Global persecution of Christians more extreme than ever before: Report
Religious fundamentalism comes in different forms. In North Korea and Turkmenistan (19) the population is required to revere their leader. Persecution in countries like Colombia (46) is driven by fundamentalist approaches of Animists and people following tribal religions.
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is most extreme and is rising most sharply in sub-Saharan Africa. More people are killed for their Christian faith here than anywhere else in the world. As fundamentalism in the form of radical Islam spreads across Africa westwards from Somalia, almost every country from Kenya upwards is affected, with only a few exceptions around the Gulf of Guinea. Eritrea (3), Kenya (16), and Ethiopia (18) have all seen sharp rises in persecution levels.
Kenya rose again in the rankings from 19 in 2015 to 16 in 2016 after seeing its worst terrorism in fifteen years at Garissa College, near the Somali border. Some 700 students were held by extremists in April 2015 and 147 Christians were slaughtered after being separated out from their fellow Muslim students.
Boko Haram has dominated the headlines with over 2,500 killings in Nigeria (12) this year. An estimated 2.1 million people are internally displaced in Nigeria alone, driven out by Boko Haram. Less reported violence against Christian farmers by Hausa Fulani tribesmen has also been extreme with conservative estimates putting it at more than 1,500 killings. Both factions are carrying out religious cleansing, aiming to eradicate Christianity.
The Middle East is a hotbed of Islamic extremism forcing millions to flee their homes after violent killings, hostage-taking and extreme violence against women and children. Syria and Iraq dominate the headlines with Libya moving up sharply. Syria is the largest displacement crisis globally. Aleppo was home to 400,000 Christians at the start of the civil war - now Open Doors estimates that less than 60,000 remain with families leaving every day.
Summing up this year’s figures, Lisa Pearce, CEO of Open Doors, said: “The persecution of Christians is getting worse, in every region in which we work - and it’s getting worse fast. The trend is stark, as are the consequences for real people — we should not expect that to change unless we are part of changing the situation. As a key voice within the international community and a generous provider of aid to a number of the countries on the 2016 World Watch List, I urge our government to do everything possible within their spheres of influence to affect what happens next. We will not get these days back.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “In the Middle East Christians are suffering terribly and around the world in many other places. Those who speak for them with information and authority are few and far between. Open Doors is clearly one of them.”
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Standing up for religious freedom is a priority for my government. We are committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief as one of the foundations of human rights. No matter what faith we follow, charity, compassion, responsibility and forgiveness are values which speak to us all.”
