“This research has concluded that after the brutal persecution of Christians in 2014, 2015 proved to be even worse with the persecution continuing to increase, intensify and spread across the globe…The martyrdom of Christians and the direct, targeted attack [against] Christians has escalated in a way that I don’t think anyone could’ve seen”.
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An Open Doors partner working with twelve families in North Korea reported: “They have only one Bible in the whole group, and each family must take turns to borrow it. They hide the Bible in a secret place”.
Christians worldwide witnessed “unprecedented” levels of persecution in 2015 with more than 7,000 Christians killed for their faith, up from almost 3,000 the year before, Open Doors USA disclosed on Wednesday as it released its annual World Watch List.
The list, now in its 25th year, is topped by North Korea for the 14th consecutive time.
Open Doors highlighted the rise in Islamic fundamentalism, which is at its most extreme and increasing most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Less well known are the tens of thousands of Christians leaving the 12 sharia states of northern Nigeria, where 27 million Christians remain second-class citizens, and now many thousands are fleeing the anti-Christian violence of Hausa-Fulani herdsmen in the country’s mid-section”, Open Doors USA said. In the past year alone, thousands of Christians living in the region have been forced to renounce their faith or flee under threat of death.
The highest levels of violence directed against Christians were in Nigeria, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Myanmar, Central African Republic, Egypt, Mexico, Sudan and India, illustrating the global nature of violent Christian persecution. “The trend is stark, as are the consequences for real people”. However, on the Open Doors lists of the countries where persecution is prevalent, eight of the top ten-and 35 of the top 50-are predominantly Islamic nations. “Every one of the numbers in this report is a human being”. “No matter what faith we follow, charity, compassion, responsibility and forgiveness are values which speak to us all”.
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The briefing called for the Government’s counter-extremism policy “to recognise that Christians are the victims and not the perpetrators of extremism”. “We will not get these days back”, she added.
