Worldwide  Persecution of Christians:          "Níor dhún Dia doras riamh
nár oscail Sé ceann eile.
"

("God never closed one door without opening another." -Old Gaelic Saying)

 

Image: The Prayer Foundation logo (with white Celtic cross on a green shield).

          "The first thing persecuted Christians ask me for is prayer."  

-Brother Andrew

 

Photo: "Skellig Michael" Copyright Irish Tiurist Board.

 

Image: portion of illuminated manuscript page from "The Book of Kells."Photo: of an ancient Chinese architecture temple complex.  Photo Copyright 2002 S.G.P.  All Rights Reserved. "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you . . ."  -Colossians 1:9

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."  

"Go on, rack, torture, grind us to powder: our numbers increase in proportion as you mow us down.  The blood of Christians is their harvest seed."  -Tertullian (Ca. 200 A.D.)

In the past 100 years (during the 20th Century) 26,000,000 Christians were killed for their faith (martyred).  This is more than the combined total of all previous centuries.  It does not count the untold numbers who were persecuted in other ways, imprisoned, tortured, and even enslaved.  

These things are all still going on right now, and in certain countries are worse than they have ever been.

[Back] "Open Doors" 2009 World Watch List of the Top Ten Worst Persecutors of Christians by Country:

Silverball"Open Doors" was Founded by Brother Andrew ("God's Smuggler").

  • 1.   North Korea

  • 2.   Saudi Arabia

  • 3.   Iran

  • 4.   Afghanistan 

  • 5.   Somalia

  • 6.   Maldives

  • 7.   Yemen

  • 8.   Laos

  • 9.   Eritrea

  • 10. Uzbekistan

    SANTA ANA, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2009) – The oppressive, isolated country of North Korea headed by dictator Kim Jong Il retains its grip as the worst persecutor of Christians in the world.

    According to Open Doors’ 2009 World Watch List,
    North Korea is ranked No. 1 for the seventh year in a row. Christians are persecuted constantly under the communist government, which denies human rights to its citizens.

    The Wahhabi kingdom of
    Saudi Arabia is No. 2 and Iran No. 3. Both countries are ruled by Shariah law.

    Afghanistan, Somalia and the Maldives take the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively.  Afghanistan moved up three spots on the list this year as a result of increased pressure from the Taliban movement during 2008.  Yemen is No. 7, Laos No. 8, Eritrea No. 9 and Uzbekistan No. 10.

    Somalia and Eritrea are new countries to the top 10 list. In Somalia, the number of incidents against Christians increased dramatically in 2008, explaining its rise to No. 5 from No. 12 in 2007.  For Eritrea, there was no major change in the lack of religious freedom for Christians. Around 3,000 Christians are being held in Eritrean prisons.

    China and Bhutan dropped out of the top 10 with China now No. 12 and Bhutan No. 11. Last year China was No. 10 and
    Bhutan No. 5.

    Islam is the majority religion in seven of the top 10 countries:
    Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen and Uzbekistan.  Two countries have communist governments: North Korea and LaosEritrea is the only dictatorial country in the 10 highest countries on the list.

    The World Watch List is compiled based on the results of a thorough questionnaire consisting of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom. A point value is assigned depending on how each question is answered. The total number of points per country determines its position on the World Watch List of countries that are the worst persecutors of Christians. 

     
    “It is certainly not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the list of countries where Christians face the worst persecution,” says Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA.  “There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner.

    “I encourage you to join our on-going prayer campaign for North Korea and to plug in to the many opportunities Open Doors offers to advocate for the oppressed believers there during North Korea Freedom Week April 25-May 2.”

    The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in 2008 in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan (No. 13), Iraq (No. 16), Mauritania (No. 18), Algeria (No. 19), India (No. 22), Northern Nigeria (26), Indonesia (No. 41), Bangladesh (No. 43) and Kazakhstan (No. 50 and new on the top 50 list).

    Persecution continues unabated in Saudi Arabia.  Five months after the daughter of a member of
    Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing online about her faith in Christ, Saudi authorities reportedly arrested a 28-year-old Christian man for describing his conversion and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary on his Website, according to Compass Direct News.  Saudi police arrested Hamoud Bin Saleh on Jan. 13 “because of his opinions and his testimony that he had converted from Islam to Christianity,” according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

    In
    Iran, a major crackdown on house churches occurred and a large number of Christians were arrested, marking 2008 as one of the toughest years regarding Christian persecution since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. 

    In Afghanistan, a Western Christian aid worker was killed because, according to the Taliban, she was spreading Christianity in Afghanistan which is prohibited by law in the country. 

    In Somalia, Open Doors received reports of at least 10 Christians killed for their faith in 2008 and several others kidnapped and raped. Pressure on the Christian minority in Pakistan continued unabated.

    Iraq’s Christian minority faced a year full of violence in 2008. Churches were attacked or damaged by bombs, Christians received death threats and several Christians were murdered, abused and/or kidnapped.

    For years India has ranked No. 30 on Open Doors’ persecution index.  This year it moved to No. 22 primarily because in the third quarter of 2008 there was the worst outbreak of religious violence on record for Christians in India, especially in the state of Orissa. The number of incidents regarding arrests, physical harassment, abductions and church attacks remained high all over India.

    “The escalation of violence against Christians in
    India in 2008 is very troubling,” says Moeller. “Please pray for believers there.”

    In a major positive development, fewer believers were harassed in
    Vietnam this year.  As a result it fell to No. 23. Last year it was ranked No. 17 and in 2006 it was No. 8.  Open Doors recorded fewer reports of persecution of Christians in Colombia this year. As a result, this long-time World Watch List country fell off the list.

    An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers.

    © Copyright 2008 Open Doors USA.


In addition to North Korea, countries with Communist governments include Vietnam, Laos, and China

Islamic-dominated countries are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Maldives and Yemen.

Bhutan's dominant religion is Buddhist.

Where is the church receiving the greatest persecution today?
A major area of intense persecution today is in the "10/40 Window" where 97 percent of the world’s least evangelized people live. This rectangular area extends from West Africa across Asia, between the 10th and 40th parallels north of the equator.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists living in this window, and in some countries the Church has almost been eliminated as a result of Islamic oppression.  The Christian population there is less than 2 percent, a small but precious minority.


[Back] 200 Million Christians in 60 Countries Subject to Persecution

Wednesday, June 27, 2007  By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- The British Secret Service, MI6, has published an alarming report in the Sunday Express magazine revealing that some 200 million Christians in 60 countries around the world are at risk of or suffering persecution, according to a report carried by the Catholic News Agency (CNA).

The report reveals that in the Sudan, for example, “thousands of Christians have been massacred and the fundamentalist government has done little to protect them.” In Iraq, “the situation is grave: Christians do not have their own militia to defend them, and Sunni and Shiite factions accuse them of collaborating with the American ‘crusaders’ and among the hundreds of victims of kidnappings this year there are a growing number of Christians.”

“The study also reveals that during the last year, at least seventy Christians were killed in Pakistan. In Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Christians who belong to the Russian Orthodox Church are often looked down upon: in these three republics of the former Soviet Union, Muslim preachers, ‘under the influence of Al Qaeda,’ present Christians as followers of a religion closely associated with the despised Western colonialism and they call for their expulsion,” the report states.

The CAN story concluded by saying, “North Korea, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda are other countries where Christians are persecuted.  North Korea has sent some 50 thousand Christians to concentration camps, while in China some 40 thousand have suffered the same fate. The report also notes the increasing difficulties facing Palestinian Christians due to the progressive radicalization of the Islamic masses in the Middle East.”

You may republish this story with proper attribution: By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


Related Pages:

_____________________________________________________________

Text is in the Public Domain.

Photos & Layout: Copyright © 2006 S.G.P. All rights reserved. 

   Photo of Skellig Michael Copyright © Irish Tourist Board.