attacked by Muslim Crowds |date=2 November 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 May 2018}}

According to the BJHM report in 2017 alone, at least 107 people of the Hindu community were killed and 31 fell victims to enforced disappearance 782 Hindus were either forced to leave the country or threatened to leave. Besides, 23 were forced to get converted into other religions.

At least 25 Hindu women and children were raped, while 235 temples and statues were vandalized during the year.

The total number of atrocities happened with the Hindu community in 2017 is 6474.{{cite news |title=BJHM: 107 Hindus killed, 31 forcibly disappeared in 2017 |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2018/01/06/bjhm-107-hindus-killed-31-forcibly-disappeared-2017 |work=Dhaka Tribune |agency=UNB |date=6 January 2018}} During the 2019 Bangladesh elections, eight houses belonging to Hindu families on fire in Thakurgaon alone.{{cite news |title=Hindu houses under 'arson' attack ahead of Bangladesh elections |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/world/hindu-houses-under-arson-attack-ahead-of-bangladesh-elections-1502720217.html |work=The Statesman |date=28 December 2018}}

=Persecution of Christians=

In 2023 the country was ranked as the 30th worst place in the world to be a Christian.{{Cite web |url=https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/bangladesh/ |title=Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-08 |access-date=4 September 2023 |archive-date=3 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103051724/https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/bangladesh/ |url-status=dead }} In 2018, Bangladesh was number 41 on the World Watch List for religious persecution of Christians, between UAE and Algeria.{{cite web |url=https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/ |title=World Watch List - Countries Where Christianity is Illegal & Oppressed |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-date=14 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914174347/https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list |url-status=dead }}

In 2016, four people were murdered for their Christian faith.{{cite web |url=http://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/worldwatch/bangladesh.php |title=Historical churches are facing increased persecution in Bangladesh. |website=www.opendoorsuk.org |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-date=25 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625120101/http://opendoorsuk.org/persecution/worldwatch/bangladesh.php |url-status=dead }} The growing Christian population is met by growing persecution.{{cite news |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/thousands-of-muslims-converting-christianity-bangladesh-despite-rising-persecution-166768/ |title=Thousands of Muslims Converting to Christianity in Bangladesh Despite Rising Persecution |work=The Christian Post |access-date=30 May 2018}}

= Persecution of Buddhists =

Buddhists in Bangladesh, constituting less than 1% of the population have faced significant challenges, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), where over 65% of the country’s Buddhist population resides. There are also accusations that Chakmas have been pressured to abandon their religion. The government's initiative to promote Bengali Muslim settlement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) altered the demographic composition from 98% indigenous in 1971 to around 50% by 2000, resulting in land conflicts and violent confrontations.{{cite report |title='Life Is Not Ours': Land and Human Rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh - Update 4 |author=The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission |date=2000 |publisher=International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs |page=20}}{{Cite web |title=The Bengali Settlement and Minority Groups Integration in Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110222648/https://jnu.ac.bd/journal/assets/pdf/3_2_34.pdf}}

The 2012 Ramu violence stands out as a notable example of violence, where mobs attacked Buddhist monasteries and homes in Cox’s Bazar District, destroying 24 temples and 75 houses, triggered by a rumored blasphemous image on social media falsely attributed to a Buddhist youth.{{Cite news |date=2012-09-30 |title=Bangladesh rampage over Facebook Koran image |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19780692 |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2012-11-05 |title=Buddhist temples, homes burned, looted in Ramu {{!}} Bangladesh {{!}} bdnews24.com |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105180958/http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=233354&cid=2 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=web.archive.org}} The government, under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, condemned the attacks and funded temple reconstruction, arresting over 300 individuals, though community leaders criticized the response as inadequate.{{Cite web |date=2016-03-05 |title=News Details |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305024306/http://www.bssnews.net/newsDetails.php?cat=0&id=395089&date=2014-03-10 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=web.archive.org}} Outside the CHT, Buddhists, particularly the Barua community in urban areas like Chittagong and Dhaka, generally live in relative harmony with the Muslim majority.

=Persecution of Ahmadis=

{{Main|Persecution of Ahmadis in Bangladesh|Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh}}

Ahmadis have been targeted by various protests and acts of violence, and fundamentalist Islamic groups have demanded that Ahmadis be officially declared kafirs (infidels).{{Cite web |last=Rahman |first=Waliur |date=2005-12-23 |title=Violent Dhaka rally against sect |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4556318.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225093337/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4556318.stm |archive-date=2005-12-25 |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=BBC}}{{Cite web |date=2008-02-19 |title=Bangladesh: The Ahmadiyya Community - their rights must be protected |url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/005/2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219135043/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/005/2004 |archive-date=2008-02-19 |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Amnesty International}}[http://nyti.ms/22rZACN Bangladesh: Bomber Attacks a Mosque], The New York Times, 26 December 2015

=Persecution of atheists=

{{See also|Persecution of atheists in Bangladesh|Discrimination against atheists in Bangladesh|Religion in Bangladesh#Atheism}}

Several Bangladeshi atheists have been assassinated, and a "hit list" exists issued by the Bangladeshi Islamic organisation, the Ansarullah Bangla Team. Activist atheist bloggers are leaving Bangladesh under threat of assassination.{{Cite news |title='You'll be next': Bangladeshi blogger gets death threat on Facebook |date=30 May 2015 |location=Kolkata |newspaper=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Youll-be-next-Bangladeshi-blogger-gets-death-threat-on-Facebook/articleshow/47477859.cms}}{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/qaeda-unit-behind-avijit-killing-80362 |title=Al-Qaeda branch claims responsibility for murder of writer-blogger Avijit Roy: Rab, police doubt reported claim |work=The Daily Star |publisher=Transcom Group |date=4 May 2015 |access-date=5 May 2015}}

International View

A 2020 report found that Bangladesh was in the top 5 countries with the highest levels of social hostilities involving religion.[https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/11/10/restrictions-on-religion-among-the-25-most-populous-countries-in-2018/ Pew Research 2020 report]

A 2021 reported several examples of violence and terror directed at religious minorities.[https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/bangladesh/ US State Dept 2021 report]

In 2022, Freedom House rated Bangladesh’s religious freedom as 2 out of 4,[https://www.freedomhouse.org/country/bangladesh/freedom-world/2020 Freedom House, Retrieved 2023-04-25] noting that members of minority groups - including Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and Shiite and Ahmadiyya Muslims - continue to face harassment and violence, including mob violence against their houses of worship.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Bangladesh scored 0.75 in 2020 and a perfect 1.00 in both 2021 and 2022 on the World Bank's Freedom of Religion index.{{Cite web |title=Freedom of religion (highest score=1) |url=https://prosperitydata360.worldbank.org/en/indicator/IDEA+GSOD+v_22_31}}

Notes

References

United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Bangladesh: International Religious Freedom Report 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.