Elderly Convert from Islam in Bangladesh Dies from Burns

A 70-year-old woman convert from Islam died on Friday February 1 from burns she suffered when unknown assailants in a Muslim-majority area about 150 miles northwest of the capital set her home on fire last month. Rahima Beoa of Cinatuly village suffered burns over 70 to 80 percent of her body after the home she shared with her daughter and son-in-law, also converts, was set ablaze the night of January 7, said Khaled Mintu, Rangpur regional supervisor of the Isha-e-Jamat (Jesus' Church) Bangladesh denomination. Villagers were upset over her conversion to Christianity and that of her daughter and son-in-law, he said. "Before her burial, the family members forgave those who set fire in the house and prayed to God that this kind of incident not occur anymore in this country," Mintu told Compass Direct News. "They also prayed for a situation where Muslims and Christians can practice their own religion side by side peacefully."