Bengali Christian Pastor Peter Saiful Under Threat in Bangladesh Camps

News February 6, 2026

Peter Saiful, 31, is a Rohingya Christian pastor leading Bethel Church: Rohingya Christian Fellowship in Kutupalong Transit Camp (Ukhia), a special protection site for Christian refugees.

Originally from Rakhine State, his family fled to Bangladesh in the early 1990s. Born in Nayapara camp (Teknaf), he later moved to other camps and converted to Christianity with his family. He holds a degree from Brac University (Dhaka) and works as a photographer, writer, and translator.

Saiful and about 20–25 Christian Rohingya families were relocated to the secure Transit Camp in 2020 after attacks on Christians in the main camps.

He now faces serious death threats from Rohingya Muslim hardliners and some Bangladeshi Islamist groups, who accuse him of actively converting Muslims to Christianity. Threats include:

• Online death threats and calls for execution on Facebook/WhatsApp

• Posters labeling him a "missionary" and demanding his beheading

• Complaints filed with local authorities urging his arrest

• Claims that up to 2,000 Rohingya have converted (disputed; actual Christian numbers estimated at 1,500 or fewer)

  
  

Saiful denies forced or paid conversions, saying any changes are personal and voluntary. He has reported threats to police and UNHCR but says protection remains inadequate.

Rohingya Christians remain a tiny, doubly vulnerable minority—persecuted as Rohingya and as Christians within their community.