Crux

DHAKA – Catholic leaders in Bangladesh are demanding government action to ensure the security of their communities after an evening attack on a Catholic church in the capital city, Dhaka.

On October 8 at around 10 p.m. in Dhaka, still-unidentified assailants on motorcycles set off two improvised explosives in quick succession at the main gate of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, causing panic among the people in the surrounding area. Later, two more cocktails were found unexploded at the scene.

On Saturday, police made an arrest in the case, of a Muslim man believed to be associated with the politics of the Awami League, which was ousted from power last year.

Sheikh Hasina, the autocratic head of the Awami League, resigned last year in the wake of a student uprising and fled to India. A secular party supported by a majority of non-Muslims, the Awami League played an instrumental role in Bangladesh’s independence movement after WWII and dominated the nation’s political life until the so-called July Revolution in 2024.

In the wake of the July Revolution, the government banned the Awami League’s activities under an anti-terror law passed in 2009 by a broad coalition under the leadership of Hasani and the Awami League.

Since then, Islamist groups have often attacked members of religious minority community organizations.

“We think this incident is sending a bad message to our Christian community,” Joyanto S. Gomes, the parish priest, told the Crux.

Gomes said everyone has the right to practice their religion safely, and Christians – especially Catholics – want to practice their religion without any fear.

The head of the Catholic bishops’ conference of Bangladesh on Saturday issued a statement saying the incident must be promptly and properly investigated and the main perpetrators identified and brought to justice. Archbishop Bejoy Cruze of Dhaka said there is a fear such incidents will be repeated and communal violence will be incited, and the Christian minority will live in extreme insecurity.

The police, army and various intelligence agencies visited the spot after the incident.

On the morning of October 9, Deputy Police Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Ibne Mizan visited the scene.

“We have been active since [the attack] and our various departments have worked,” he told Crux.

“A case has been filed under the Explosives Act in the incident and since the initial investigation is ongoing, we cannot say at this time who committed this incident. We have strengthened the security of all Christian institutions in Dhaka,” Mizan said.

“An incident has occurred and in view of this, we are arranging security for all religious institutions on behalf of the police,” he added.

On May 4, 2022, at least two images of the Virgin Mary were vandalized by throwing bricks outside the De Mazenod Catholic Church in Dhaka. The police arrested a Muslim man involved in the incident.

Bangladesh has been long known as a moderate Muslim-majority country.

Since 2013, however, the country has been seeing a rise in Islamic militancy. Attacks have claimed the lives of some 50 people, among them liberal academics, publishers, gay rights activists, secular bloggers, foreigners, and religious minorities including Hindus, Shias, Ahmadis and Christians.

The militants attacked Christian clergy – including an Italian Catholic priest and two Christians who were murdered – and dozens of Christians have reportedly received death threats.

In response, the government launched crackdown that left dozens of militants killed in raids and saw many leaders and members of extremist outfits arrested and put on trial.

Christians make up less than one percent of more than 160 million people in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Of estimated 600,000 Christians, Catholics are majority with some 400,000 members.

The arrest of a man connected to the Awami League may add a new and concerning layer to a delicate situation in the historically moderate Muslim-majority country.