Christian Persecution Worst In Muslim-Dominant Countries
By V. Saxena, January 10, 2015.
Reporting by CNS News reveals that Christian persecution across the world is worst in countries whose populations contain a 50 percent or greater Muslim majority:
Nine of the 10 countries with the worst records for persecution of Christians have populations that are at least 50 percent Muslim, according to the assessment of persecution in the Open Doors USA’s World Watch List (WWL) 2015 and population information published by the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency.
While North Korea topped the World Watch List for obvious reasons, the other nine countries were all Muslim dominant. They include Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea and Nigeria.
“Approximately 100 million Christians are persecuted worldwide, making them one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world,” said an Open Doors statement announcing the report. “Islamic extremism is the main source of persecution in 40 of the 50 countries on the 2015 World Watch List.”
The report can be viewed in full here.
Open Doors USA has been tracking the numbers on global Christian persecution for nearly a quarter of a century. In a press release it attached to the report, Open Doors USA stated that worldwide Christian persecution in 2014 was worse than it had ever been before and that “current conditions suggest the worst is yet to come.” The organization also confirmed that 4,344 Christians were executed or murdered simply for theire faith in 2014.
Furthermore, during an interview with the Christian Post, David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors, made the following comments tying Christian persecution to government ideology:
“There are indications that there are some nationalistic movements like Eritrea where the government itself has adopted the ideology,” said Curry.
“But often it is not government-sponsored but it is allowed within certain regions in government by terrorist groups. So the common thread is the ideology.”
Nina Shea, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute and director of its Center for Religious Freedom, expanded the list of “driving forces” behind Christian persecution by including post-Soviet Union Communist states and of course Islamic extremism.
http://downtrend.com/vsaxena/christian-persecution-worst-in-muslim-dominant-countries/
