Four Restricted Countries Participated in WEA's Seminar on Advocacy and Persecution in Bangladesh

An annual training seminar on advocacy and persecution was held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh by the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA-RLC) which was attended by leaders from four restricted countries.

More than 50 Christian leaders - pastors, Christian leaders, young Christian activists and lawyers from Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the 3-day seminar held from the 11-13 of November amidst difficulty as it coincided with the general strike called by the country's main opposition party.

In order to strengthen and equip persecuted Christians to withstand opposition and oppression the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA RLC) has been holding its annual training seminars on advocacy and the Biblical theology of persecution across Asia.

However, the event this year hosted by National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh (NCFB) was unique in the sense that three more "restricted countries" - Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka are invited to be part of the training seminar.

"The religious liberty situation in Bangladesh has been in steady decline over the past year," noted the press release of the WEA-RLC.

"Radical Islamists have led violent protests demanding the nation's Islamization including demands to change the country's constitution to inculcate tighter blasphemy laws. Rising religious tensions have also resulted in minority Christians being targeted in violent attacks," the statement said.

The trainings focussed on the Biblical Theology of Persecution, Advocacy and Human rights, UN mechanisms, How to face adversity and persecution and Intercession for the persecuted church.

The participants have praised the training seminar: "There was very good Biblical teaching at the seminar. The Church has benefited from this immensely. I am grateful to WEA RLC for holding this seminar in Bangladesh. We needed this in our country during this difficult period," said Michael Routh, a youth leader from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

""Right after school, while I was still a Hindu, I enrolled as a law student at university. However, a year and a half on, I had to drop out as I could not afford the tuition cost. I then became a Christian. A few years later, God called me into full time ministry. The dream to study law never died though. I always had a burden to speak up for injustices that were happening in Bangladesh. Through this seminar I believe God affirmed to me that I should pursue my passion to be a Christian lawyer. I have decided that I will complete my legal studies and be an advocate for the Christian community in Bangladesh," the youth leader added.

Rev. Naing Than, Director, Religious Liberty Commission, Myanmar Evangelical Christian Fellowship said that he had befitted greatly. "Thank you for inviting me for this seminar. I have benefitted greatly. The biblical theology of persecution is a very important topic for us. I minister to persecuted Christians living in Kachin. I will definitely take back this knowledge and use it to bless my fellow brothers and sisters who face persecution. Topics such as Advocacy and Human rights were also very useful. We need this type of training in Myanmar as well."

The Reverend extended an invitation to the WEA-RLC to conduct the same in this home country. "I thank you for conducting this seminar and would like to invite the WEA RLC to Myanmar to carry out this same training," he added.

The statement released by the WEA-RLC is grateful to God for the success of the training seminar.

"We give praise and honour to the Lord who moved in a marvelous way during the 3 days of training. We believe the participants were equipped and empowered through the seminar to better handle pressure and persecution. Many who felt defeated by persecution were reinvigorated to live a victorious life in Christ. Many others were inspired to be advocates for social justice and human rights," the statement stated.

"The seminar was also an encouragement to persecuted pastors who were contemplating leaving their ministries because of the stern opposition they were facing in their communities," the statement concluded.