Introduction — Christianity, persecution and exodus
“Our people
are very afraid. We were expecting trouble but nothing to this degree
of brutality.” With emotion evident in his voice, Bishop Kyrillos
William of Assiut, Egypt talks to staff at Aid to the Church in
Need the morning after a spate of violence against Christians concentrated
within less than 48 hours. He said that nearly 80 churches and other
Coptic centres including convents, Church-run schools and clinics
had been attacked all across the country. He explained that fear
of attack meant that “thousands of Christians were too afraid to
leave their homes.”
“Christians have fallen victim to widespread and intense acts of
violence motivated in part at least by religious hatred. Furthermore,
in the period under review, 2011 and 2013, evidence both first and
second-hand suggests that the violence and intimidation in question
is now more serious than in preceding years. “Taken as a whole,
the oppression raises grave questions about the long-term survival
of Christianity in regions where until recently the Church has been
both numerous in terms of faithful, and active in terms of the part
it has played in public life.”
“A close comparison of the impact of the violence on the various
religious communities concerned points to two key forces of change:
firstly that as large and well-established communities, often with
a long history, Christians are disproportionately vulnerable to
attack, and secondly that their reaction has been to flee regions
of conflict with little prospect of returning, at least in the short-term.
Nor indeed are these twin problems — vulnerability and exodus —
passing phenomena.”
“Christianity may yet remain the largest world religion, but its
claims to universality — a truly global presence on all five
continents — may soon be lost as it becomes the prime victim in
the emergence of theocratic states where minority faith groups “most
especially Christians have no place, except perhaps as third-class
citizens.”
Global perspectives: 75 percent of
persecution is against Christians
“If this
prognosis sounds ominous, the start of the reporting period “spring
2011” began on a distinctly unpromising note. Even before the Arab
Spring began, an event which was to have devastating consequences
for Christianity, leading human rights researchers and commentators
declared something long suspected but not yet proven — that is until
now: that Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion.
In October 2010, a report issued by the Commission of the Bishops
Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) concluded that at
least 75 per cent of all religious persecution was directed against
Christians. It released findings showing that about 100 million
Christians experienced some sort of discrimination, oppression or
persecution.” 2
“In November 2012 German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared before
a synod of the country’s Lutheran Church that: “Christianity is
the most persecuted religion in the world.” 3
“Foremost among the issues considered was the preponderance of anti-Christian
violence, notably attacks on churches and Christians’ homes and
businesses, as well as kidnapping of faithful for reasons connected
to their faith or religious identity. Linked to this are court cases
involving Christians suffering persecution — the number of cases,
the nature of the (alleged) offences, and the outcome of the court’s
deliberations. This is particularly relevant concerning Blasphemy
accusations.”
“A fourth but by no means lesser concern has been efforts to track
social changes affecting Christians. Examples under this category
include access to employment, education and healthcare, where social
stigmatisation has had a habit of making it impossible for Christians
to claim their rights in spite of entitlement under the law.”
“By far the most significant conclusion of the 2013 edition of Persecuted
and Forgotten” Is that in 20 of the 30 countries under review the
situation for Christians had worsened.”
“In the majority, Christians had suffered such a severe decline
in their fortunes that many now lived in fear of their safety, were
under pressure to leave or change their religion, or at least were
at a distinct economic and social disadvantage on account of their
beliefs.?
Middle East — Arab Spring, Christian
Winter
“Of greatest
concern is the Middle East. Here, the Arab Spring has placed unparalleled
pressures on ancient Christian communities whose capacity to weather
storms of violence and institutionalised discrimination has been
tested to a degree not seen in modern times ... This included bombing
of churches, physical attacks on Christians’ homes and shops, kidnapping
(especially of women and in some cases, clergy), as well as public
statements in the media and by militant groups, specifically aimed
against Christians. An upsurge in anti- Christian violence and intimidation
was one factor, perhaps even the dominant one, in a mass movement
of Christians.”
“This is the impact of the Arab Spring. Syria, so recently the country
of choice for Iraqi Christians seeking sanctuary, has now become
the nightmare that the refugees thought they had left behind ...
Entire populations of predominantly Christian towns and villages
around Homs suddenly fled for their lives in early 2012.”
“Syrian Christian refugees in Jordan who reported being told: “Don’t
celebrate Easter or you will be killed like your Christ.” 6
By the summer of 2013, Syrian refugees were thought to have topped
two million.” 7
“Already disenfranchised by the Islamist agenda of President Mohammed
Morsi, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Christians’ hopes
of a fresh start after his July 2013 fall from power were soon dashed.
Violence against the country’s Coptic Christians in August 2013
saw nearly 80 churches and other Church establishments attacked
in the single-biggest blow to the Middle East’slargest Christian
community, standing at about 10 million. Already, 200,000 Christians
had left the country since the fall of President Mubarak in February
2011.”
“An end to the presence of the Church in its ancient heartlands
is no longer a remote possibility but a very real and pressing threat.”
Militant Islamism — an inter-continental
threat
“Many of
the problems faced by Christians in the Middle East are similar
in nature and extent elsewhere in the world: the common link in
many cases is militant Islamism. The period in question has seen
an unprecedented upsurge in fundamentalist Islam, which specifically
seeks to eradicate the presence of Christianity wherever the faith
is to be found. Attacks from Islamists which were few and far between
are now commonplace and Christians are paying with their lives.
Community after community has suffered, attracting comparatively
minimal international media coverage.”
“While militant Islamism has had huge impact in the Middle East,
the problems it has created for Christians are to be seen in the
context of broader issues, notably an upsurge of general instability,
a breakdown of law and order and poverty caused at least in part
by forced displacement. In broad terms the same applies to many
parts of Africa. Here the specific threat to Christians posed by
Islamism is brought into sharp relief as a result of it emerging
as part of a mix of problems ? political, economic and social.
The most obvious case of this is Nigeria. In April 2011, the Christian
Association of Nigeria reported that 430 churches were attacked
in violence associated with the Presidential elections that brought
Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, to power. 65,000
people were forced from their homes and 800 people lay dead. The
violence continued thereafter, targeting not only Christians but
also security structures, government buildings, markets and even
Muslim communities. Christians, especially in the north, were terrorised
by attacks on churches packed with faithful that took place almost
every Sunday.
The perpetrators of the violence, militant group Boko Haram (which
means “Western Education is Forbidden”), declared what they described
as “a war on Christians”. A Boko Haram spokesman said: “We will
create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push
to have a proper Islamic state that the Christians won’t be able
to stay.” In Boko Haram’s home region of northeast Nigeria, the
Church was crushed. By the summer of 2013 it was reported that half
of the churches in the 37-parish Diocese of Maiduguri had been damaged
or destroyed within one year. Research for the year to October 2012
showed that, of the 1,201 Christians killed for their faith worldwide,
791 were from Nigeria. But Nigeria was by no means alone.”
“Then there is Tanzania, where armed Islamists have fired on churches
and priests in the island of Zanzibar in a cycle of violence that
only made the headlines when suspected Islamists threw acid on two
British 18-year-old girls caught singing during Ramadan.”
“Islamist fighters in Mali, who in 2012 mounted one of the most
ferocious attacks by fundamentalist Muslims in modern times. By
August of that year, leading Church sources reported that 200,000
Christians from northern Mali had fled the Islamist-controlled region
for neighbouring Algeria. Few parts of Africa were now free from
the threat of militant Islamist movements, whose objective was pan-continental
domination and whose primary targets of religious hatred were Christians.”
“In spite of vigorous efforts to radicalise many communities where
Islam is predominant or in the ascendant, many — if not most
— local people remain resistant to extremism and want to live in
peace and prosperity with their neighbours. This is evidenced by
the Muslims who in the summer of 2013 stood shoulder-to-shoulder
with Egypt’sChristians and repulsed advancing extremist mobs bent
on destroying churches as well as Christians’ homes and businesses.”
“It is the Arab Spring that has been the most important development.
A movement that started out with much promise for the advance of
democracy has proved disastrous for Christians, whose very presence
in some parts of the Middle East now hangs by a thread. A domino
effect of anti-Christian persecution and turbulence is now clearly
visible, starting in Iraq, moving to Syria and now spreading to
Egypt — three Middle East countries which have had sizeable and
influential Christian communities. Now, the Christian population
has suffered a rapid decline as a sea-change in political attitudes
takes place, favouring a theocratic system. Taken as a whole, with
the possible exception of Jordan, no Middle East country has over
the past three years seen anything other than a decline in the fortunes
of Christians. But the problems have spread far beyond the Arab
Spring, with militant Islamism representing a major threat, especially
in Africa but also in key regions of the Asian subcontinent. There
Christianity is persecuted as never before.”
“Describing how police saved him by intervening just as Islamists
were breaking through his front door, Coptic Catholic Bishop Joannes
Zakaria of Luxor urged ACN to keep in touch, at least so that others
might know the witness of faith shown by those willing to give their
lives for their beliefs.”
AFGHANISTAN
Population: 29.1 million
Religions: Muslim 99%
Christian Population: Less than 5,000
“Afghanistan’s one remaining public church was destroyed in March
2010. The church’sdisappearance gives an indication of the extent
of the problems experienced by the country’ssmall Christian community
whose religious faith and practice is a closely guarded secret,
all the more so if any one of them is a convert. Apostasy is deemed
a “crime” punishable by death ...”
“By 2011, President Karzai was implementing the council’s request
that Sharia be enforced nationwide. The previous year he mounted
what was termed a “convert hunt” after an Afghan television channel
broadcast images of people being baptised.”
NIGERIA
Population: 158 million
Religions: Muslim 40%
Christian Population: 63 million (40%)
“In a statement to ACN staff visiting conflict-ridden north-east
Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, President of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, said: “In north-east Nigeria, they
can burn our churches, they can attack our homes but they cannot
destroy our spirit. We have suffered persecution, discrimination
and harassment but they can never take away our faith and our hope
in the risen Lord.” The May 2013 ACN trip, taking in visits to a
dozen or more churches damaged or destroyed by persecution, came
soon after a religious freedom watchdog produced research showing
that in the year to October 2012, 791 of the 1,201 killings of Christians
worldwide took place in Nigeria. 326 Nigeria was the
most dangerous place in the world for Christians. The reports coincided
with statements made by a priest from Borno state, north-east Nigeria,
claiming that 50 of the 52 Catholic churches in the region had been
forcibly abandoned, damaged or destroyed. At the same time, the
Nigerian Catholic Bishops Conference stated that since 2007 more
than 700 churches had been attacked. In spite of heightened security
— notably armed guards outside each church — suicide bomb attacks
on churches packed with Sunday worshippers continued through 2013.
The violence followed two years of vicious attacks against Christians,
with attacks on Catholic cathedrals such as Zaria and Bauchi. The
violence peaked after the disputed presidential elections of April
2011 when, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria, 430
churches were destroyed or damaged.”
“In many if not most cases, attacks against Christians have been
carried out by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram, which is not
satisfied by the imposition of Sharia law in 12 of the country’s
36 states, where Muslims are very numerous. The group demands “pure?
Islamic rule and wants to overthrow secular rule and stamp out Christian
influence. Angered by reports of Christians carrying out reprisal
attacks against Muslims and mosques in June 2012, a Boko Haram spokesman
said: “The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we
will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security
apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing
an Islamic state.” 327 It followed a March 2012 Boko
Haram declaration of a “war on Christians” aimed at eliminating
them from parts of the country: “We will create so much effort to
have an Islamic state that Christians will not be able to stay.”
“ January 2011: “Six villages near Jos in Plateau State were
attacked between midnight and 3am by militants. Five people were
killed. Following the attacks on Nding Jok, Lo Hala, Wereh Fan and
Ratatis in the Barkin Ladi local government area, police took up
to two hours to arrive. State security arrested 29 men thought to
be involved in the attacks, who were heavily armed with automatic
weapons, axes and machetes. Security forces also allegedly found
25 automatic weapons in a nearby mosque.”
332
“ January 2011: “A police officer from Abuja led militants
on a killing spree in the predominantly Christian Barkin Ladi Government
Area just outside Jos. 14 people in four villages were killed.”
333
“ March 2011: “Two young Muslim men were killed when the
bomb they were taking to the Church of Christ in Nigeria in Nasarawa
Gwom exploded prematurely. One member of the congregation, Moses
Samuel, was injured by the explosion and admitted to Jos University
Hospital. Nine Christians were attacked with knives the same morning
at Duala Junction, a man and two women were killed while the others
were treated at the same hospital as Mr Samuel.” 335
“ April 2011: “Up to 600 people were killed and 288 churches
were burned down in the country’snorthern states in the week following
the election of Christian Goodluck Jonathan as the president of
Nigeria. Some Muslim groups claimed the election was rigged.”
336
“ May 2011: “A pastor’s wife and three of his children were
among 17 people killed when extremists attacked Kurum village, Bauchi
State. Hearing the cries of his daughter Sum, Pastor James Musa
Rike ran to her, only to find that a serious machete wound to her
stomach had splayed out her intestines. She told her father the
militants cried “See how your Jesus will save you” as they attacked,
but the girl replied that Jesus had already saved her.” 337
“ June 2011: “Five people died when churches and police stations
in Maiduguri were targeted by Islamist militants: two bystanders
were caught up in an explosion when a bomb thrown at St Patrick’s
Church fell short of its target; and three militants were killed
in a gun battle with police.” 338
“ August/September 2011: “More than 100 Christians were killed
in a series of attacks in Plateau State in which the military were
implicated. Survivors of the attack on Vwang Kogot village which
saw 14 deaths including a pregnant woman” said attackers were assisted
by men in Nigerian Army uniforms. State Governor Jonah Jang said:
“I am convinced that the armed forces are being polluted with the
religious crisis in this country and requested their immediate withdrawal.”
341
“ December 2011/January 2012: “President Goodluck Jonathan
declared a state of emergency in parts of the country following
attacks by Boko Haram. The measure was enforced in four states in
the north-east, the centre and the west of the country, with the
president vowing to “crush” Boko Haram and closing international
borders in the process. It followed a spate of violence climaxing
in a number of attacks on Christmas Day, including churches in the
cities of Madalla, Jos, Kano, Damaturu and Gadaka. In one attack
that day, 44 people were killed and more than 80 others were injured
when extremists targeted Mass-goers at St Theresa’s Catholic Church
in Madalla, near the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Most of the dead were
very young and included four year-old Emmanuel Dike, who was killed
alongside his father, his brother and his sister. Also dead were
Chiemerie Nwachukwu, an eight-month-old baby who was killed alongside
his mother. Their bishop, Martin Igwe Uzoukwu of Minna, told ACN:
“Our people have suffered so much but our response should not be
one of anger but one seeking peace and justice.” 343
“ January 2012: “A fresh wave of violence against churchgoers
left 27 people dead. The religiously-motivated massacres, three
in as many days, targeted Christians in Mubi and Gombe, both towns
in the north-east where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state
of emergency the week before. Some 17 other deaths have been reported
in other regions. At least nine people died and 19 were injured
in a shooting at an Evangelical church in Gombe city in the north-east.
Pastor Johnson Jauro told reporters that gunmen burst into his church
killing people including his wife. He said: “The attackers started
shooting sporadically. They shot through the window of the church.
Many members who attended the church service were also injured.”
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack, carried out by
extremists who rushed over from a nearby mosque. Up to 20 people
died in Mubi, Adamawa state as gunmen opened fire in a town hall
where Christian traders were meeting, holding prayers.” 344
“ February 2012: “Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a
suicide bomb attack during Sunday service at a Protestant church
in Jos. At least three people died, including a young girl, and
50 others were wounded. The media quoted witnesses saying a car
“packed with explosives” rammed the gate of a perimeter fence at
the church and exploded a few yards from a wall of the 800-seat
church. Boko Haram spokesman Abdul Qaqa told reporters: “We attacked
simply because it’sa church and we can decide to attack any other
church. We have just started.” 347
“ March 2012: “Islamist group Boko Haram declared a “war
on Christians” saying that it would launch a series of “coordinated”
attacks in order to “eradicate Christians from certain parts of
the country”. A Nigerian news website quoted an unnamed spokesman
for Boko Haram as saying: “We will create so much effort to end
the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state
that Christians won’t be able to stay. “Human rights group
International Christian Concern’sJonathan Racho described the reports
as “alarming”. He added: “Since Christmas, Boko Haram has martyred
about 100 Christians in northern Nigeria. They think they have not
met their goal for eradicating Christians. They are prepared for
more bloodshed “I urge Christians around the world to contact their
governments and ask them to get Nigeria to protect its citizens.”
“ October 2012: “Suicide bomb attack during morning Mass
at St Rita’s Catholic Church, Kaduna, in the north of the city,
left four people dead and 160 injured. Among the dead were three
members of the choir who were closest to the centre of the blast,
which as well as badly damaging the church, completely demolished
the Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima outside.” 352
“ July 2013: “Christians in northern Nigeria expressed alarm
at the growing “phenomenon” of Christian girls under the age of
18 being abducted and forced to convert to Islam ... A Boko Haram
statement read: “Kidnapping Christian women is part of the new efforts
to attack Christians and force them to leave the north.” 355
“August 2013: “Islamist extremists were accused of cutting
the throats of 44 villagers during a raid on Dumba village in Borno
State, north-east Nigeria. According to an official from the National
Emergency Management Agency, the attackers gouged out eyes of several
survivors.” 356
PAKISTAN
Population: 175 million
Religions: Muslim 95%
Hindu: 1.5%
Christian Population: 2.5 million (1.5%)
“Under 295 B&C of the Penal Code, known as the Blasphemy Laws, dishonouring
the Prophet is punishable by death and disrespect to the Qur’an
can incur life imprisonment.?
“45-year-old Asia Bibi, who in November 2010 became the first woman
in Pakistan to be sentenced to death for blasphemy. The Christian
mother of five was arrested because of verbal insults she is alleged
to have made against the prophet Mohammed. While Asia Bibi still
remains in jail with the death sentence hanging over her head.”
“Since 2001 at least 50 Christians have been killed by mob violence
after the blasphemy laws were invoked as a pretext.”
“Christian schools in several areas of Pakistan were closed on Monday
9th March 2013 in a protest for better protection following a 3,000
strong mob torching more than 100 Christian homes in Lahore’s Joseph
Colony.”
“According to Fr Jill John the rape of Christian women in Punjab
has become “common practice”. 383 “It is estimated that at least
300 Christian women including minors are kidnapped, often sexually
abused, and forced to convert to Islam every year. 384 This number
includes 18-year-old Mariah Manisha, a Catholic girl from Khushpur,
who was killed in November 2011 by her Muslim kidnapper. Fr. Zafal
Iqbal told Fides: “[T]he girl resisted. She did not want to convert
to Islam, and she did not marry the man, who killed her for this.
She is a martyr.” 385 Peter Jacob, of the Catholic Church’s
National Commission for Justice and Peace, said “[T]he number of
attacks against women in Pakistan is four times higher than the
cases that [are] reported and many crimes “based on sex pass in
silence”. 386
“June 2011: “At least 10 Christian families in a village
in the Punjab Province fled their homes after an attempt to force
an eight-year-old boy to convert to Islam turned ugly. Little Ihtesham
(known as Sunny) Masih, who lived with his family in Khanewal district
s Mian Channu area, met Muslim boys from a nearby religious school
while on an errand to fetch ice. The boy’sgreat uncle Yousaf Masih
said the boys asked Sunny to recite the Kalma, Islam’s proclamation
of Mohammed as Prophet, but Sunny refused. The boys began hitting
Sunny and only stopped when his uncle, Dildar Masih, passed by and
intervened. The uncle rebuked the boys for trying to force his nephew
to convert. A little while later, Dildar Masih was accused of blasphemy,
and 500 people besieged his home. Dildar was taken to a police station
but within 30 minutes 2,000 Muslims were outside demanding he be
handed over to them. Under pressure, police filed a blasphemy case
against Dildar. Unsatisfied, Muslim clerics urged people to “take
revenge” via their mosque’s loudspeakers the following day.”
393
“ August 2011: “Christian men Ishfaq Munawar and Naeem Masih
were returning home after an early morning prayer service at a church
in Sohrab Goth on Pakistan Independence Day (14th, when ethnic Pashtun
youths stopped them and attacked them. Ishfaq Munawar’s brother
Liaqat Munawar said: “The Pashtun youths tried to force them to
recite the Kalma [Islamic profession of faith] and become Muslims,
telling them that this was the only way they could live peacefully
in the city. They also offered monetary incentives and “protection”
to Ishfaq and Naeem, but the two refused to renounce Christianity.
After this the youths went to a car parked nearby. Munawar and Masih
got back onto their motorcycle, when suddenly the car returned,
reversing into the Christians. The Muslims got out of the car armed
with iron rods and attacked Ishfaq and Naeem, shouting that they
should either recite the Kalma or be prepared to die,” said Liaqat
Munawar. “The two Christians were severely beaten and left unconscious.
Ishfaq Munawar’s jaw was fractured and five teeth were broken.”
395
“ September 2011: “A 13-year-old Christian girl Faryal Tauseef,
a student at Sir Syed High School, in the northern town of Havelian,
was beaten, expelled and her family driven out of their home after
she mispelt a word in a test. Writing in the Pakistan language of
Urdu, Faryal put ?laanat? (meaning ?curse?) instead of ?Naat? (meaning
a poem in praise of Mohammed). After looking at the papers, Faryal’s
teacher, Fareeda Bibi, summoned the girl and scolded and beat her.
Next day, male students held a rally demanding that a criminal case
be registered against Faryal and that she be expelled. Local Muslim
clerics also called on district authorities to take action against
the girl and her family. The area?s Managing Director, Asif Siddiki,
summoned Faryal and her mother, who both immediately apologised
and said the mistake was not intentional. But, district authorities
expelled her from the school and transferred her mother, a nurse,
from a hospital in Abbotabad to another elsewhere.? 398
“ September 2011: “A 32-year-old Christian woman was raped
while returning home on Thursday 15th to Mustafabad, in Punjab Province’s
Kasur district, from the factory where she works. “As soon as I
entered our street, [my neighbour] Bhallu appeared from the shadows
and put his hand on my mouth. A second person, who I later recognized
as Bhallu’s friend Shera, came from behind and put a pistol on my
temple. A third person also appeared on the scene, and together
they first gagged me and then forcibly took me to an abandoned house.
I tried my best to get free from their hold and save myself, but
they were too powerful for me. I tried screaming, but they hit me.
Not for a minute did they acknowledge that I was a mother to five
children. Then they raped me, one after the other. Their third accomplice
stood guard as they tore in on me like animals.” After she pressed
charges, local Islamists reportedly threatened to harm her family
unless the charges were dropped.” 400
“Though it was our house of worship which was attacked and our children
who were beaten up, we apologised to the other party for the sake
of our lives we said that it was our fault.” 402
“ March-April 2012: ?A Christian woman Shamin Bibi, a mother
of five, was beaten and stripped of her clothes. Her attackers lambasted
her family for dressing smartly and said they should only wear outfits
befitting their status as manual workers from a religious minority.”
“ February 2013: “A Christian man, Younas Masih, 55, died
after being shot five times as he returned home from work — his
co-workers had been pressuring him to convert to Islam. The killing
followed a heated discussion with his co-workers after he again
refused to change his religion. Police refused to open an investigation
into the murder despite requests from his family.” 417
“ March 2013: “178 Christian homes and two churches were
torched when a 3,000-strong mob attacked Joseph Colony, near Badami
Bah, Lahore, following an accusation that 26-year-old Christian
sanitary worker Sawan Masih had defamed the Prophet Mohammed. The
accusation followed an altercation with Muslim barber, Imran Shahid,
who refused to serve him. Police arrested the Christian after Shahid
recorded a charge of blasphemy against Masih, stating the young
man had insulted the Prophet Mohammed whilst drunk. The following
morning a mob attacked the Christian colony. Resident Salamat Masih
told AsiaNews, “We were working like every day, when we started
to hear a noise, and suddenly a wall of people fell upon the colony.
They threw acid and stoned our houses, then set them on fire. The
authorities intervened only when everything was destroyed. Residents
fled attackers and at least 35 people were injured.” 422
“ June 2013: “Christian lawyer, Mushtaq Gill, was threatened
with death if he continued to provide legal assistance to three
Christian women who were stripped naked and paraded through the
streets of Sereser village. Among those allegedly responsible was
Rana Ishaq, a member of the country’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League
(Nawaz) party.”
“ September 2013: “Two suicide bombers attacked All Saints
Anglican Church, Peshawar just after the Communion service on Sunday
22nd had finished. Bishop Sebastian Shaw, Apostolic Administrator
of Lahore Archdiocese, told ACN that 81 people died in the blast
and were buried on the same day. More than 140 people were wounded
by the explosion.”
SAUDI ARABIA
Population: 25 million
Religions: Muslim 95%
Other: 1%
Christian Population: 1 Million (4%)
“Saudi
Arabia continues to have one of the world’sworst records regarding
religious freedom, an assessment confirmed by many leading human
rights observers.”
“Christians and other religious minorities continue to be systematically
persecuted. Public display of crosses and other symbols is strictly
forbidden, as is public worship by Christians and adherents of other
non- Islamic religions. Despite an apparent increase in official
Saudi statements permitting non-Islamic worship in private, religious
police have reportedly continued to raid people’s homes. Bishops,
priests and other Christian leaders often have to travel in secret.
Non-Muslims are not allowed to be buried in the country. Saudi Arabia
is now the only country in the Middle East without a recognised
church since one opened in Qatar in 2008. Official school textbooks
were criticised for inciting hatred towards Christians and other
non-Muslim faiths.”
“Many Christians are domestics and other menial workers from countries
such as Philippines and several other predominantly Catholic nations.
Fears persist about evangelisation in a country where conversion
from Islam to another faith is punishable by death. The country’s
religious police, which enforce strict observance of Islamic practices,
follow a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of Christian proselytism.
Hence, there are repeated reports of Christians receiving harsh
penalties including incarceration, whipping and other abuse for
activities described as evangelisation and blasphemy.”
“ January 2012: “A group of 35 Christians from Ethiopia were
arrested and beaten after they were caught at a prayer meeting in
Jeddah. The incident, reported by Human Rights Watch, stated that
the 29 women and six men were arrested in mid-December 2011 while
praying during Advent. They were taken to a police station and then
on to a prison. The women were forced to strip and undergo “body
cavity” searches while the men were insulted, called “unbelievers”
and beaten. They were later charged with “unlawful mingling” of
unmarried people from the opposite sex, which is banned.” 431
“March 2012: “Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah,
the highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia, declared that all
churches in the Arabian Peninsula should be destroyed. He made the
ruling after a proposal by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly
of Kuwait called for a ban on the construction of new churches in
the country.... The Grand Mufti, who is also head of the Saudi Supreme
Council of Islamic Scholars, quoted the prophet Mohammed, saying
that Islam is the only religion that should exist on the Arabian
Peninsula. He said that as part of the Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait
should destroy all its churches.” 432
SUDAN and SOUTH SUDAN
Population: 45 million
Religions: Muslim 70%
Local Religions: 12%
Other: 3%
Christian Population: 6.75 million (15%)
“In line
with Islamic Sharia law under Article 126 of the 1991 Criminal Act,
apostasy from Islam is punishable by death.”
“Of particular concern was the government’s violence towards the
Nuba people. Human rights observers highlighted the intensive bombing
campaign of the Nuba mountains, mainly populated by Christians,
saying that it “reportedly amounted to ethnic cleansing”. 441
“ June 2011: “Christians were killed by military intelligence
agents and Islamic militants after attacks on churches in South
Kordofan state. Nimeri Philip Kalo, a student at St. Paul Major
Seminary, was seized by a Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) intelligence
unit and detained near the UN Mission in Kadugli’s al Shaeer area.
He was shot in front of witnesses. Mr Kalo was fleeing the town
with other Christians after Muslim militias, said to be working
with the SAF, attacked and looted at least three church buildings
in Kadugli.”
“ June 2011: “The governor of North Kordofan, Mutasim Mirghani
Zaki Eldeen, declared jihad against the predominantly Christian
Nuba people.? 444
“ July-August 2011: “Muslim extremists sent text messages
to at least 10 church leaders in Khartoum warning that they would
target Christian leaders and buildings. One message read: “We want
this country to be purely an Islamic state, so we must kill the
infidels and destroy their churches all over Sudan.” 447
“ December 2011: “Christian teenager Hilba Abdelfadil Anglo
said she had forgiven the gang of extremists who had kidnapped her
and carried out physical and sexual attacks against her. In June
2010 the then 15-year-old was abducted before being beaten unconscious.
Constantly moving her to different places around Khartoum, the gang
threatened to kill her if she tried to escape and called her family
“infidels” for their Christian faith. She was raped by the gang
leader. After a year in captivity, she had convinced her captors
to think she had converted to Islam, which meant they relaxed controls
on her. She escaped and found her way back to her family. When she
went to the police to report the gang, they refused to act unless
she converted to Islam. In her latest report, Hilba stated that
she was praying for her attackers.”
“ June 2012: “Government officials in Khartoum gave the go-ahead
for the demolition of two church buildings in the area, the first
St John’s Episcopal Church in Haj Yousif and the second, a Catholic
church building. A local source said: “The government wants to remove
all churches from Khartoum.”
“ July 2013: “Reports detailed how converting from Islam
to Christianity in Sudan has become more dangerous since the secession
of South Sudan. About 170 people were imprisoned or indicted for
apostasy between 2011 and 2012.?
SYRIA
Population: 22 million
Religions: Muslim 92.5%
Other: 2%
Christian Population: 1.16 million (5.25%)
“Early
on in the conflict, events in Homs “ home to Syria’s second largest
Christian community ” showed the extent of the crisis being faced
by the faithful. Thousands upon thousands of Christians fled the
city. In Homs Christian quarter, eight or more ancient churches
and other religious buildings were desecrated and ruined.”
“The killing and abduction of clergy, the desecration of churches,
and ongoing violence and intimidation, left Christians with no option
but to leave. As recently as the 1920s, Christians made up 30 percent
of Syria’s population, and their numbers were recently boosted by
the arrival of refugees from Iraq. However, they were suddenly in
massive decline. 491 Reliable figures regarding the extent of the
Christian exodus were in short supply. In mid-2013 reports from
Aleppo, for example, showed that within two years 30,000 Christians
had fled the city...?
“ January 2012: “A secret report stated that Christians were
being murdered and kidnapped as part of the violence spreading to
key regions of Syria. The source, who could not be named for safety
reasons, said the spate of attacks had taken place over three weeks
after Christmas, and were motivated by factors including religious
intolerance. According to the report, two Christian men, one aged
28, and the other a 37-year-old father with a pregnant wife, were
kidnapped by rebels in separate incidents and were later found dead.
The first was found hanged and the other was reportedly cut to pieces
and thrown in a river. Four others were kidnapped and abducted —
their captors threatening to kill them too.” 497
“ March 2012: “At least 50,000 people, almost the entire
Christian population of Homs, fled violence and persecution and
sought sanctuary in neighbouring villages and towns outside the
city. According to several reports, extremist members of the “Faruq
Brigade” which is part of the “Free Syrian Army” went door
to door in the Homs neighbourhoods of Hamidya and Bustan al-Diwan,
targeting Christian homes. Fr. Elias Aghia, the Superior General
of the Missionaries of St. Paul based in the Lebanese village of
Harissa, told ACN that he had heard first-hand accounts from refugees
of families being threatened: ” Once the Islamist fanatics went
in there was nothing the Christians could do. Where could they hide?
Where could they go? The army could not protect them or send in
tanks the ancient streets are too small. Do not think this was an
accident. There is a deliberate plan to isolate, cut off and destroy
the Christian communities. Many mainstream Muslims were also told
to leave by the soldiers.”
“ September 2012: “Islamist extremists attacked the mostly
Christian village of al-Hasaniya near the city of Homs, Syria. According
to local TV, they killed five civilians and took 17 people hostage.?
500
“ October 2012: “Greek Orthodox priest Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad,
aged 44, was kidnapped and later found dead in Damascus. The married
priest, who was parish priest of St Elias’ Church, Qatana, was
seized after setting off to negotiate the release of a parishioner,
a doctor, who had been abducted a few days earlier. Fr Fadi was
kidnapped with the doctor’sfather-in-law, whose fate is unknown.
Fr Fadi’s abductors demanded a huge ransom (equivalent to 550,000
(475,000)) but killed him anyway. Six days after his abduction,
his body was found on a road in the Drousha area of Damascus with
what the Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus described as “indescribable”
signs of torture and mutilation on his body, with his eyes gouged
out. Thousands attended his funeral at St Elias Church the following
day. During the service a bomb exploded. Two civilians and some
soldiers were killed.”
“ April 2013: “Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios
III of Antioch detailed atrocities against Christians since the
conflict began in early 2011. He said 1,000 Christians had been
killed, that “entire villages have been cleared of their Christian
inhabitants” and that more than 40 churches and other religious
buildings had been damaged or destroyed.”
“ April 2013: “Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and
Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim were seized near the
city of Aleppo, becoming the most senior Church figures to be targeted
in Syria’scivil war. The archbishops, who hold diocesan sees in
Aleppo, were seized on their return from a humanitarian mission
to a village close to Syria’sborder with Turkey. The driver of their
vehicle was killed when they were ambushed by an armed group who
forced them out of the car. Nobody has taken responsibility for
kidnapping the archbishops but some sources claimed those responsible
were “Chechen jihadists” Two months later, with still little or
no information about the kidnapped archbishops ...”
“ June 2013: “Father Francis Mourad, 49, was killed when
Islamist fighters attacked the Monastery of St. Anthony in al-Ghasssinyah,
a predominantly Christian village in Idlib province, Syria. Fr.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, said Fr. Murad
was a guest at the monastery and was shot dead while trying to defend
people living in the convent, who included four nuns and 10 lay
Christians.”
“ July 2013: “Two priests have given a report of the tragic
suffering and death of Mariam, a 15-year-old girl, who was repeatedly
raped by jihadists who overran her home city of Qusair, in the Homs
governorate. Unlike her family, Mariam was unable to escape when
Jabhat al-Nusra seized Qusair and she was captured and forced into
an Islamic marriage. The commander of Jabhat al-Nusra in Qusair
married Mariam and raped her before repudiating her. The next day
the young woman was forced to marry another Islamic militant. He
too raped and repudiated her. The same thing happened for 15 days
on each of which Mariam was raped by 15 different men. Mariam was
killed after she displayed signs of mental illness. The atrocities
took place after social networks spread a fatwa across the country
produced by Salafist sheikh Yasir al-Ajlawni, who declared that
it was lawful to rape any “non-Sunni Syrian woman”
YEMEN
Population: 124 million
Religions: Muslim 99%
Christian Population: 8,000 (< 1%)
“Islamist
groups took full advantage and captured key areas, notably in the
south. Here Al Qaeda imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic
law. The US State Department reported “harassment, floggings, amputations
and murder, including crucifixions”, during the relatively brief
occupation of the cities of Abyan. Al Qaeda forced all residents
to pray at mosques five times a day, harassed women on the streets
for not wearing suitably modest dress and destroyed tombs perceived
to be idolatrous.”
“January 2013: “According to unconfirmed reports, there could
be as many as 25,000 non-native Christians in Yemen, many of them
refugees from countries including Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia,
where the persecution of Christians is often even worse. In Somalia,
Al-Shabaab (?the Youth?) are reported to ?behead Muslim apostates
to Christianity on a regular basis.”
590
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For footnote references, see original PDF document:
http://www.boston-catholic-journal.com/persecuted-and-forgotten-the-church-militant-in-partibus-infidelium/persecuted-and-forgotten-the-plight-of-the-church-militant-in-partibus-infidelium-2013.pdf
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Aid to the Church
in Need www.aidtochurch.org
, “a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church”, supporting
the Catholic faithful and other Christians where they are persecuted,
oppressed or in pastoral need.“ Especial thanks to
http://www.acnuk.org/
in the UK for their kind permission to reprint the article,
Persecuted and Forgotten” A Report on Christians oppressed for
their Faith 2011- 2013
Editor
Boston Catholic Journal
Printable PDF Version
Totally Faithful to the Sacred Deposit
of Faith entrusted to the Holy See in Rome
“Scio
opera tua ... quia modicum habes virtutem, et servasti verbum Meum,
nec non negasti Nomen Meum”
“I
know your works ... that you have but little power, and yet you
have kept My word, and have not denied My Name.”
(Apocalypse
3.8)
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