Displaying items by tag: Christian persecution

Pastor David Lynn leads a Toronto church and has preached on the streets for 22 years without conviction. He also heads up Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries, which has 40,000 supporters and a YouTube channel with 8.8 million views. When he preached outside Barking tube station on 20 March, he was arrested and kept in custody for over 20 hours. David began preaching at 1 pm, and at 3.30 pm a group of supporters joined him. He preached about people searching for love in the wrong places; only through a right relationship with Christ can this deep need be satisfied. A large crowd formed, and David handed the microphone to onlookers to allow them to respond to his preaching. Fortunately his preaching was videoed, so that when a lady accused him of calling her ‘perverse’ and ‘sinful’ the footage of the event did not substantiate her complaint.

The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Be a Christian;Islamic extremism now has a rival, according to the 2017 World Watch List

For the third year in a row, the modern persecution of Christians worldwide has hit another record high.

But the primary cause, Islamic extremism, now has a rival: ethnic nationalism.

Thus, Asia increasingly merits concern alongside the Middle East, according to the 2017 World Watch List (WWL) released today by Open Doors.This being the list’s 25th anniversary, Open Doors also released an analysis of persecution trends over the past quarter-century.The annual list examines the pressures faced by Christians in five spheres of life (private, family, community, national, and church), plus levels of religiously motivated violence, in order to rank the top 50 countries where "Christians face the most persecution." [Full list below.]

Christianity Today’s coverage of recent WWL rankings noted how North Korea was getting competition, as well as how the annual list aims for effective anger and shows persecuted believers that they are not forgotten.

In 25 years of “chronicling and ranking” the political and societal restrictions on religious freedom experienced by Christians worldwide, Open Doors researchers identified 2016 as the “worst year yet.”

“Persecution rose globally again for the third year in a row, indicating how volatile the situation has become,” stated Open Doors. “Countries in South and Southeast Asia rapidly rose to unprecedented levels and now rank among such violent areas as the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

The findings and trends noted by Open Doors are stark:

• Approximately 215 million Christians experience high, very high, or extreme persecution.
• North Korea remains the most dangerous place to be a Christian (for 14 straight years).
• Islamic extremism remains the global dominant driver of persecution, responsible for initiating oppression and conflict in 35 out of the 50 countries on the 2017 list.
• Ethnic nationalism is fast becoming a major driver of persecution. “While this took an anti-establishment form in the West, in Asia it took an anti-minorities form, fueled by dramatic religious nationalism and government insecurity. It is common—and easy—for tottering governments to gain quick support by scapegoating Christians.”
• The total number of persecution incidents in the top 50 most dangerous countries increased, revealing the persecution of Christians worldwide as a rising trend.
• The most violent: Pakistan, which rose to No. 4 on the list for a level of violence “exceeding even northern Nigeria.”
• The killings of Christians in Nigeria saw an increase of more than 62 percent.
• The killings of Christians were more geographically dispersed than in most time periods studied. “Hitting closer to home, 23 Christian leaders in Mexico and four in Colombia were killed specifically for their faith,” said Open Doors of the “rare” event.
• The worst increase: Mali, which moved up the most places on the list from No. 44 to No. 32.

Asia is a new center of concern, with persecution rising sharply in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan, and Sri Lanka joining the list for the first time.

Open Doors noted that India rose to its highest rank ever, No. 15, amid the continued rise of Hindu nationalism. “An average of 40 incidents were reported per month, including pastors beaten, churches burned and Christians harassed,” stated Open Doors. “Of the 64 million Christians in India, approximately 39 million experience direct persecution.”

In Central Asia, persecution spread due to both Islamic extremism and government attempts to restrict it. “In many countries, governmental raids of suspected Christian households increased, certain Christian books have been banned,” stated Open Doors, “and the membership requirement to remain a legal church doubled, resulting in many churches to be deemed illegal overnight.”

The top 10 nations where it is most dangerous and difficult to practice the Christian faith are:

• North Korea
• Somalia
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Iraq
• Iran
• Yemen

10 Eritrea

Yemen was the only new country in the top 10, replacing Libya.

Over the past 25 years, only three countries have topped the list: North Korea (2002 – 2017), Saudi Arabia (1993 – 1995; 1998 – 2001), and Somalia (1996 – 1997).

The top 10 nations over the 25-year span are:

• North Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Iran
• Somalia
• Afghanistan
• Maldives
• Yemen
• Sudan
• Vietnam

10.China

Six countries appear on both lists—a sign of the concerning stability of persecution, noted Open Doors.The WWL data is compiled from reports spanning November 1, 2015, to October 31, 2016. The annual list is audited by the International Institute for Religious Freedom.Open Doors defines persecution as “any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ.” “Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world,” it stated. “Christians throughout the world continue to risk imprisonment, loss of home and assets, torture, beheadings, rape and even death as a result of their faith.”

“The Open Doors World Watch List is the most accurate, thorough and intensive research available on the persecution of Christians,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA. “It calculates not only deaths reported in the news, but also persecution at a grassroots level, where family-to-family persecution is tracked. The 25-year research shows where the most unstable areas for Christians have historically been and, in many countries, remain.”

Christianity Today previously reported the WWL rankings for 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012, including a spotlight on where it's hardest to believe. CT also recently compiled 2016’s 12 most-read stories of the persecuted church.

https://twitter.com/CTMagazine

Pray: Please remember to keep the over 200 million fellow believers living in areas of high or extreme persecution in your regular prayers that they will be encouraged in their faith and victorious.
Pray: that the Gospel will powerfully flow through their lives and words to those around them, resulting in the conversion of even their harshest persecutors.

The Prince of Wales shared how a Jesuit priest from Syria warned him that unless major action is taken, there will be no Christians left in Iraq in five years. ‘We are struggling to capture the immensity of the ripple effect of such persecution’, Prince Charles said, citing statistics from the UN that show the world's refugees now number almost 65.3 million people - close to the entire population of the UK. He suggested that, regardless of one's religion, people should seek to value and respect others, ‘accepting their right to live out their peaceful response to the love of God.’ He said he is ‘heartbroken’ over the pain and suffering inflicted on Christians in the Middle East, and urged prayers for those forced to flee in the face of the most brutal persecution on account of their faith.

On 17 December, two suicide bombers targeted a Methodist church in Quetta, leaving nine dead and over fifty injured. Only one managed to detonate his vest: the second was killed by security forces. Over 400 worshippers were in church at the time. A group affiliated to IS claimed responsibility. Pray for the Pakistani government to take all steps necessary to provide adequate security to Christians during this Christmas season. Pray for God’s healing mercy upon those injured, and His presence to be with those grieving the death of loved ones. Also, Pakistan Prison Mission Society reported discrimination against Christians in prison. Christians are accused of blasphemy only because of personal vendettas or vested interests, and it takes years before courts absolve them of false charges. They are mistreated by other prisoners as soon as it is known they are Christians. Pray for pastors to be allowed into prisons this Christmas.

Safe Haven gives refuge to those who face the threat of violence for freely choosing to leave Islam and follow Jesus. It does this mainly by connecting victims with those who can provide a safe place, a secure and loving home away from the hostility. It acts as a go-between, bringing together those in need with those offering help. The plan is to create a national network of safe houses for Christians who have converted from a Muslim background. It is looking for people to help or people who can provide accommodation. Anonymity is vital in these kinds of situations, and Safe Haven maintains strict confidentiality in all its dealings with both victims and those offering help.

For years, Azerbaijan has been riding the line for years between democracy and fiefdom. Its New Azerbaijan Party is accused of authoritarianism and bribery. It imprisons corruption-busting journalists and human rights advocates. Friction with neighbouring Armenia was heightened last year, with bombings and continuous calls to war. Their dispute is over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within Azeri territory. Oil export revenues have aided the Azeri population, elevating living standards and increasing military strength; but poverty and corruption plague the nation. Although Azerbaijan fell off the 2017 World Watch List of persecuted Christians, that is not because restrictions have eased. Christian detentions continue; they face harassment and intimidation, and many are given large fines for meeting as churches or giving out Bibles. Only 0.22% of the people are evangelical Christians. Azerbaijan was one of the first republics in the Soviet Union to face the problem of refugees. There are 618,137 refugees and internally displaced persons in the country.

Many Christians leaving Islam in Saudi Arabia are handed over to their relatives and vanish, never to be heard from again. To leave Islam is seen as a great source of shame to families and communities in Islamic nations. Christians in closed Islamic countries often feel they have no choice but to flee the oppressive regimes. And yet there are Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Islamic states who are risking their lives to follow Jesus. Pray for protection for these secret believers; may they grow in their faith. Globally, persecuted Christians face stark dilemmas every day. ‘Can we practise the Christian faith without telling anyone?’ ‘How can we worship and evangelise without incurring the wrath of the mob?’ ‘Can we live out our faith in society when the eyes of the government are everywhere?’ ‘Can we get to a place where our house or church will not be bombed tomorrow?’

In 1966 an Igbo leader, in south-east Nigeria, said that only one thing would prevent a civil war - ‘that Nigeria be split, with all southerners in the north repatriated to the south and northerners in the south repatriated to the north’. This demand was followed by the Biafra civil war. In June 2017, irked by renewed secessionist calls from the same Igbo ethnic group, a coalition of northern groups demanded that ‘all Igbo currently residing in northern Nigeria relocate within three months, and all northerners residing in the east are advised likewise’. Pray for peace. Meanwhile on 6 August, masked gunmen stormed into the early morning service at a church in the southeast and opened fire, killing 35 Christians. On Tuesday a woman suicide bomber blew herself up and killed 27 others at a market in the northeast. See http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/dead-nigeria-church-shooting-170806153758051.html and https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security-idUSKCN1AV25K

Tajikistan's Sughd Oblast court sentenced Bahram Khalmatov, a 42-year-old Protestant pastor of the San-Maine-san-Bugim evangelical church in Khujand, to three years in prison on an unproven excuse of extremism, according to Mohabat News. The Tajik priest has expressed concern about the situation he faces in jail and called on believers and members of the church to pray for the priest Khalmatov. Officials of the Tajik Religious Affairs Committee state that the followers of this evangelical church were unlicensed and had registration documents, and therefore the churches and centres of this group were closed. Tajik authorities say the website of the Korean Christian Church said that the Christian centre was officially registered in the Tajik Religious Committee in 2009. This is the first time that a non-Muslim country is arrested and imprisoned on charges of extremism. Pray for the pastor’s safety, Tajikistan has been consistently criticised for violating human rights and religious beliefs in recent years.

Eight days after receiving a 15-year prison sentence and nearly a year after he was first detained, Muslim convert to Christianity Amin Afshar Naderi wrote an open letter to Iranian authorities. ‘What have I done against you and our country that made you hate me this much? I have learned from the Bible to love my enemies and to pray for those who hate me,’ his letter began. In July Amin was sentenced to 15 years in prison: 10 years for ‘acting against national security by organising and conducting house churches’” and an additional five years for blasphemy. Two other believers received 10-year sentences at the same time. In his letter, Amin said during his interrogations, he had been spoken to abusively, mocked and insulted, but he prays for the health of his interrogators. He also said his fellow prisoners were forced to sign a false statement against him, and that officials wrongly reported that Amin had insulted their religious beliefs.