Christians around the world face harassment, arrest, displacement, or murder on a daily basis, particularly in Communist and Islamic countries.
From the Christian genocide in Syria to the jihad violence in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to calls for widespread rape of Christians in an Indian province to the government crackdowns in China and Iran, Christians in many nations constantly have to make the choice between their faith and their freedom — or their lives.
Multiple recent stories published on International Christian Concern’s (ICC) Persecution.org illustrate the increasing gravity and threat of Christian persecution, especially in Africa and Asia. For instance, the Islamic Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are causing deadly havoc in the DRC. In the previously “thriving” village of Mutwanga, over a hundred residents were murdered, and homes stand empty and ravaged.
“The night was filled with the sounds of gunfire,” said Mutwanga survivor Jeremie Mahembe. “I heard my neighbors screaming, but there was nothing I could do. I escaped with my children, but my wife … she did not make it, she was killed. The attackers were everywhere, death shadows. I never thought I would live to see the day my life, my home, would be destroyed in an instant.”
Chief Kighoma said that jihadis even target children and the elderly: “It is as if the earth has swallowed us whole.”
Pastor Munduwighulu mourned the indifference of the world: “We are not animals, but what has been done to us is worse than anything imaginable. How many more people must die before the world acts?”
Unfortunately, much of the world, including “Christian” nations, is so obsessed with mourning Gaza terrorists (who also persecute Christians) that it has no time for innocent African Christians. ICC said hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced in DRC, where sexual violence and looting are rampant.
Recommended: Israeli Emphasizes That Gazans Don’t Want Peace, Won’t Accept It
ICC also highlighted the recent arrests of multiple Iranian Christians by the terror-sponsoring Islamic dictatorship in that country. On March 7, ICC reported the arrests of Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh in Parand and Joseph Shahbazian in Tehran, who have been arrested before for involvement with home churches. They had been sentenced to years in prison before being released early but have again been arrested. Back on Feb. 26, Somayeh Rajabi was arrested during a raid of a Christian gathering:
Agents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stormed the gathering, which occurred in Gatab, and confiscated Bibles, phones, and musical instruments. Agents reportedly ripped crosses from individuals’ necks and forced the Christians to divulge the passwords to their electronic devices. According to Article 18, agents also stopped emergency medical assistance from reaching the Christians.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is openly boastful of its anti-Christian persecution. ICC cited CCP state propaganda outlet Global Times, which pretends that devout Christians are cult members: “China’s public security authorities intensified efforts to dismantle cult organizations in 2024. They have worked to curb the growth and spread of cult organizations, mitigating potential threats to national political security and maintaining social stability.”
ICC explained:
China is known to have forced abortions on its citizens, sterilized women without their consent, and murdered religious minorities to sell their organs on the black market. Christian home churches are an attempt to escape government scrutiny, but even they are often raided and their members arrested on charges of working against the interests of the state.
China is a world leader in the use of technology to surveil and repress its citizens... Chinese government officials use the data captured by this system to track and control those it deems a danger to the state. Notably, this includes anybody associated with the unregistered house church movement and anyone else who might desire to practice religion outside the confines of the state-run institutions.
If a vengeful government turns Chinese citizens’ digital QR codes red, the citzens cannot go anywhere or buy anything.
Pray for persecuted Christians and urge our Western leaders, especially in the U.S., to acknowledge the global crisis of Christian persecution.
Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join PJ Media VIP and get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member