This is an appropriate week to review the persecution suffered by Christians throughout the planet.
Open Doors USA notes that in an average month: 332 Christians are killed for their faith; 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed; and 772 forms of violence, including beatings, abductions, rapes, and forced marriages, are committed against Christians.
According to Open Doors “Islamic extremists capitalized on the instability of the region to seize power. In countries like Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the unprecedented violence held horrific consequences for Christians. Today, virtually all personal rights have been rescinded and Christians have been the targets of violence and murder. Women and girls of the region have become victims of human trafficking, forced marriages and sexual slavery.” Persecution is greatest in North Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea, and Nigeria. China is also one of the worst offenders, along with most Islamic nations.
“The prediction that the Arab Spring would lead to greater freedom for minority voices in Arab nations has, sadly, not panned out,” said Open Doors President and CEO David Curry. “To the contrary, the overall impact of the Arab Spring on Christians in the region has been catastrophic…
“… the full impact of the Arab Spring has yet to be felt. In Syria alone, 700,000 Christians have fled the nation. The Islamic State is executing a mission to remove or harm all Christians. Historic churches across the region have been burned or bombed. While the Western world focuses on the potential impact of an influx of refugees on their own nations, the situation in the region remains dire.”
There is significant controversy in the United States, which, led by the Obama Administration, endorsed the Arab Spring movement. Despite being among the most persecuted groups to have suffered repression in Syria, only an extremely small percentage of refugees granted asylum.
The Pew Center reports that “over 75% of the world’s population lives in areas with severe religious restrictions (and many of these people are Christians). Also, according to the United States Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ.”
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission , reviewing U.S. State department data, finds that “Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Christ. In 41 of the 50 worst nations for persecution, Christians are being persecuted by Islamic extremists.”
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According to the United States State Department’s report on Religious Freedom:
“In Mosul, Iraq and nearby towns, shortly after the takeover of the area by militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Christians who had been given the choice to convert, pay a ruinous tax, or die, gathered their families and what few possessions they could carry, and sought all possible means to escape. Their community, having been a part of the rich culture and history of this city for more than a thousand years, was being threatened.
“Three-year old Christina Khader Ebada boarded a crowded bus with her mother to leave when suddenly one of the fighters guarding the checkpoint tore Christina from her mother’s arms. The panicked mother followed him, pleading with him to return the girl. “Shut up,” he responded. “If you come close to this little girl you will be slaughtered; we will slaughter you.” And she was forced back on the bus, leaving her baby behind, never to know what became of her. Christina and her family were also victims of ISIL’s brutal persecution, which has targeted all those, including religious and ethnic minorities, who oppose or do not fit in with ISIL’s ideological vision and its categorical and violent opposition to religious freedom.
“David Saperstein, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (IRF) has said, “There is an absolute and unequivocal need to give voice to the religiously oppressed in every land afraid to speak of what they believe in; who face death and live in fear, who worship in underground churches, mosques or temples, who feel so desperate that they flee their homes to avoid killing and persecution simply because they love God in their own way or question the existence of God.”
“… Non-State Actors, including rebel and terrorist organizations… committed by far some of the most egregious human rights abuses and caused significant damage to the global status of respect for religious freedom. In some cases, government failure, delay, and inadequacy in combatting these groups and other societal actors had severe consequences for people living under dire religious freedom conditions
“In the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and throughout Asia, a range of non-state actors including terrorist organizations, have set their sights on destroying religious diversity. Members of religious groups were disproportionately affected, often suffering harsh and hateful treatment of non-state actors. In these regions, religious intolerance and hostility, often combined with political, economic and ethnic grievances, frequently led to violence. Governments stood by, either unwilling or unable to act in response to the resulting death, injuries and displacement.”