After the fall of the Iron Curtain, about 25 years ago, I heard a sincere man say that this is the best time in history to be a Christian because persecution will no longer be a barrier to world missions and the spread of the Gospel. Unfortunately, his optimistic prediction was decidedly wrong. Christians are under attack today around the world to the greatest degree in centuries. Recently, Open Doors USA, an organization that monitors religious persecution worldwide, released its annual World Watch Report ( see it: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/home/ ). It’s not good.
According to Open Doors, each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed, and 772 forms of violence are committed against Christians (includes rapes, arrests, and beatings)! They make the case that as many as 100 million Christians are suffering for their faith.
The organization ranks the 50 countries that are worst offenders. Number one, as it has been for decades, is North Korea, perhaps the last bastion of Stalinist Communism. Three other officially atheist and Communist ruled nations also made the list: Vietnam at number 16; Laos at number 29; and China at number 33. Interestingly, Cuba, which is still officially a Communist nation, dropped from the list a few years ago.
That being said, of the remaining 46 countries cited, 42 of them are predominantly Muslim. Christians are being targeted in those nations either by the government itself or radical Islamic groups active in them. The worst of them is Iraq at #2 (especially in areas where ISIS reigns). This fact exposes the common lie, often heralded by Islamic organizations in America, that Muslims are peaceful, tolerant, and respect the rights of other faiths. Historically, in nearly every country where Muslims have gained control of the population consensus and instituted aspect of Shari’a law, intolerance of other faiths rapidly grows.
Other especially notorious Muslim nations are: Eritrea (#3); Afghanistan (#4); Syria (#5); Pakistan (#6); Somalia (#7); Sudan (#8); Iran (#9); and Libya (#10). These countries and others are graded as either Extreme or Severe persecutors Christians.
So what can we do? First, of course is to pray for believers in these nations. We also need to encourage our American leaders to pressure these countries to respect the rights of its Christian citizens to worship freely. Some of the worst offenders are regarded as our allies in the war on terror, yet Christians are terrorized right in their own countries. We must not forget our suffering brothers and sisters.