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August, 2006
The purpose of this document is to provide the reader
a "snapshot" of the environment that faces suffering Christians in the
world of Islam. Information was gathered from a variety of Christian
and secular sources.
Muslim Population: 38.8% (Christian Population: 41.5%)
After the fall of Communism, Islam is re-asserting its traditional majority status. Copies of the Koran have been widely distributed. Mosques are springing up across Albania, funded by Saudi oil money and teaching radical Wahhabi Islam. There are fears that jihadist militancy may take hold. However, congregations are also being planted, and Christian radio and the Jesus Film are being used to great effect.
Muslim Population: 99% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
The new constitution signed in January 2004 recognizes Islam as the official state religion and does not acknowledge the existence of Christians in Afghanistan. Christians are still not free to practice their faith openly without facing persecution from radical Muslims. Afghanistan has 48,000 mosques and no church buildings.
During 2004, five Afghan Christian converts were killed for abandoning Islam and spreading their new faith. Blasphemy and apostasy still fall under Sharia Law and are officially punishable by death. Christian converts lose everything - all possessions and their inheritance. They are thrown out into the streets and mosques often issue a fatwa (death sentence) against them.
The government is reinstating the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Disbanded after the Taliban was ousted, it was famous for beating women, destroying art and turning executions into spectator sport.
Muslim Population: 99% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
In an attempt to withstand the Christianizing campaign a Presidential order now decrees a 2-5 year prison term and a fine of 50-100 million centimes (approx. $7,000 to $14,000 USD) for anyone who "incites, constrains or uses seductive means seeking to convert a Muslim to another religion ... or who produces, stores or distributes printed documents or audio-visual formats or any other format or means which seeks to shake the faith of a Muslim."
Amnesty has been granted to all imprisoned Islamist fighters. A release of 10,000 prisoners who are "Islamists by nature" is cause for some apprehension. No one can be sure that any of these Islamists have repented; they left prison shouting "Allahu Akbar."
In recent years Christians have suffered violence from the Islamic Salvation Front, whose members have been known to march through towns and slit the throats of those who have not lived up to their call to Islamic fundamentalism. The Church in Algeria is facing a whole new level of persecution.
Muslim Population: 93.4% (Christian Population: 2.8%)
This Muslim country is completely closed to the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians may not worship openly; they are harassed and arrested for meeting in house churches. Although foreign Christian workers are forbidden from openly proclaiming the gospel, they have ample opportunity to show God's love to those around them and to build relationships which can lead to conversion. There are now Azeri house churches courageously meeting despite the obstacles against them.
Muslim Population: 81.2% (Christian Population: 9%)
There is significant tension between the two Muslim groups in Bahrain, leaving Christians adversely affected by the tensions of these two communities. Foreign workers make up about 1/3 of the population and have over 40 Christian fellowships. National Believers are mostly descendants of Christians from Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria who were living in Bahrain when the state was founded in the 1970s. They enjoy freedom of religion. However, believers from Muslim backgrounds face intense family pressure.
Muslim Population: 83% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
Muslims often deny Christians access to public water wells, force them from their homes, and beat them. They have also destroyed rickshaws owned by Christians, taking their only source of income. Churches have been growing at twice the population rate during the last 40 years. However, poverty, illiteracy, and lack of trained and godly leaders have led to shallowness and nominalism. Christian literature is in great demand. There is growing involvement in outreach to major non-Christian communities.
Muslim Population: 20% (Christian Population: 31.8%)
Benin has a strong Christian presence and the president, although born into a Muslim family, has declared himself a follower of Christ. However, Christian evangelism and ministry among Muslims have several times come under attack by outraged proponents of Islam. A church and ministry center were destroyed by Muslim militants earlier this year.
Muslim Population: 67% (Christian Population: 10%)
Constitutional guarantees allowing free practice of religion are steadily eroding. Christian leaders were expelled in 1991. In 1992, Christian literature was banned and the celebration of Christmas outlawed. It is illegal to evangelize Muslims. There are three registered churches, but many applications for registration are ignored, forcing Christians to meet secretly.
Muslim Population: 55% (Christian Population: 27.8%)
Like neighboring Sudan, Chad's Muslims live primarily in the north, while Christians make up a majority in the south. Although Chad is officially a secular state, government policies favor Islam. Muslim groups more easily get official permission for activities, and may have more tax benefits and financial support than non-Muslims. Islam is increasingly dominant among governmental, economic, and military leaders. Many new mosques have been built, and two Islamic universities are under construction. Christians often lack resources or training to respond.
Muslim Population: 98% (Christian Population: 2%)
Four men were jailed in the Comoros Islands for their 'involvement in Christianity' amid a crackdown on Christians. This incident comes amid concern over reports that the president, Iranian-trained Sunni Muslim cleric Ahmen Abdallah Mohamed Sambi plans to introduce strict Islamic measures. He has dismissed charges from his opponents that he is an Islamic extremist.
The new constitution approved in 1997 greatly increased the influence of Islam. Public witness by Christians is forbidden, and believers are not permitted to meet openly and are denied many social and civil privileges. There are 780 mosques but no official Comoran Churches.
Muslim Population: 90% (Christian Population: 10%)
Christians are treated like dhimmis, or second-class citizens, in this Islamic society. For example, they need a presidential decree to build a church. There is only one elected Christian legislator in the 444-seat parliament, and Christians are otherwise barred from occupying high-level positions. They are also portrayed as "infidels" by the state-owned media and educational curriculum, further fueling Islamic fanaticism.
There are 55 documented attacks on Copts since President Mubarak came to power in 1981, including an attack on four Coptic Churches during the Orthodox Palm Sunday weekend of 2006. Reports of kidnappings and the forced conversions of Christian girls are common among the Coptic community. Government officials refuse to cooperate with Christian families who are attempting to relocate and rescue their kidnapped daughters. Without cooperation, it is nearly impossible to find the abducted girls.
Muslim Population: 47.9% (Christian Population: 47.3% )
Although Eritrea is evenly divided between Muslim and Christian, the radical Muslims in power are cooperating with Orthodox Christian leaders to brutally suppress the Protestant Christian movement. At present, there are about 2,000 Christians under arrest in police stations, military camps, and jails all across the country, including three evangelical women who were arrested by Muslim police for "actively witnessing about Christ" to the inhabitants of their town. All the mothers were forced to leave young children behind in their homes. Just days after her arrest, one of the women lost her six-month-old son due to unknown causes. Police refused to release her to attend the funeral.
Muslim Population: 45-50% (Christian Population: 35-40%)
Weapons hidden in homes alerted authorities to the rising tensions between Muslims and Christians, yet nothing was done to prevent attacks. Local police responded to incidents by providing Muslim attackers with accelerant to burn the churches and urging them to work quickly before the Ethiopian army arrived to prevent further destruction. Initial plans were laid to kill key Christian leaders and take the rest of the believers to the mosque and forcibly convert them to Islam. They arrested five church leaders, accusing them of evangelistic activity.The Christian share of the population declined from 65% at the turn of the century to 35-40% in 2006, while Muslims increased from 31% to 45-50% of the population during the same 6-year period. Instead of dealing with the anti-Christian violence, the police are advising Christians to leave the country. Young people who convert from Islam to Christianity have been expelled from their homes and forced to live on the streets or work as house servants.
Muslim Population: 7.3% (Christian Population: 71%)
Western Europe has gone from a Muslim population of about 250,000 50 years ago to roughly 37 million Muslims today. Europe's Muslim population is expected to double by 2025. Although Christians comprise the largest portion of the European population, the majority are nominal rather than practicing Christians. The largest concentration of Muslims is in France, while Belgium, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, and Italy also have large populations of Muslims. The failure of the vast majority of Muslims to assimilate into European culture is becoming such a problem that some believe the only solution might be to divide the continent into Muslim and non-Muslim enclaves. Vast areas surrounding major European cities like Paris have been taken over almost completely by Muslims.
Muslim Population: 10% (Christian Population: 85-90%)
Harassment of religious minorities has escalated recently because of Islamic activism. In dealing with Islamic activists, the authorities crack down in a 'politically correct' fashion on all religious minorities, including Christians.
A study conducted between October 2003 and May 2004 describes an educational system that is cracking under the strain of a growing, non-assimilating Muslim population. Although government authorities deny it, the inclusion of Islam into the classroom is creating serious problems for the students. Muslim students have regularly boycotted classes they considered to be 'anti-Islamic' when topics like the Crusades and the Holocaust are included. They refuse to use the "plus" sign in mathematics because it appears to be a crucifix, and they are forcing wholesale changes to the lunch menu to accommodate their religious and cultural practices. Jewish students, and those students thought to be Jews, are increasingly being assaulted by Muslim students. Female students are intimidated by young Muslim men who assume the role of religious police. They forbid the Muslim girls to play sports or wear makeup, and they force them to wear traditional Muslim headscarves. Investigators found that the schools most effective in dealing with the problem of Islamization were the ones that completely refused to tolerate it, making no compromise with Islamist demands.
Muslim Population: 3.7% (Christian Population: 69.5%)
Germany has substantial Muslim population, particularly a large number of Turks. A judge recently came under fire for ruling that a Muslim man did not violate the law by beating his wife because his own religious tradition allowed it. Many Germans fear this could promote Sharia law as a separate and conflicting legal system.
Converts from Islam have received death threats. Some change their names to avoid being identified as Muslim-background believers.
Muslim population: 16% (Christian Population: 63%)
Although Ghana has a nominally Christian majority population, Islam is growing rapidly with a stronghold in the northern third of the country where Islam is reported to be the religion of over 90% of the people. The dominant Gonja tribe, and the allied Dagomba tribe, in northern Ghana have a history of destruction of life and property in the 1990s that has hampered Christian ministry in the north. Ghanaian Christians and foreign missionaries continue to work in northern Ghana and throughout the country, and currently efforts are underway to complete a Gonja translation of the Old Testament to complement the New Testament Gonja translation of a few decades ago. These courageous believers seek to break the strong grip of Islam in the north of Ghana.
Muslim Population: 88% (Christian Population: 8%)
The Christian community in Central Sulawesi has recently suffered a string of barbaric, murderous attacks. Islamic extremists linked to regional terror networks are behind the killings as they strive to create an Islamic state in Central Sulawesi. These Islamic militants are trying to provoke religious conflict so they can openly rally Islamic holy warriors to a jihad in defense of Islam.
For the first time in 50 years, Aceh province was opened to Christian missionaries in early 2005, as they conducted tsunami relief efforts. However, in May 2005, Muslim radicals detonated two bombs in the marketplace killing 23 people and injuring 50 in the Christian city of Tentena. In September 2005, three Sunday school teachers were sentenced to three years in prison for proselytizing Muslim children, a violation of the Child Protection Act of 2002. The Muslim parents had given their children permission to attend Sunday school. Recently Islamic militants brutally attacked and beheaded three of four teenage girls who were walking to school. The government has closed more than 150 churches in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta and the island of Java. Recent legislation has been enacted that could shut down hundreds more across the country. Reports that the Christian church has grown to 23 percent have been used by Muslim fundamentalists to claim that Christianity is growing too fast and must be resisted with force. The increase of terrorism, intimidation and persecution of Christians is part of the fundamentalist Muslim goal to implement Sharia Law throughout Indonesia.
Muslim Population: 98% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
Islam is the official religion of Iran, and all laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of Sharia law. Since President Ahmadinejad's political victory in June of 2005, Christians of Islamic background have been rounded up for harassment, arrested and beaten. Ahmadinejad has promised, "I will stop Christianity in this country", which has been taken as a green light to kill Christians. In November of 2005 Pastor Ghorban Tourani, a convert from Islam, was kidnapped from his home and stabbed to death, allegedly by an unnamed group of fanatical Muslims. In the following eight days, Muslim police arrested and severely tortured 10 additional Christians in several cities. Seven other Christian leaders have been assassinated in recent years. In addition, Muslim officials have visited known Christian leaders and have instructed them to warn acquaintances in the house churches that 'the government knows what you are doing, and we will come for you soon.' Another man was kept in solitary confinement for a month in a two-by-three meter cell and was beaten and tortured. He was told that he had been found guilty of converting to Christianity and that the penalty was death. God spared his life, but he lost everything he had and was forced to flee the country with his family. Notwithstanding the persecution, many Muslims are turning to Christ in Iran.
Muslim Population: 97% (Christian Population: less than 3%)
With the end of the rule of Saddam Hussein, the number of churches has drastically increased in just one year's time. However, sectarian violence continues to threaten the church's safety as they often receive the brunt of Sunni and Shi'ite disputes.
A Christian evangelist says many Kurds are converting to Christianity in northern Iraq. Kurds are creating a constitution that does not embrace Sharia law. According to Sharia law leaving Islam is a capital offense, and Christian converts are often killed because of their conversion. Outside Kurdish areas, Christians are in a very tough situation. Their children are kidnapped, and their money is taken by terrorists. Five churches were bombed by Islamic insurgents in August 2004. Attacks on Christians and churches continued in 2005. Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing the country.
Muslims are receptive to the gospel, and Christians say they expect a brief window of opportunity to evangelize Iraqis. In spite of the attacks, Iraqi house churches are rapidly growing and multiplying.
Muslim Population: 2.4% (Christian Population: 77.35%)
Although Italy has nearly two thousand years of Christian history, many Italians today are at best nominally or culturally Christian. There is little specific outreach to the growing Muslim population, even though Rome has the largest mosque in Europe. In spite of extensive inter- religious dialogue, conflict occasionally breaks out. One Imam in Italy has called for attacks on Christians.
Muslim Population: 96.2% (Christian Population: 2.75%)
In the last 35 years the Christian percentage of the population has diminished by half. However, there is great openness to the Gospel in many circles. At the same time, the constitution prohibits proselytizing Muslims. And while the government has traditionally been relatively tolerant, some foreign Christians recently received letters from Islamic radicals demanding they stop witnessing. Several who refused were arrested and deported.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees -- both Christian and Muslim -- have fled to Jordan. As churches and other Christian organizations offer care there is a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Christ.
Muslim Population: 47% (Christian Population: 46%)
Baptist pastor Yaroslav Senyushkevich was fined three times the average monthly salary in May 2006 for leading an unregistered church in Kazakhstan. The Council of Baptist Churches objected to official demands that they register their congregations with the government. Baptists claim that registration applications in some regions of Kazakhstan require extensive information, such as details of members' ethnicity, family status, religious education of congregational leaders, age, type of work, and 'the most acute problems worrying parishioners', as well as details of members' political affiliation.
Muslim Population: 10% (Christian Population: 78%)
A new constitution for the East African nation proposes recognition of Sharia law. Under Kenya's existing constitution, Sharia courts are allowed to adjudicate in matters of family and succession relating to the Muslim minority, but not in criminal disputes. The new constitution would establish Sharia courts as part of the national judicial system. Muslims are threatening to reject the entire proposed constitution if the section recognizing Sharia courts is omitted.
In 2005, Kenyan Muslims threatened to form their own state under Islamic law if Sharia courts were not formally recognized in the constitution. Some accused Christians of working with "foreign evangelists" from the US to suppress the freedoms enjoyed by Muslims. Considerable financial support from Saudi Arabia is going to schools and hospitals, which are often used for religious propaganda.
The current Constitution affirms freedom of religion as a fundamental right which allows Muslims the right to govern with Sharia law in the provinces dominated by Islam. The government even contributes financially to Islamic schools, yet Muslims remain unsatisfied. Some do not shrink from attacking Christian institutions to emphasis their demands. During June of 2004, Islamists burned down five Christian churches.
Muslim Population: 89% (Christian Population: 11%)
The 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo stopped Serbian oppression of Albanian Muslim immigrants in Kosovo. Since that time the persecution has reversed. Over 200,000 Serbian Orthodox Christians have fled Kosovo. The remaining Christians in Kosovo live in three enclaves with little freedom of movement. A former diplomat to Kosovo states that UN intervention to halt the persecution of Christians in Kosovo is a "complete failure", pointing to the destruction of 150 churches and the simultaneous construction of 200 mosques. According to amateur films at all the church destruction scenes, government officials were able to see how events unfolded. At all the scenes someone would climb to the top of the church and tear down the cross, then stomp on it. All the churches were burned. As churches were being destroyed, Saudi Wahabbist resources started flooding the economically depressed area with money to pay for new mosques.
Muslim Population: 85% (Christian Population: less than 15%)
Full freedom to worship is still not a reality. Only Muslims may become Kuwaiti citizens. Christians have the freedom to live and work in Kuwait, but worship must be confined to the Christian community (a physical location). Evangelism to Kuwaitis is forbidden. The government discourages Christianity by providing financial incentives for Muslims and has even purchased large quantities of Bibles to burn them.
Muslim Population: 75% (Christian Population: 20%)
The Islamic influence is steadily growing and most villages have a mosque or a prayer room. Increasing numbers of children go to Koranic schools and Islam is taught in state schools. However, the gospel can be proclaimed relatively openly, and many churches have been started. A new translation of the Bible into the Kyrgyz language has been completed, and there is a Christian bookshop in the region.
Muslim Population: 59.7% (Christian Population: 39%)
Lebanon is the only Arab nation with relative religious freedom and without Islam as its official religion. After World War I, it was determined that Lebanon should not be a Christian state despite its then predominant Christian population, but rather a secular state to showcase Muslim-Christian peaceful co-existence. However, since the Arab wars against Israel, the demographic balance has tipped in favor of the Muslims, leaving the Christian population a mere 39%. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Iran has funded the development of Hezbollah, an Islamic terrorist organization that now controls the southern half of Lebanon militarily and has seats in the Lebanese parliament and cabinet.
Muslim Population: 97% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
Libyans are off limits for evangelism. A number of expatriates are seeking to reach Libyans, but are hindered by the country's elaborate secret police network. Christian literature may enter only through secretive means. There are very few Libyan believers; they are believed to total no more than 20. Almost all Christians are foreign workers, and the government strictly monitors their meetings.
Muslim Population: 58% (Christian Population: 9%)
The Federal Court on April 13, 2006 granted permission to Lina Joy, a Malaysian convert to Christianity, to appeal the government's refusal to remove her Muslim status from her identity card. The National Registration Department insisted that Joy obtain an order from the Sharia Court stating that she had become an apostate, which is punishable by fine or imprisonment. A Sharia Court has never granted permission for a Malaysian Muslim to convert out of Islam. With a Muslim ID card Joy can only marry a Muslim, and any children would also be regarded as Muslims under the law. Converts from Islam automatically lose custody of their children to their Muslim spouses.
Given the difficulties in converting from Islam, many Muslim background converts to Christianity often remain secret believers. One Muslim background believer was asked to leave the company of his employment when they suspected that he was no longer a Muslim. Another Muslim background believer was stripped of her leadership position in a school when teachers discovered that she had become a Christian. Others have been subjected to physical beatings. It is usually the extended family and the immediate Muslim community who are the first to persecute these new believers.
Malaysia's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but fundamentalist Muslims do everything in their power to inhibit Christian evangelism. Christian literature is limited only to non-Malays. Ethnic Malays are not allowed to have a Christian place of worship. Permission to build new churches is rarely granted, and house churches are strongly discouraged.
Muslim Population: 99.4% (Christian Population: less than 0.6%)
Free speech is not respected for the press or for non-Muslim religions. Outsiders are only allowed brief visits to inhabited areas of the Maldives, so their influence on Muslim communities will be minimized. In 1998, all known Christian foreigners were expelled from the country and all known Maldivian believers are carefully watched. They have suffered ostracism and loss of jobs, and they cannot openly meet together or read the Scriptures.
Muslim Population: 87% (Christian Population: 1.9%)
Although Islam is strong in the north and central parts of the country and growing in the south, the state is officially secular and there is relative religious freedom of religion. Missions and missionaries have increased and the Church has grown rapidly in the last three decades. Many Muslims are disappointed with Islam and open to the Gospel.
Muslim Population: 99.9% (Christian Population: less than 0.1%)
Freedom of religion is nonexistent in this state where Islam has dominated for over 1,000 years. It is illegal for citizens to enter non-Muslim households, and anyone who confesses Christ faces the death penalty under law. Christian literature and religious radio broadcasts are not allowed. The government takes great pains to keep Christianity away from the people. There are no indigenous churches under indigenous leadership. There are a handful of believers worldwide estimated at 200 in number, but individuals showing interest in Christianity in the past have been imprisoned or put to death.
Muslim Population: 98.7% (Christian Population: 1.1%)
National Christians estimate that 1,600 evangelicals comprise 45 congregations today in Morocco's underground church. Most of these homes are "cell groups" of up to 20 people. Persecution from authorities tends to be more subtle, including job harassment, hassle over renewing passports and other official documents, and harassment from their families.
A Moroccan church consisting of former Muslims cannot be recognized, and other religious groups are tolerated as long as their ministry is confined to expatriate communities. However, hearts are being turned toward the gospel of a loving Savior. Disturbed by Islamic terrorism, the king of Morocco wants a Christian influence in the country. Missionary work is not permitted, but many foreign Christians are working in secular roles and sharing the Good News. A Moroccan church is emerging despite the great cost. In theory, Bibles may be imported legally, but Arabic versions have been confiscated.
Muslim Population: 80% (Christian Population: less than 20%)
Baptism is seen as the "line in the sand" for Muslim background believers. It is their public declaration that they are following Christ and usually marks the beginning of persecution for them. Many are ostracized and lose their jobs. Still others can come under intense pressure to come back to Islam or face the consequences, often imprisonment or death.
Muslim Population: 50% (Christian Population: 40%)
Nigerian intelligence agents have found that Kano State in northern Nigeria was seeking foreign support to train 100 jihadists as vigilante enforcers of Islamic law. The government of Nigeria has previously accused this State of seeking militant aid from Iran and Libya, which officials have denied.
Twelve northern states in Nigeria have adopted and enforce Sharia Law: Kano, Bachi, Gombe, Niger, Yobe, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. Christians in Sharia states have complained of assault, harassment, i ntimidation, and flagrant violation of the religious rights of Christians by Hisbah, which one leader said is a "terror machine" in the hands of fanatical Islamic governments aimed at strangling Christianity in Northern Nigeria. Cases of rape and assault of Christian women by Hisbah corps and Muslims in general are on the rise in these States.
Muslim Population: 93% (Christian Population: less than 7%)
Churches and church activities for the expatriate communities are permitted, but witnessing to Muslims is forbidden. The Christian population consists almost entirely of foreign workers, with perhaps no more than 20 indigenous believers. There are four centers where Christians of over 30 denominations and languages meet and where services are held in many languages.
Muslim Population: 97% (Christian Population: less than 3%)
An appalling incident of Islamic violence took place in Sangla Hill, when a Muslim falsely accused a Christian of desecrating the Koran during an argument over gambling remittances. Exploiting the situation, Islamic clerics called Muslims to defend Islam and attack the Christians . More than 2,000 Muslims drove some 450 Christians from their homes. Three churches were razed, as well as a convent and two Christian schools. The mob, armed with "sticks, stones, big hammers and bottles of chemicals" went out to attack the churches, raising cries of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) and 'Down with the Christian dogs'. The violence went unchecked because it was sanctioned by local police and officials.
The October 2005 earthquake in Pakistani Kashmir left the country with a desperate need of aid and assistance. High level systematic persecution of Christians continued as the government expelled Christians from their homes in order to house Muslim earthquake victims. Hundreds of Christian families were evicted to make room for the displaced Muslim families from Kashmir.
Muslim Population: 98% (Christian Population: less than 1.7%)
The Christian community in the Palestinian areas has shrunk to less than 1.7%. If a Muslim turns to faith in Jesus, he may be killed by his own family members. The evangelistic work is going forward, but has to be done very carefully and wisely. One Church has been attacked 14 times; the pastor was shot and left for dead. Muslim background believers live in an atmosphere of intimidation and denial.
As Israel attempts to disengage from Palestinian cities and towns, there is very little influence over the behavior of the Palestinian Muslim population. Harassment of Christians is an easy way for Palestinians to demonstrate their own authority in places of government.
Muslim Population: 5% (Christian Population: 92.5%)
For the last forty years, there has been constant strife between Christians and Muslims. A powerful explosion ripped through an outdoor market packed with Christmas shoppers in the southern Philippines, killi ng at least 15 and injuring 58 others. In the eastern islands of the Philippines, Islamic militants shot and killed a pastor and his daughter after repeated threats. Pastor Mocsin Hasim, a former Muslim, was shot 19 times, while his daughter Mercilyn was hit five times. The two were ambushed while driving their motorcycle on an empty road. Local police have reportedly linked the attack to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, described as an "extremist rebel group." Hasim leaves behind a wife, two sons and another daughter. They are currently in hiding due to threats against their lives.
Muslim Population: 95% (Christian Population: Less than 5%)
The first Christian church in Qatar since the arrival of Islam in the 7th century is to be built in this conservative Muslim country. It is hoped that the Center can be used for on-going Muslim-Christian dialogue. It is expected that some Muslim Qataris will not be very happy about the church building. The congregation will need to take security measures, although it remains to be seen just how dramatic those will have to be.
Proselytism of Muslims is forbidden; however, expatriate believers are allowed to practice their faith. Criticism of the Muslim faith is a crime. There were no known Qatari believers before 1985, but several have come to the Lord outside the country and have returned to evangelize in their country.
Muslim Population: 99.9% (Christian Population: less than 0.1%)
In April 2005, high-ranking Muslim sheiks took part in a raid on a congregation of 60 Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians who had gathered for prayer; they arrested five of the church elders. The religious police confiscated the worshippers' personal bibles and one woman's cross necklace. The five elders were reportedly transferred to a prison where they were being held incommunicado.
Muslim authorities and fundamentalist extremists are coming down hard on Christians caught sharing their faith with Muslims. One source reports that police in Saudi Arabia recently raided an underground church in suburban Riyadh and arrested 40 foreigners, including some children, for proselytizing. It is illegal in modern Saudi Arabia to promote any religion other than Islam.
In June 2006, ten Saudi Arabian police armed with wooden clubs raided a private Christian worship meeting, arresting four East African citizens leading the service. More than 100 Eritreans, Ethiopians, and Filipinos were gathered for worship. It is not known how the four arrested leaders are being treated or if they are being interrogated. Typically the Saudi government deports expatriate Christians caught conducting worship meetings in their homes or privately owned villas, forcing their employers to terminate their work contracts.
Muslim Population: 99.95% (Christian Population: less than 0.05%)
Dr. Osman Sheik Ahmed, a well-known figure in Somalia's higher education sphere, was shot and killed in October 2005 in Northern Mogadishu. Witnesses have confirmed that he was assassinated by Islamic hit men from Mogadishu's radical Islamic courts. He is survived by his wife and nine children, who are in hiding.
Abdulkassim Salat Hassan emerged in 2000, and his government enacted a constitution which only recognizes Islam. Somalia is the worst persecutor of Christians among all the nations in Africa. It can mean death to be openly Christian in Somalia. The vice chairman of an influential Somali Islamist group said: "All Christians must be killed according to Islamic law. Such people do not have a place in Somalia, and we will never recognize their existence and we will slaughter them." A Somali pastor, one of only a few hundred Christians in the country, said: "We live in constant fear. We have very little rights, since people believe that there are no Christians in Somalia...we do not walk openly proclaiming our faith because we can be assassinated any time."
Muslim Population: 70% (Christian Population: 5%)
Despite the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005, Sudan's slavery crisis remains unsolved. Interviews with liberated slaves reveal a pattern of physical and psychological abuse, including rape, beatings, female genital mutilation, forced conversion to Islam, Arabization, racial and religious insults. The Khartoum government has suspended financial support for slave liberation activity. Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militias continue to abduct and enslave Christian women and children.
Abuk was captured from her parents in South Darfur four years ago and sold to a man called Ali. He treated her brutally and she managed to run away. She was taken in by another Arab, called Ahmed. Abuk's new owner was tracked down by the man who bought her. The two quarreled and then took the case to their chief. The elderly local leader referred Abuk and her rival owners to the police, who demanded bribes. The case ended up before a Sharia court that ruled since Abuk had been converted to Islam by her first owner, she could not be released to her "infidel" Christian parents. Treated with as little regard as an animal, Abuk has been raped and is pregnant.
Deliberate attempts to eliminate a viable Christian presence have been extreme and have included the destruction of hospitals, schools, churches and Christian villages. Pastors and church leaders have been killed. Men, women and children have been threatened with death or torture if they refuse to convert to Islam. In the midst of these atrocities, the Body of Christ in Sudan is growing. A Church district in southern Sudan has reported 200 new churches in the last year and a half. More than 50 Bible study groups are in the process of becoming churches. There are evangelists on the road and in the bush everywhere, all planting Bible studies and churches. They continue despite a lack of money.
Muslim Population: 90% (Christian Population: 10%)
Christian minorities are tolerated and have a measure of freedom to worship and witness within their own community, but all activities that could threaten the government or communal harmony are stopped. Evangelicals currently enjoy good standing, so they are hesitant to jeopardize this by witnessing too openly.
Conversions out of Islam are few but increasing. Most churches in Syria are not yet ready to evangelize Muslims. Missionaries are not allowed.
Muslim Population: 90% (Christian Population: less than 10%)
Tajikistan will soon debate a repressive new draft law on religion. It outlaws missionary activity and all 'unregistered' religious practice. To be registered, a religious organization will require an application from ten founding members as well as the signatures of 200 adult members to support forming the religious association in any given town or settlement. These requirements put registration beyond nearly all Protestant fellowships. The draft law also bans all religious education in private homes and teaching religion to children seven years of age and under. Life in this Muslim country is very harsh, and the influence of Islam is increasing. In January 2004, Pastor Sergei Bessarab was killed by a radical Muslim while planting a church in the city of Isfara.
Muslim Population: 98% (Christian Population: less than 1%)
Christian literature is not openly distributed, and with so few believers dissemination is difficult. The government is not favorable to any Christian proselytism, but tolerance is shown to foreign missiona ries. There are about 200 committed, indigenous believers today, but about half that number meets regularly for worship.
Muslim Population: 99.8% (Christian Population: less than 0.2%)
Religious freedom exists in Turkey, yet serious problems persist. Citizens are entitled by law to change their religion and to have the change recorded on their identity documents, yet those who have done so face hostility from fellow citizens. Under current Turkish law, it is not possible for most Protestant Christian churches to be recognized. Most Evangelical Protestant churches in Turkey meet in rented facilities instead of private homes. Christian leaders know they are eavesdropped on and that their telephones are tapped. Police visit individual Christian churches to ask who attends, which foreigners have visited, and what they discussed. They are particularly interested in which Turkish citizens attend.
Christians are not considered Turks; they are considered as foreigners. One must be very courageous to set up a Protestant church in remote areas. Problems can come from neighbors and from the authorities. Even if not working hand in hand, neighbors and officials share the same hostility. They cannot understand why anyone would convert to Christianity.
In a country where media often portray the tiny Protestant community negatively, it was surprising that some media organizations took notice when Muslims threatened a Christian group at a local book fair. Before threatening the volunteers with hanging, the five Muslim youths asked "How can you sell Bibles here? This is a Muslim country!" They also accused the Christians of trying to divide the country. Some of the media attention that followed further fanned the anti-Christian sentiment.
Muslim Population: 89% (Christian Population: 9%)
Police in Turkmenistan broke up a Christian house group meeting, confiscating personal belongings and subjecting the group to extensive interrogation. The raid happened just hours after U.S. officials recommended that Turkmenistan be labeled one of the world's worst violators of religious freedom.
Former Baptist religious prisoner Shageldy Atakov was banned from leaving Turkmenistan without reason on May 24, 2006. When Atakov asked why he was banned from leaving, a Migration Service officer only said, "People are only stopped from leaving if they have problems with the government." An increasing number of Turkmen residents are being banned from leaving the country because of their Christian beliefs.
Protestants are not able to share their faith, and therefore they cannot print or import religious literature. They desperately need Bibles. Christian students attending universities have been threatened with expulsion. National pastors have been exiled, beaten, heavily fined and imprisoned. Congregations have been intimidated and forbidden to meet. Evangelical Christians have suffered the most persecution under the government's religious legislation. Participation in unregistered house churches has resulted in fines, the seizure of family possessions, and loss of pay.
Muslim Population: 96% (Christian Population: less than 4%)
Only foreign Christians have freedom to worship. Christian education and witnessing to nationals are severely restricted. Few believers have opportunities to openly share their faith and such activity is quickly curtailed. Signs indicate there are many who are eager to learn about the gospel in private and who enthusiastically receive Christian materials.
Muslim Population: 2.7% (Christian Population: 71.6%)
A 10-acre site in Newham has been declared the site of a new mosque in London. The new mosque will be a mere 500 yards from the site of the 2012 Olympic Games. The complex is designed to become the "Muslim Quarter" for the Games, acting as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators. British Muslim sources estimate the cost at 300 million pounds sterling. This is a startling development considering that forty years ago, Britain only had roughly a dozen mosques scattered about the country.
The results of a 2004 poll found that over 60% of British Muslims want to live under Sharia law - while living in the United Kingdom. As most European governments resist the demands of an increasingly assertive Muslim population, the Muslim response is to escalate terrorist bombings, assassinations, and murders of those who allegedly insult Islam while encouraging Muslim youth to riot in reaction to the political cartoons of Mohammad.
Muslim Population: 88% (Christian Population: 9%)
Although proselytizing is illegal in Uzbekistan, every city in Uzbekistan has its own indigenous congregation. The government often monitors and harasses those that openly try to convert Muslims to Christianity. Christians in a remote village of Uzbekistan were beaten, publicly humiliated and hounded out of their homes and jobs for converting to Christianity. "Our whole population here is Muslim," a village strongman told the families in his village who had converted to Christianity. "So you'd better go to Kazakhstan or Russia if you want to be Christians." Protestant believers in the predominately Kazakh village of 12,000 were refused access to drinking water for their homes, with men, women and even children subjected to severe beatings for their faith. If believers are caught with Christian literature, they can be jailed for up to eight years. House church meetings in Uzbekistan are illegal. In one raid a policeman reportedly said there was no need for any faith other than Islam in Uzbekistan.
Muslim Population: 99.94% (Christian Population: less than 0.06%)
Before Muslims overran the country in the seventh century and cut off nearly all outside influences, there was a significant Christian population. Today, Yemen is one of the world's least reached countries. Islam is the official religion, and the legal system is based on Sharia law. The few Christians living in Yemen are not allowed to witness and it is illegal to convert from Islam. Due to social pressures, it is dangerous for Yemenis to become believers. However, through radio broadcasts, tactful evangelism and other factors, perhaps 100 or more Yemenis have trusted in Christ.