Letter from Bishop Hubbard to Ambassador Blake from the U.S. State Department regarding Muslim Attacks Upon Christians in Bangladesh (2010)

Letter from Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, Chairman, USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace to Ambassador Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, U.S. State Department regarding Muslim Attacks Upon Christians in Bangladesh, May 12, 2010

"In March 2010, a large group of Muslim extremists attacked Christians in Boldipukur, a city some 200 miles north of Dhaka, following a local court decision on a land dispute which favored with the Catholic Church.  News reports say some fifty people were injured, ten seriously. Local police are reported to have done little to try to stop this attack, although law enforcement officials later said they were tracking some Muslims accused of participating in the violence. At the same time, countercharges were also made by Muslims against some Catholic villagers. This incident points to the vulnerability of religious minorities, especially Christians who constitute about 1% of the total population.  

As Chairman of the Committee for International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I am concerned about these sporadic, but ongoing, acts of harassment and violence directed at the Christian community in Bangladesh. As the State Department’s 2009 Human Rights Report indicates, the motives for such attacks, 'whether religious animosity, criminal intent, personal disputes or property disputes—were often unclear.'” 

letter-to-amb-blake-from-bishop-hubbard-on-attacks-on-christians-2010-05-12.pdf