Persecuted Church

If North Korean Christians are discovered, they are deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot. Driven by the state, Christian persecution in North Korea is extreme and meeting other Christians to worship is nearly impossible unless it’s done in complete secrecy. A recent increase in diplomatic activity, starting with the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, has not changed anything for Christians in the country.

How Christians are suffering

Christians must keep their faith completely secret. If a Christian has a Bible, or part of one, it will be carefully hidden and only read when the believer is sure they are alone. Most Christians do not even tell their own children about their faith until the kids are older teenagers, for fear that they may let something slip.

When Christians are discovered, they will be arrested and imprisoned in one of North Korea’s terrible labor camps, where they are worked like slaves and often tortured; most are never able to escape.

The news tells stories of the country’s ambitions on the world stage. Yet behind the headlines, a massive underground church of 200-400,000 Christians is growing in North Korea. And tens of thousands of these secret believers are held in North Korea’s infamous labor camps. It is a miracle that this underground church is able to exist. But more than that, it is thriving and growing.

One Christian has shared: “One day the borders will open and we will unite with the South Korean and the Chinese church to bring the gospel to some of the darkest places on this earth.”

Examples

There have been raids against Christians and killings, but no details can be published for security reasons. Pastor Dong-cheol Kim—arrested in 2015—and two Korean-American Christian lecturers at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), Tony Kim and Hak-song Kim, arrested in April and May 2017 respectively, were all accused of espionage but released ahead of the U.S.-North Korean summit in June 2018. In a change of hiring policy, PUST is now reportedly looking for non-US staff, a logical consequence of United States’ travel ban on American travel to North Korea. There have been more reports coming from North Korea, but for security reasons, no details can be given.

Afghanistan

An Islamic society where Christianity exists in secret

Afghanistan is a tribal society, and loyalty to one’s family, clan and tribe are extremely important. As an Islamic society, it is illegal for an Afghani person to leave Islam. The country is increasingly challenged by Islamic militants, the Taliban controls or contests more and more areas, and an ISIS-affiliated group also targets minorities. Those who decide to follow Jesus do so in secret.

How Christians are suffering

Those who are discovered to be Christians may be sent to a mental hospital—because their families believe no sane person would leave Islam. They may also be beaten or even killed by family members, or members of Islamic extremist groups like the Taliban. Violence against Christians remains very high, but the measures taken against converts depends on the family. One Christian in Afghanistan says, “How we survive daily, only God knows. He knows because He has been kind to dwell with us. But we are tired of all the death around us.”

Examples

There are reports that several Christians have been killed in the World Watch List 2020 reporting period, but for security reasons, no details can be published.

Any visible acts of Christian worship are dangerous. As all religious ‘changes’ are noticed and reported, this often means that converts have to relocate; neighborhood pressure and the influence of the Taliban and ISIS is strong. If someone is found even exploring any faith other than Islam (and especially if they are suspected of having converted), the penalty can be death. Christians will be employed as long as it is believed they are Afghan Muslims. If it is discovered that they are even exploring Christianity (e.g. via websites in the internet), immediate action is taken to re-indoctrinate them until they and (any group involved) comply. This can mean torture.

Somalia

Violence, civil war and extreme persecution

Somalia remains mired in civil war, tribalism and violent Islamic militancy. Conversion to Christianity is regarded as a betrayal of the Somali family and clan. If Somalis are suspected of being converts, family members and clan leaders will harass, intimidate and even kill them. Christians with a Muslim background are regarded as high-value targets by al-Shabab operatives and have often been killed on the spot when discovered.

The violent Islamic terrorist group, al-Shabab, advocates Shariah law as the basis for regulating all aspects of life in Somalia. This group has repeatedly expressed its desire to eradicate Christians from the country. Foreign jihadists are also present in the country, but Islamic oppression is not limited to militants only. Christians also face serious persecution from family, extended family members and the community at large.

In every sphere of life—private, family, community, and national—being exposed as a convert to Christianity means life-threatening danger, often leading to on-the-spot execution. This persecution pattern is exceptional and puts Somalia high up in the category of extreme persecution.

As a result, most Somali Christians keep their faith completely secret. But despite the risks, Somali people are coming to faith in Jesus—some in miraculous ways.

Examples of persecution

Over the last years, the situation appears to have worsened. Islamic militants intensified their hunt for people who are Christian and in a position of leadership. An attempt to reopen a church in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in August 2017 also failed, as the government was forced to shut it down due to pressure from the local Islamic population.

In the 2020 World Watch List reporting period, Christians remained very vulnerable to attacks by Islamic militants. In the interests of security, no examples can currently be published.

Libya

No recognition of the church—no freedom for Christians

The absence of a single central government to uphold law and order contributes to the extreme levels of pressure in national and church life. Libyan Christians with a Muslim background face violent and intense pressure to renounce their faith from their family and the wider community. There is no freedom of speech, no equal treatment of Christians, no recognition of the church and no churches being built.

Christian migrant workers are allowed to meet together to worship in Libya, but they are always at risk of attack by Islamic militants, and face discrimination from Libyan society. Churches for Libyans are forbidden, and Libyan Christians must keep their faith completely secret. Christians who publicly express their faith and try to share the Christian faith with others face the risk of arrest and violence at the hands of their families, communities or violent Islamic militants.

Christians are at risk all over the country, but are especially vulnerable in areas where radical Islamic groups are present. ISIS still maintains a presence in the wider region around Sirte. Other groups, like those connected to the Islamic Dawn coalition, are in control of areas around Tripoli and some parts of Tripoli itself. In the east, radical groups are at least present in Benghazi.

Migrant Christians who have been arrested and detained while trying to reach Europe often end up in one of the overcrowded detention centers around Tripoli. Others do not even make it that far, but are directly delivered into the hands of criminal groups or human traffickers. Subsequently, they are forced into heavy labor in the agricultural sector or pushed into prostitution.

Examples of persecution

Given the security issues surrounding a Muslim’s conversion to the Christian faith, most reports about converts in Libya cannot be published.

Christian migrants held in detention centers in Libya—mostly from sub-Saharan African countries—have reportedly been raped and beaten. Although the ill-treatment and violence are not limited to Christian refugees, Christians are singled out for much worse discriminatory and violent treatment.

Slavery and human trafficking still take place despite an earlier international outcry that took place when CNN showed video evidence of a slave auction of sub-Saharan Africans in November 2017.

Pakistan

Second-class citizens and blasphemy laws

In 1947, the year of the country’s independence, the situation for Christians became more complicated as Pakistan officially became a Muslim state. All Christians suffer from institutionalized discrimination, illustrated by the fact that occupations seen as low, dirty and derogatory are reserved for Christians by the authorities. Many Christians are poor and some are victims of bonded labor. There are middle-class Christians as well, but this does not save them from being marginalized or persecuted.

Historic churches (like Anglican or Roman Catholic churches) have relative freedom for worship, but they are heavily monitored, and extremists regularly target them for attacks—the last one occurring in December 2017. Christian churches that are active in outreach and youth work face more persecution. In general, Christians are regarded as second-class citizens. Also, the country’s anti-blasphemy laws are disproportionately applied against the Christian minority—making it difficult and dangerous to live out one’s faith in public. These laws tend to target religious minorities (including Muslim minorities), but affect the Christian minority in particular given their overall percentage of population.

Examples from the reporting period

In May 2019, a landlord killed a Christian worker because he dared to work for another employer, according to a report by Morning Star News. This case illustrates the low social status of most Christians and is just a glimpse of the many similar cases that often go unreported.

Although there have been no major bombing attacks against church buildings in the 2020 World Watch List reporting period, dozens of smaller “everyday attacks” against churches and cemeteries occur. One example is the desecration of the Christian cemetery of Okara on May 12, 2019.

Romans 12:1–3 CSB

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

References

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/?initcid=20SRP&initpkg=20SRP-0&cid=7010b000001YkjbAAC&pkg=a150b000004P00wAAC&ds_rl=1281464&msclkid=86da1e56cb55159d3aae41c365d7f97b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=B_SEM_Paid_NB_Persecuted%20Christians_ACQ_EXT&utm_term=persecuted%20christians&utm_content=Christians&ds_rl=1281464&gclid=86da1e56cb55159d3aae41c365d7f97b&gclsrc=3p.ds

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