Anti-western violence targets Christians.

Dinajpur -- The Bishop of Dinajpur Diocese fears that a+ series of 434 bomb blasts in August is a sign that Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups are on the upswing. Bishop Moses Costa said Islamic extremists have launched an anti-western campaign and urged laity and clergy to avoid provoking Muslim wrath (Zenit, Sept. 29, 2005).

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Muslim suicide bombings killed 30 Christians and wounded at least 150. In an effort to avoid bloodshed, at least one church re-scheduled midnight Mass for an earlier hour. Worshippers were asked not to come to church with handbags and to be watchful of strangers. In addition to security provided by the government, some churches manned the doors with people wielding metal detectors.

There are more than one hundred Christian denominations in Bangladesh. Christians number about 500,000 in a population of 140 million people (Epoch Times, Dec. 22, 2005).