The following is a list of countries where persecution of Christians is dominant:
Afghanistan
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
China
Comoro Islands
Cuba
Cyprus
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Laos
Libya
Malaysia
Mauritania
Morocco
Nigeria
North Korea
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Tibet (
China)
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
In Afghanistan where
Muslim rule is
dominant,
Women are not allowed to attend schools or hold jobs. Men are bound to strict Islamic code and are
required to wear beards. Those who are not Muslims are denied
freedom of assembly, and open profession of their own faith is likely to lead to death. In
Algeria, the
Islamic Salvation Front marches through towns, slitting the throats of those who do not live up to their idea of Islamic Fundamentalism.
Muslims have bad memories of atrocities commited by previous "Christian"
colonists making them want to destroy anything associated with Christianity.
Many times, Christian girls are forced to marry Muslims and Christian families live in constant
intimidation. Although Azerbaijan claims to give religious
freedom, the majority of the population is becoming more Islamic and anti-Christian. Many Christians fled after the 1989 massacre. Now, many Christian
churches are closed and few would feel safe attending them. Bangladesh also wants freedom of religion and does not condone persecution of anyone, but
they cannot control it on a village-by-village level. Christians are not allowed to drink from local water wells. They have to walk (possibly) miles to the
nearest river to drink, and even that may make them
sick. They are robbed and beaten constantly, even by their own family members. Their rights to their
land have been taken away by the villagers and no one is allowed to visit them. In Bhutan, all
public worship and evangelism by non-
Buddhists is illegal.
Pastor Norbu who preached openly there was arrested and
tortured in
jail. After finally being released from
prison, he died of a
heart-attack 10 days
later. In Brunei, Christian leaders were expelled in 1991. Christian literature and the
celebration of
Christmas is
illegal. Conversing with Christians is
restricted with Muslims. Muslims also control the school systems.
In China, more Christians are detained without a hearing than any other country. There, Christians are 're-educated' in
labor camps. Christian leaders are
arrested and condemned as rebels. Christians property is stolen, are beaten, and are thrown from their houses by police who give them only one warning.
Although freedom of religion was also claimed by
Cuba in 1992, still bibles are confiscated, Christians are imprisoned, and their churches destroyed all the
time. "Mario Gomez began to show
Christian videos in his home almost every day. According to the Communist government, this was a violation of
religious freedom. Castro says Cubans are not allowed to
learn about
Christ in their own
homes. Marco was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the
crime of 'violation of the home.'"
Egypt's constitution givs preference to Muslims. Christians are not allowed to act
politically and are discriminated against in
employment. An 1865
Ottoman Empire law keeps churches from being built, rebuilt, or repaired without the president's permission. In 1997, Muslim
militants killed 15 Christians
in their plae of worship. Mohammed Wagdie Dorrah, a Muslim convert to Christianity, was arrested for
encouraging division between Muslims and
Christians after already being arrested for converting. He was tortured, beaten, and even hanged by his hands before they let him go. He was later arrested
again for refusing to be a spy for the
secret police and inform them about the Christain church and other Muslim converts.
In Indonesia, the Muslim government requires every one to carry a card that
identifies their
religious status. Although the government says it allows
everyone to follow either Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, or Hinduism, Muslims still receive preferential treatment. Since 1996, Muslims have burned down
over 50 church buildings in which many Christians have died. In 1997, a mob rioted in Banjarmasin. They set fire to a church and when they left, people
hiding inside cam out to extinguish it. The mob came back and
set fire to it again, and so the people tried to put it out again. This continued on until the
military finally came and assisted them in putting out the fire. The mob was
gone though. That same mob
targeted another church except this time, the
fire got out of control burning down, not only 14 churches, but several homes and a large
shopping center. Hundreds of people were trapped inside the
center and died. There have been many more mob attacks on Christian
churches since.
In Iran there are constitutional
guarantees of
religious freedom but still, the
Shiite Muslims are crushing any faith but
Islam. The government sends
spies to
monitor on Christian groups. Christians are discriminated against in education, employment and property ownership. All open witnessing is banned
and more
murders of Christians (especially
religious leaders) are occurring every year. In Iraq, religions are accepted by their level of loyalty to Saddam
Hussein's regime. The import of Christian literature is banned and after the Persian Gulf war, Iraq killed certain ethnic groups, including Christians. Tens of
thousands were gassed, shot, or forced to leave their homes. In Kuwait,
Sunni Islam is the state religion. The government gives financial incentives to those
claiming to be Muslim and has even gone so far as to purchase many, many
Bibles in order to
burn them.Christian worship is allowed only within the
Christian community,
which has literal, physical boundaries.
Mauritania has to be one of the most restrictive countries. Christian
literature and
broadcasting is illegal. People who even show a slight interest in the
gospel are often arrested and tortured. By law, those who claim to be Christians face the
death penalty.
In Pakistan blaspheming Mohammed is a crime punishable by death. Many who have been acquitted of such charges have been murdered by mobs after they
were released. In 1997, Pakistani police started rumours that Christians had destroyed a
Koran and
littered it's torn pages in a Muslim
mosque. A mob of
30,000 Muslims rained blows down upon the Christian villages. Nearly 15,000 Christians lost their homes and property. In the
Philippines "a 10-year-old
Filipino girl was beaten to death by her father after she
professed Christ. Before she died, she held the bloody dress she was wearing when she was
beaten and told the missionary, 'I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to
bleed for him.'" Similar to other countries, persecution of Christians is regular
there. In Saudi Arabia, missionaries face
jail,
expulsion, or
execution for ministering. Unlike other countries like the United Arab Emirates, they do not
allow even
foreign Christians to worship there.
In
North Vietnam, only 9 churches are legally allowed to be open. All other Christians must worship "illegally". Those worshipping illegally face
harrassment, beatings,
imprisonment, torture, and death. Even those worshipping legally are not safe from
harrassment and
beatings.
The worst of all, I'd have to say though, is Sudan. The Sudanese government has declared a "
holy war" on the Christians and other non-Muslims. Not only
have they took part in the false imprisonments, tortures, and murders of Christians but they have hurt the most people with their imposed
famines. The
government refuses food and medicine where the famines happen. The government has even sold thousands of children, some as young as 6, into
slavery.
During the years of this holy war "nearly 3
million African Sudanese have been killed, over five million displaced internally, another 1 million forced into
refuge in neighboring countries."
Sources: http://members.aol.com/casmasalc/persecut.htm; http://www.chalcedon.edu/report/98jun/White_Christians_World.html