CCreated in 1976, the NGO Portes Ouvertes’ mission is to inform and encourage Christians in France and Belgium, with the support of Portes Ouvertes Belgique, so that they mobilize for the cause of persecuted Christians. Every year, the NGO publishes a “World Index of Christian Persecution”. The 2024 edition, put online in January 2024, reveals that 365 million believers are affected by violence or discrimination because of their faith. Thus, 1 in 5 Christians in Africa, 2 in 5 Christians in Asia and 1 in 16 Christians in Latin America were persecuted in 2023. Among the 50 countries listed by the NGO where Christians are persecuted, 33 are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and 15 belong to the Arab League. Other countries are ruled by authoritarian or one-party regimes, such as North Korea, China, Laos or Cuba. The persecution suffered by Christians ranges from physical violence to systemic discrimination.
For example, Christians in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have suffered from systemic discrimination for decades, with jobs considered degrading being imposed on them by the authorities, underlines the NGO. They are often perceived as “filthy” (“chura”). Due to their poverty, many of them become victims of forced labor. Every year, nearly 1,000 young Christian or Hindu girls, aged 12 to 25 on average, are kidnapped. They are then forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. Added to this precarious situation are the dangers linked to the infamous blasphemy law, promulgated in 1986 under the regime of General Zia Ul Haq, mainly responsible for the Islamization of the country in the 1980s. This law punishes with life imprisonment for those who desecrate the Koran and death sentence for those who insult the Prophet. This law is often used to target religious minorities, frequently leading to violent riots.
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In Iran, conversion from Islam to Christianity is illegal and converts face harsh prison sentences. Anyone who is a member of an underground church can be charged with a crime against national security. Muslims who convert to Christianity often face family and community pressure and attend underground churches. In Afghanistan, if an Afghan’s Christian faith is discovered, they face the death penalty or may be detained and tortured. Many Christians fled the country when the Taliban took power and most underground churches were closed. In Algeria, only 4 churches remain open out of 46. The authorities’ repression is illustrated by the sentencing of around twenty Christians to prison terms, for proselytizing or participating in unauthorized religious ceremonies.
Persecuted and forgotten
In October 2024, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), an international Catholic foundation under pontifical law founded in 1947 dedicated to assisting persecuted Christians throughout the world, has just published the report “Persecuted and Forgotten “, which highlights the alarming situation of Christians in 18 countries, including Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, North Korea, China and Nigeria. This report reveals an intensification of persecution, based on hundreds of testimonies collected between 1is August 2022 and June 30, 2024.
In Asia, authoritarian regimes like China and North Korea view Christianity as a threat. Finally, in Latin America, Colombia and Nicaragua are facing major challenges for their Christian communities, particularly under the Ortega regime in Nicaragua. In Africa, the situation is deteriorating, with more than 7,600 Christians killed in Nigeria between January 2021 and June 2023 by jihadist groups. Burkina Faso is also experiencing a sharp increase in violence, with around 60% of parishes closed. Jihadist groups are emerging in other regions such as Mozambique. In the Near and Middle East, Christians are fleeing en masse. In Syria, their population has fallen from 1.5 million in 2011 to 250,000 today. In Iraq, despite the defeat of Daesh, insecurity persists and the Christian population has been reduced to less than 200,000 people. In Türkiye, Christians face discrimination under a nationalist regime.
SO ? It is imperative that our democracies exert firm pressure to put an end to this persecution. If individuals continue to be persecuted on a daily basis because of their faith, and our democracies remain silent and inactive, then rogue states, dictators of all stripes, as well as complicit organizations and armed jihadist groups, particularly Islamists, will benefit from our silence. This guilty silence not only demonstrates indifference in the face of horror; he puts up with the worst and leaves the door open to unacceptable atrocities. It is time to act, denounce and defend those who suffer in silence.
