Bangladesh: high court considers constitutionality of Islam as state religion

March 10, 2016

In a move welcomed by the nation’s religious minorities, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh is considering whether to overturn a 1988 amendment declaring Islam the official religion.

Hindus and Christians currently feel like “third-class citizens, abandoned by the authorities,” Rosaline Costa, a Catholic human rights activist, told AsiaNews.

The South Asian nation of 169 million is nearly 90% Muslim, nearly 10% Hindu, and 0.2% Catholic.

 

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Further information:

• After 28 years, Bangladesh revives case to drop Islam as state religion (Reuters)
• Bangladesh Supreme Court to discuss abandoning Islam as State religion (AsiaNews.it)