Johura Begum and her husband Bablu Miah.

Johura Begum, 42, of Pingna Bangladesh village said village authorities threatened to harm her grown daughters if her family didnot pay them 20,000 taka (US$283). Begum had invited seven converts from Islam, including three women, to take part in a river baptism. Only six men among 55 converts were baptized by the leaders of the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Bangladesh (PHCB), as the rest were intimidated by protesting Muslims; the next day, area Islamists with bullhorns shouted death threats to Christians. “The council member threatened me, saying I had to give him 20,000 taka or else we could not live here with honor, dignity and security,” Begum said. Begum said her husband is a day-laborer at a rice-husking mill, and that 20,000 taka was a “colossal amount” for them. She was able to borrow the money from a Christian cooperative, she said. Johura Begum said that when she became a Christian 20 years ago, area Muslims beat her and forced her to leave the village, though she was able to return three years later. Full Story