Report finds shift in Islamist persecution to Africa

The epicenter of militant Islamist violence is no longer in the Middle East but in Africa, a new report from Aid to the Church in Need claims. That shift is apparent in parts of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mozambique and elsewhere, where Christians are terrorized by extreme violence.

It is one of several troubling conclusions presented by the pontifical charity in the latest edition of Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2022-24, its biannual assessment of religious freedom around the world.

The report found intensified targeting of Christians as enemies of the state and/or of the local community, as authoritarian regimes, including those in China, Eritrea, India and Iran, ramped up repressive measures.

State and non-state actors increasingly weaponized existing and new legislation, criminalizing acts deemed disrespectful to the state religion as a means of oppressing Christians and other minority religious groups, the report says.

In addition, there were increased threats to Christian children, especially girls, who suffered abduction, sexual violence, forced marriage and forced conversion.

On the continent of Africa, the report looked specifically at the nations of Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Sudan. In some of those places, it reports troubling developments.

“While jihadi militantism persisted in pockets of the Middle East, such as Idlib, Syria, state authorities in the region made significant strides in clamping down on violent Islamist groups. By contrast, in parts of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mozambique, and elsewhere, Christians were terrorized by extremist violence,” the report says. “Militant Islam was a key factor in explaining why there was a prevalence of increased persecution affecting all six countries reviewed in Africa, with evidence suggesting the growing reach of trans-national jihadi groups.”

“Opportunistic caliphates,” identified as an emerging concern in ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report 2023, became a major concern by summer 2024, says the new report.

“Mass migration of Christian communities, triggered by militant Islamist attacks, has destabilized and disenfranchised them, raising questions about the long-term survival of the Church in key regions,” it warns.

The 2022-2024 report also includes the following findings:

In India, 720 attacks or other incidents of persecution against Christians were reported in 2023 – up from 599 the year previous.

In China, there could be as many as 10,000 people imprisoned by the ruling Communist Party. 

In Syria, the Christian community was more than 1.5 million before the civil war started in 2011. Today Christians could be as few as 250,000.

In Iran, cases of Christians detained rose from 59 in 2021 to 166 in 2023.

In Iraq, where the Christian population declined sharply during the brutal regime of the Islamic State (ISIS), Christians now consist of fewer than 200,000 people. That makes the Christian community a minority of roughly 0.46% of the country’s 41 million citizens.

Nigeria is ranked eighth in the 2024 Global Terrorism Index. Militant Fulani insurgents in the Middle Belt regularly committed massacres and other violent atrocities, with a disproportionate number of attacks against Christians.

In North Korea, anyone identified as a Christian or even showing interest in Christianity or the Bible will almost certainly be considered an enemy of the state.

In Pakistan, research found that 2,120 individuals had been accused of blasphemy between 1987 and 2022.

In Saudi Arabia, converting from Islam to Christianity is strictly prohibited and converts can face honor killings.

In Burkina Faso, more than 2 million people – about 10% of the country’s population – have been displaced because of the ongoing Islamist insurgency.

The Burmese military stands accused of having destroyed more than 200 places of worship, including 85 churches.

In Eritrea, as of June 2024, around 400 Christians are imprisoned because of their faith. 

Archbishop Bashar Warda, the Chaldean archbishop of Erbil in Iraq, said in an introduction to the document that in addition to showing hardships suffered by Christians around the world, the ACN report “also shows that after the onslaught, Christians can rebuild their lives – just as we did in Iraq.”

More information can be found at ACN’s website.