Islamists detained in Bangladesh for trying to kill pastor

Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested five militant Islamists suspected of trying to murder a Christian pastor.

The five detained men are members of the outlawed Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) group, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Islamic terror group formed in 1998 in an attempt to form an Islamic state based on Sharia law in Bangladesh. In 2005, it bombed a series of targets and killed at least 30 people, including two judges. JMB was banned the same year but remained an active threat long after, according to International Crisis Group.

One of the men arrested is suspected of taking part in the attack on pastor Luke Sarker, while the others are suspected of plotting the attempted murder.

A total of three men attacked Sarker with a knife and tried to slit his throat on Oct. 5.

Sarker welcomed the men into his home after they feigned an interest in converting to Christianity. The pastor toldMorning Star News (MSN) a stranger called him in mid-September asking about Christianity.

“I said, ‘I cannot convert you, but you can come to me to know about Christianity,’” Sarker told MSN. On Sept. 18, two men came to his home. Sarker told them about Jesus and shared passages from the Gospel of Matthew.

On Oct. 5, without prior notice, the two men returned with another man. Sarker said he spent 30 minutes talking with them about Jesus before “one of them grabbed my neck just under the chin.”

“I tried to shout but could not,” he said. “I was groaning and tried to bite the fingers of the grabber. The other two persons tried to slit my throat with a knife.” Sarker’s wife and children interrupted the attack, yelled for help, and the men fled.

Nirmol Rozario, secretary of the Bangladesh Christian Association, said the attack on Sarker and the murder of two foreigners might have been in retaliation for Western opposition to the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East.

According to UCA News, the Bangladesh Christian Association appealed to the government to protect Christian churches and religious leaders. Rozario also said the group would organize a rally condemning the attack and calling for justice.

Bangladeshi authorities called the attack a an attempt “to draw international attention and destabilise the country,” according to AFP.

Just days before the attempt on Sarker’s life, gunmen in Bangladesh shot and killed a Japanese farmer and an Italian aid worker. ISIS claimed responsibility for both murders, although police said there wasn’t evidence to support that, according to the BBC. Bangladesh’s prime minister also expressed skepticism of ISIS involvement, The New York Times reported.

Earlier this year, police arrested two JMB members after recruiting young Muslims for ISIS, according to AFP.

Bangladesh is officially a secular nation, although it has a majority Muslim population, with Hindu and Christian minorities.

In 2014, the secular Awami party won elections marked by violent protests and a boycott by an Islamic opposition party. The violence kept many religious minorities away from the polls out of fear. Following the election, Islamists set fire to the houses of Catholics in Jamalpur district who had voted.

The recent uptick in violence by Islamic extremists has caused Christians to fear more attacks, Asia News reported.