Except for North Korea, where the persecution is caused by "dictatorial paranoia" and "communist and post-communist oppression," the main religion of all other countries and groups on the list is Islam.
"While some relief aid is available, this is mostly distributed through local Muslim groups and mosques, which are alleged to be discriminating against anyone not considered a devout Muslim." — Open Doors, Yemen.
"More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year, than everywhere else in the world combined." — Open Doors, Nigeria.
"For Christians who convert from Islam, not even the veneer of tolerance is present." — Open Doors, Iran.
"When the Taliban came to power, they did so with pledges to recognize more freedoms than in the past. But that hasn't happened—if an Afghan's Christian faith is discovered, it can be a death sentence, or they can be detained and tortured into giving information about fellow believers." — Open Doors, Afghanistan.
"Of 34.5 million displaced people across Sub-Saharan Africa, around 16.2 million are Christians." — Open Doors, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Many of these incidents remain unreported by the mainstream media. And until the mainstream media, governments and international organizations start openly addressing the ideological and theological motives of the perpetrators, this worldwide, genocide-level persecution of Christians will likely increase.
More than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, according to the Open Doors World Watch List 2024. "More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year, than everywhere else in the world combined," according to Open Doors.
The top ten countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution are North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Except for North Korea, where the persecution is caused by "dictatorial paranoia" and "communist and post-communist oppression," the main religion of all other countries and groups on the list is Islam.
According to Open Doors:
"Being discovered to be a Christian in North Korea is effectively a death sentence. Either believers will be deported to labour camps as political criminals, where they face a life of hard labor which few survive, or they are killed on the spot. The same fate awaits family members. There are believed to be tens of thousands of Christians held in labor camps across the country.
"It's impossible for Christians to live freely in North Korea. Meeting for worship is almost impossible and must be done in utmost secrecy, and at grave risk. In May 2023, five members of a family were arrested as they gathered for prayer and Bible study. Christian literature was also confiscated."
Somalia, where Christians face extreme persecution, has been going through a civil war since 1991. As Freedom House reports:
"Somalia has struggled to reestablish a functioning state since the collapse of an authoritarian regime in 1991. Limited, indirect elections brought a federal government to power in 2012... The government's territorial control is also contested by a separatist government in Somaliland and by the Shabaab, an Islamist militant group. No direct national elections have been held to date, and political affairs remain dominated by clan divisions. Amid ongoing insecurity, human rights abuses by both state and nonstate actors occur regularly."
According to Open Doors, Christians in the country are affected the worst:
"The dangers of being a Christian in Somalia are extreme. Most, if not all, are converts from Muslim backgrounds, making them a high-value target for al-Shabab, a militant group that has repeatedly expressed its desire to eradicate Christians from the country. If discovered, believers could be killed on the spot...
"No area is safe for Christians in Somalia. However, the most dangerous places are the areas under the control of al-Shabab, particularly in the south and southwest."
Libya ranks third:
"Converts from Islam face the most intense and violent pressure from their family and community. They risk house arrest, attack, abduction, sexual violence and murder. It is incredibly dangerous for converts to meet together to worship, and church life is almost non-existent.
"Even Christians who aren't Libyan or converts are at risk. Christians from other parts of Africa are targeted by extremist groups. Christians have been kidnapped and, in a few high-profile incidents, brutally murdered. Christians from Sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom come to Libya as displaced people trying to get to Europe, face additional risk. Because of their lack of official status, they can be kidnapped and trafficked, and extremist groups target these believers as well."
In Eritrea, known as the "North Korea of Africa" due to its intense authoritarian government, "all Christians face intense scrutiny from the government, risking arrest and indefinite detention". According to Freedom House:
"Eritrea is a militarized authoritarian state that has not held a national election since independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), headed by President Isaias Afwerki, is the sole political party. Arbitrary detention is commonplace, and citizens are required to perform national service, often for their entire working lives. The government shut down all independent media in 2001."
Yemen, which ranks fifth in the list, "has no functioning central government with full control over its territory," notes the Freedom House.
"Yemen... has been devastated by a civil war involving regional powers since 2015. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their allies intervened that year to support the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi against Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), also known as the Houthis—an armed rebel movement that is rooted in the Zaidi Shiite community, which forms a large minority concentrated in northwestern Yemen."
This article ends with these comments:
According to the Open Doors, one in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide and 1 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Africa. In 2023, thousands of Christians were murdered or detained for their faith, and thousands of churches and Christian properties were attacked.
But many of these incidents remain unreported by the mainstream media.
Until the mainstream media, governments and international organizations start openly addressing the ideological and theological motives of the perpetrators, this worldwide, genocide-level persecution of Christians will likely increase.
The nine page article can be read in full by clicking on this link or on the one below if you want to download the article in pdf.
Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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